Page 20 of Sin of Silence

He remained unmoving and Shaun’s shoulders slumped. He wasn’t going to allow her to contact her mother. Jozef may have preserved Shaun’s life, but that didn’t mean he owed her anything, including a phone call. She blinked back her tears.

Jozef pointed to something at the bottom of the bed and she realized it was a bundle of clothes. She approached cautiously, but was eager for something else to wear, so reached for the clothing, despite their proximity to Jozef. Knowing that he could reach out and grab her as quick as a snake frightened her. She'd seen him kill two people, felt the cold press of steel against her head as he came seconds away from murdering her.

Until she found a way out of this place, she wasn't going to do anything that might piss off her captor. Or at least she was going to try her best not to upset him. She would wear his clothes, eat his food and sleep on the couch. She would play ‘good captive’ until she found a way out.

The clothes were far richer than she was used to. She could tell just by touching them. The soft fabric slid through her fingers like a silken waterfall. She held up a blouse, pink with white flowers. A pink flowing skirt matched the blouse perfectly. A bra and panty set were tucked beneath the items of clothes. She blushed but picked them up, hoping they fit. As she turned to walk away, she spotted a pair of high heels in a pretty cream colour.

Shaun shook her head and wondered if she could get away with just putting her running shoes back on. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd worn high heels in her life. Heels did not fit into a doctor's lifestyle. She was also nearly six feet tall. When she wore heels, she tended to tower over her dates.

Somehow she didn’t think Jozef would care if she was taller than him. He was a man very much in control of himself. She couldn’t imagine him being threatened by a tall career woman.

Shaun reentered the bathroom, changed quickly and presented herself back in the bedroom. Jozef got up from the bed and stretched, giving Shaun a good view of him. Her heart beat a little faster as she imagined the slabs of muscle beneath the suit he now wore. It was unfortunate that she knew what this man looked like naked, because dressed there was very little hint of the bulging muscles beneath.

He wore a wine-coloured shirt, unbuttoned at the throat, tucked into a pair of dress pants with a thick leather belt. The patent leather shoes on his feet looked expensive and Shaun bet they cost about as much as her monthly salary.

She looked around for her running shoes but didn't see them. "Where are my shoes?"

Put those on. Jozef pointed at the high heels.

Shaun grimaced. It didn't look like she would have a choice. Someone had taken her shoes and she wasn’t willing to argue with Jozef, which meant she wasn't going to have access to them. If she didn't find a good pair of running shoes, escaping the mansion was going to be tough business. She could easily picture herself foiling her own escape plan as she tripped and broke a limb on her way out.

We’re eating breakfast with my family. Jozef gestured at the door, indicating they would leave together.

Was she ready to meet the Koba crime family of the Czech Republic? Absolutely not. Did she have a choice? Probably not.

In line with her desire to show Jozef that she was a compliant captive, Shaun merely nodded her head and agreed to go to breakfast. Her heart pounded in fear and her palms grew damp as they walked through the opulent hallways of the sprawling mansion to the dining room. Shaun tried to remember which way they went and how they got there, but she quickly lost track as they passed room after room.

Her heart sank as she realized leaving the mansion would be incredibly difficult. Not only was it massive and twisty, but they passed at least half a dozen security personnel on their way to the dining room. She suspected there were more outside the house, keeping watch for potential threats. They would’ve all been briefed on the new house resident, which meant they would also probably know to watch for her if she tried to run.

Shaun was truly beginning to worry about how deep into enemy territory she’d landed herself. If she couldn’t figure this situation out, she might actually end up married to a ruthless thug, eating her morning meal with his entire crime family on a regular basis.

She couldn't hold in her gasp as they entered a room so grand that she wondered how it wasn't in a museum. The walls were filled with mirrors, gilded-framed paintings and other items she instinctively knew were very old and valuable. In the middle of the room was a massive table that looked big enough to easily seat thirty people.

At the far end of the table, next to a large window facing a well-manicured lawn, was a group of well-dressed people who all turned as Jozef entered the room with Shaun. She stopped abruptly, her stomach swirling in trepidation, making her feel nauseous. All eyes were on her.

Jozef placed a broad hand at the small of her back, giving her a modicum of comfort as he urged her forward. The length of the room until they made their way to the head of the table felt like the longest walk she had ever taken.

Shaun was used to standing out in a crowd. Though she was far from the only black woman in Montréal, most of the places she frequented were predominantly Caucasian. She had been the only black health care worker with Doctors Without Borders in Ukraine, which didn't help her blend in. It was probably partially due to the way she looked that she caught Jozef's attention that day he saw her using sign language with the child. She stood out like a beacon on the streets of Luhansk.

Dasha stood as they approached the table, a gracious smile stretching her lips. "Shaun, welcome. Come meet the family.”

Chapter Fourteen

Jozef urged Shaun forward with a hand on her back. Her timidness with his family was calling to the protector in him. Together they walked the length of the room toward two empty chairs at the table. Jozef’s seat was on the right-hand side of Krystoff and Shaun’s chair was beside Jozef’s.

As Shaun sat, Jozef pushed her seat in. She clutched the sides of her chair as he pushed and looked up at him, her golden eyes wide and concerned. He took his hands off her seat and took his place beside her. She reached out quickly to pick up the water glass in front of her and took a hasty sip. Jozef noted that her hand was shaking, though she covered it by replacing the glass on the table quickly.

He regretted that she was nervous around him, around his entire family, but he didn't blame her. She'd gone through a traumatic few days, something that an innocent woman should never have experienced. But she was handling the situation beautifully, far better than Jozef would've thought. She wasn't hysterical, she wasn't begging him to let her go and she wasn't throwing a tantrum. He wouldn't have blamed her for any of those reactions.

"I hope you don't mind, Shaun, I've had our cook make a feast for us in honour of your arrival. Normally, we eat our morning meals separately." Aunt Dasha was the first to break the tense silence, her smile filled with warmth as she waved her hand to indicate the bounty in front of her.

Shaun didn't say anything for a few seconds and Jozef wondered what she was thinking. She was so silent most of the time, absorbing her surroundings. He suspected her intelligent brain was constantly thinking, trying to figure out a way out of the situation.

She wasn't going anywhere though. Unfortunately, she had seen too much. Besides that, there was something about her that made Jozef long to explore the connection between them. She was foreign, different. Not just the way she looked, or the country she came from, but everything about her. The way she thought, her desire to heal. The way she moved: precise, confident, elegant.

He could easily see her in an operating room, her fingers dancing expertly through someone's body. But it wasn't just her beauty and grace that attracted him, it was her existence. She was so different from him and his family. Jozef lived violence, but this woman was the opposite. She healed. Her profession was giving the gift of life to those who were critically ill. She intrigued him.

"I'm actually very hungry," Shaun said, giving Aunt Dasha a small smile. "Thank you for your hospitality."

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