Page 17 of A Silent Reckoning

The poison was unsophisticated and easily accessible, though no less deadly for its commonality. It could have killed Shaun if she’d taken more of it or if she’d gone longer without medical care. As a result of the quick actions taken by the Prague General University Hospital staff, Shaun recovered quickly without any lasting effects, which was a miracle considering the poison was meant to specifically target organs such as the kidneys. There hadn’t been enough in Shaun’s system for the job to get done.

“I vote for mom,” Saskia said, shoving a huge bite of food into her mouth. “She can be a ruthless cunt when she wants to be.”

Shaun burst into laughter and shook her head as she reached into the fridge for coffee cream. As she was adding it to her delicious smelling brew, she said, “I don’t believe your mom would try to kill me, she spent too much time and money on the party.”

Saskia laughed, barely covering her mouth in time to stop food from spewing out. “Are you kidding?” she asked incredulously, still choking. “My mother once threw a birthday party for a half-sister she despises. I’m pretty sure she would have murdered Aunt Vasha long ago if she could’ve managed it.”

Shaun took her coffee cup and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Saskia. She took a sip and closed her eyes, inhaling.

Once she’d had her first hit of caffeine, she felt better able to manage a conversation with her guest. She gave Saskia a serious look. “Who do you think tried to kill me?”

Saskia finished her last bite and set the glass dish on the coffee table. Leaning back against the couch cushion, she pulled her feet up in a cross-legged pose and tilted her head to the side, thinking. Her light brown hair was styled in a wild, jagged, edgy cut that suited her pixie-like face and her dark gothic outfit consisted of black leggings, high-top runners, a rocker T-shirt for a band Shaun didn’t recognize and a leather jacket.

“I’ve been trying to work this out for a year and I keep going in circles.”

Warmth spread through Shaun. Coming back to Prague felt less lonely, less terrible, when she had Saskia to talk to. It didn’t matter that the young woman was a member of an incredibly powerful crime family, she was first and foremost an intelligent, inquisitive and honest young woman. She might be loyal to her family, but she wasn’t blind or stupid.

“Give me your best guess,” Shaun encouraged.

Shaun hadn’t put much thought into who tried to kill her. She’d been emotionally exhausted by the time she’d gone back to Canada and hadn’t been in a good enough place to put her mind to the problem. She assumed the distance she’d put between herself and the Czech Republic was enough to stop a second attempt on her life. Perhaps not smart, but it was where her mind was at a year ago. Now that she was back, close to the scene of the crime, she felt a pressing need to solve the problem.

Saskia shrugged. “I guess my mom or dad are probably the top contenders. When Jozef showed up with you in tow it rocked our tidy little world in a big way. I doubt it’s my mom since she was so convinced you would be the perfect bride for Jozef and a possible mother to her future grand-nieces or nephews. She wouldn’t have wanted to give that up considering there were no other contenders in sight.”

“Giselle?” Shaun asked, somewhat unsuccessfully keeping the snark out of her tone.

Saskia laughed and shook her head. “He might’ve tapped her before he met you, but he wanted nothing to do with that clingy bitch. Did you know she actually tried to visit him in prison? Oh my god, you should’ve seen the outfit she wore!”

Both women laughed for several seconds as they pictured the glamorous Giselle showing up at a prison in her heels, slinky dress and fur coat only to be turned away by the very person she was there to see.

“She is persistent,” Shaun choked out.

“Also delusional, psychotic, and desperate.”

They laughed again and Shaun had to wipe tears from her eyes. It felt good to laugh like that. She hadn’t found much to laugh about in the past year.

“Maybe Giselle tried to kill me.”

“Too obvious,” Saskia said shaking her head. “And too stupid. Whoever did it planned well enough not to get caught.”

They sobered and stared at each other.

“They wouldn’t let me see you when you were in the hospital.” Saskia looked away, her eyes dimming with the memory. “My parents refused to let me visit in case the police tried to pick me up for questioning, but I was able to get away from my security team when I was in the city and I went to check on you. I couldn’t even get onto your floor.”

Shaun looked at the young woman, her heart cracking over the distress she heard in Saskia’s voice. Though they hadn’t known each other long, they’d formed a solid bond. Shaun suspected she was one of the few fairly ‘normal’ influences on Saskia.

“Between Havel and the police, I was locked down so tight I don’t think the Queen of England could’ve gotten into my room,” Shaun said apologetically.

Saskia picked at the edge of a hole in her jeans. “Why didn’t you contact us after you got out of the hospital?”

Shaun was surprised by the question and didn’t immediately know how to answer. She’d thought of Saskia and the rest of the family often over the past year. She would give the best answer she could though, to try to alleviate some of Saskia’s sense of abandonment.

“When I went back home, I felt lost and lonely. I was barely able to function. My mom was with me all the time, protecting me but also.…” Shaun didn’t want to say that her mother had also smothered her with worry. It felt like a disservice to the woman who’d sacrificed so much to be there for Shaun. Shaun looked Saskia in the eye. “I did miss you, very much. Our friendship meant something to me. It helped me get through the ordeal of being kidnapped and forced into an engagement with a stranger.”

Saskia looked thoughtful, then brightened. “I thought about you too.” She glanced down at her phone and then gasped, hopping up to her feet and rushing to the door. “I have to go, my class started a few minutes ago. If I run, I can make the last half.” She grabbed her bag, which she’d dropped by the door, and rushed out while Shaun sat with her mouth open. Saskia stuck her head back in. “I’m taking linguistics at the University and I’m acing it!”

Chapter Nine

Good work, Jozef signed to Havel as they toured the new operations center that had been set up on the third floor, above the club. He’d asked Havel from inside the prison to direct the removal of Jozef’s belongings and his team from the Koba estate. He’d also asked Havel to create an operations center that would rival what the men were used to when doing jobs for Krystoff.

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