Page 19 of Sin of Silence

“He needs more.” Dasha sealed her words with a kiss.

Krystoff could never resist her kisses. He gripped the back of her head and deepened the kiss, uncaring of his wound. He rolled her beneath him, dragging her bathrobe open. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself in his wife.

Chapter Thirteen

Shaun stretched, luxuriating in the feel of soft blankets and silky sheets. She rolled onto her side and curled up, rubbing her cheek against the smooth fabric of the pillow. A delicious scent teased her nose. It was familiar but she couldn’t place it. She buried her head in the pillow and breathed in. It was a masculine scent, like natural body odour mixed with something spicy and leather. It was nice.

She frowned. Had she brought a guy home the night before?

Her eyes flew open and she sat up with a gasp, staring around in consternation. The light filtering through the curtain-covered windows was dim and it took her a moment to realize where she was. She was not in her small room with her lumpy bed in Luhansk.

The events of the day before rushed at her in flashes. She pressed her spine against the headboard and covered her face with her hands. What had she gotten herself into?

Her mother warned her that something might happen if she continued to work with Doctors Without Borders. Shaun had shrugged off her mother’s concern and done her best to reassure Fatima, but the reality was her job could be dangerous. She worked in war zones, felt the vibrations in the ground as bombs went off nearby. She often treated infectious diseases that were nonexistent in Canada. She could’ve been killed at any moment. In fact, she’d had colleagues killed at similar camps.

But nothing she'd ever done had prepared her for this. To be kidnapped by a mafia family and dragged into the Czech Republic, where she was told she would soon be married to the scariest member of the family. Her situation defied imagination. It was like a movie, and everyone knew how mafia movies usually ended.

One thing was for certain, Shaun would have to find a way out. But before she could figure out a plan that wouldn't get her shot, she was going to have to find a bathroom. Her morning bladder was screaming at her to get her ass out of bed and moving.

As she was shoving the blankets off her legs, she realized she was in the bed and not on the couch. This thought made her freeze all over again as she contemplated how this was possible. Jozef must've moved her. She wasn't entirely surprised that she hadn't woken up through the process of him lifting her off the couch and placing her on the bed. Shaun had slept in some pretty unsavory conditions and had grown used to sleeping through just about anything.

She pushed herself out of the bed and stood, looking around. Besides the door leading out into the main room, which she suspected was locked, there was another door. She headed in that direction, hoping for a bathroom.

She was pleased to find that she was correct and quickly did her business, flushing the toilet and washing her hands. Once this was finished, she looked around the spacious bathroom, noting the opulent features. She hadn't seen much of the Koba family mansion yet, but what she had seen was an interesting mix of modern convenience and old-fashioned luxury.

Everything was made out of heavy, good quality woods and marbles. The bathroom itself had both a deep tub and a shower, both spotless. The large vanity stretched from one end of the bathroom to the other with two sinks in it. Off to the side was a display of fresh lovely smelling orchids. She would bet her freedom Jozef had nothing to do with their presence. Which meant there were maids coming in, probably daily, to clean and leave freshly cut flowers.

Perhaps this could be an avenue of escape for her. If she managed to convince one of the staff to help her, she might be able to get out of the mansion unscathed. The staff would know every entrance and exit and how much security was in place.

Shaun decided to risk taking a shower. She hadn't bathed in three days and was ready to feel clean again. She was pleased to find a lock on the bathroom door and flipped the latch. It made her feel safer as she stripped off her scrubs, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She’d been kidnapped in those scrubs, forced to work on a dying man, run for her life through the woods, and slept in them twice. She had no issues if she never saw them again.

Shaun heated the water and stepped under the spray, moaning in gratitude as hot water rushed over her naked body. Many of the places she travelled to didn't have hot water unless it was boiled. Her tiny apartment in Luhansk had a tiny heater for the whole building, which meant she hadn't had a truly hot shower in four months.

She took her time, carefully scrubbing each part of her skin and checking out the products available. They were all masculine and none were particularly fancy. A tiny part of her was gratified that there didn't seem to be the presence of another woman in Jozef's bathroom. Not that she was jealous, but if the man was talking about marrying her, the fact that there didn't seem to be any hint of a girlfriend made her feel marginally better about the whole situation.

She finished her shower and reached for a towel, realizing that there was only one nearby. Probably Jozef's. She pulled it off the rack and held it up to her body, sniffing it. A wave of his scent hit her so hard it took her by surprise. She gasped and nearly dropped the towel as her body reacted instinctively, flooding with desire.

She did not need that, not at all. She was getting the hell out of here at the first opportunity and no part of her was going to be attracted to her captor. She quickly dried off and tossed the towel back on the rack, not bothering to tidy it properly. She didn't particularly want to put on her dirty scrubs, but she didn't have anything else to wear.

She pulled her shirt over her head and dragged the pants over her legs but stuffed her dirty panties in her pocket. She absolutely refused to put dirty panties on. She had to draw the line somewhere.

She opened the door to the bathroom and froze when she spotted Jozef in the bedroom. He was sitting on the bed, his arms slung over his knees and his gaze on the phone in his hand. He looked up when she entered, his blue eyes roving over her body.

They stared at each other for so long the moments began to stretch and get awkward. Shaun wondered if he did it on purpose. Used his lack of voice to disconcert others. Well, it wasn’t going to work on her. In her profession she met every kind of person under the sun. She’d had more than her fair share of awkward conversations.

“I would like to talk to my mother please,” she said, trying for a tone of confident and deferential at the same time. She could get angry later if she had to, but she figured being on her best behaviour would probably get her further.

Jozef shook his head.

Shaun frowned at him. “No, I can’t call my mother?”

He shook his head again and this time Shaun had to shove her annoyance down, reminding herself she was talking to a killer.

“My mom will be worried, Jozef.” Shaun kept her voice conciliatory. “She’ll be devastated when she hears that I was taken from the hospital.” She bit her lip to stop the rush of tears. “She probably already knows and is freaking out.”

Jozef continued to stare at her, his eyes taking on a glacial look. He didn’t respond and Shaun guessed he didn’t need to. He’d told her ‘no’ twice. Nothing she said was going to change his mind. Still, she had to try.

“I’m the only person my mother has left. If she thinks I’m dead, it’ll devastate her.”

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