A Silent Reckoning: Sinner's Empire by Nikita Slater (ereader iphone .txt) 📗

“Please, you must have lunch with me,” Dasha insisted, pulling her arm through Shaun’s and then turning until they faced away from Karl.

“Well….” Shaun hesitated.

She’d come to the Christmas market to spend some time alone outside of the apartment and find some gifts for her loved ones. Now it looked like she was being commandeered.

“Oh please,” Dasha begged. “I don’t know when I’ll see you again. Consider it my Christmas gift to spend a little time with my soon-to-be niece. You can tell me all about your wedding plans.”

Shaun wanted to laugh, but held it in. So far, the wedding plans consisted of Jozef insisting they would be married soon while Shaun was insisting she needed more time. Jozef was too busy to set a date and stick to it and Shaun was taking advantage of his distraction by never mentioning her upcoming nuptials.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to marry him. She wanted to marry him whole-heartedly and without reservations, which wasn’t possible yet. Though he was impatient to make their union official, Jozef cared enough about her wants and needs to give her more time, which was how she’d managed to avoid the alter. She suspected when her time finally ran out, and Jozef was ready to act, she’d find herself in a church and married in short order.

“Alright,” Shaun gave in gracefully. “I’ll have lunch with you.”

Dasha was being kind and it felt churlish to turn her down for a simple lunch.

“Where should we eat?” Shaun tried to peer through the crowd of shoppers, assessing the nearby eateries.

“Let’s go to Kuchařský Stůl,” Dasha said, naming the Koba owned restaurant, which translated to Chef’s Table. Jozef had once taken Shaun there on a date. “It’s not far; we can walk.”

Shaun nodded her agreement but glanced back at Karl.

“I’ll have the car brought to the restaurant,” he told her, pulling his phone from his pocket and texting their driver.

“You seem to be settling well,” Dasha murmured slyly.

Shaun knew what Dasha meant. Shaun was settling well compared to the previous year when she’d fought her role as Jozef’s fiancé. Shaun wasn’t sure what to say to Dasha so elected to change the subject.

“How is Saskia doing with her classes?”

Dasha’s nose wrinkled, but she immediately smoothed her expression. “She’s doing well, of course. Saskia was always a good pupil. A little wild, but intelligent.”

Dasha’s description of Saskia was spot on, but Shaun couldn’t detect any note of parental pride in the other woman’s tone.

“She has an aptitude for languages,” Shaun pointed out, watching Dasha carefully.

Again, Dasha’s gaze turned brittle, but she didn’t comment, other than to say, “Yes.” She led Shaun to the door of the restaurant at the same time as Shaun’s vehicle pulled up to the curb. Shaun waved at her driver but followed Dasha inside.

Dasha greeted the concierge coolly and asked for her usual table. A wave of vulnerability washed over Shaun as they were led into the depths of the restaurant. It was starting to feel less and less coincidental that Dasha happened to run into her in the market and decided they should eat lunch at the Koba owned restaurant.

When Shaun caught Karl’s eye, she realized he felt the same. His brow was wrinkled in a deep frown and he was on his phone, no doubt texting Jozef. Shaun felt better knowing that Jozef would know where she was.

They were shown to the same table Shaun and Jozef had shared and Shaun felt a pang of longing. She wished she were about to sit down with Jozef, rather than his aunt.

The maître d’ took their coats and seated the two women. The server arrived as they were settling in.

“Let’s have the most exclusive wine on the menu,” Dasha said, smiling at Shaun. “We don’t get an opportunity like this often. Let’s celebrate.”

Shaun wasn’t sure what they were celebrating but murmured her agreement. She didn’t want to drink wine when it was barely noon, but she couldn’t politely decline when Dasha seemed so excited.

“So, tell me….” Dasha placed her elbows on the table and her chin in her hand. It was a smooth move that made her look truly interested in what Shaun was about to say, but Shaun knew the move was an affectation. “Have you set the wedding date yet?”

Shaun should have known that Dasha would want to talk wedding details. The woman was nothing if not single-mindedly focused on her next big party.

Shaun shook her head. “No, we haven’t really had time to talk about it.”

Dasha frowned. “But my dear, you’ve been here for almost two months now. Surely you’ve given it some thought.”

Shaun sighed and took a sip of her wine when it was set on the table. She almost instantly regretted it. Not because the wine was bad. In fact, it was incredibly delicious; light and fruity. No, she regretted taking a sip because her mind immediately jumped to a year earlier when she was poisoned. Though she was in a restaurant, surrounded by people, which should be safe, it was Koba owned and controlled.

She discreetly picked up her napkin and used it to spit out the liquid in her mouth, wiping her tongue. She dropped the napkin in her lap and glanced over at Karl who was standing near the table, not bothering to look like anything other than a bodyguard whose entire focus was on his principal.

When Dasha took a sip of her own wine, Karl caught Shaun’s eye and tapped his cell phone. Shaun wasn’t sure exactly what he was trying to tell her, then her phone rang.

“Excuse me,” she murmured, lifting her purse and digging until she found her phone. Jozef’s name flashed on her screen.

She frowned. Jozef only ever texted.

“Hello?” she answered.

“It’s Havel. I need you to say I’m your mother.”

“Hi mom,” Shaun said brightly, smiling at Dasha. “I’m out for lunch with Mrs. Koba, can I call you back when I’m finished?”

“Good girl,” Havel said approvingly. “We know where you