Page 42 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

Wow! Was the great and mighty Havel admitting he might’ve been wrong about something? Impossible. Yet, the softness in his gaze told her he actually cared.

She relented. “It’s fine. None of it mattered to me.”

Jozef cleared his throat, drawing their attention. You are not destitute. You have a sizeable inheritance that will become yours once we go through the paperwork.

Leeza was surprised. “But I’d assumed…”

That I would take your inheritance along with everything else?

She nodded, dropping her gaze. She should’ve realized he was not that kind of man. He’d loved her like a sibling. The war Dasha and Krystoff started tore the family apart and now it seemed like Jozef was trying to put the pieces back together.

“Thank you,” she whispered, then cleared her throat and forced herself to look at him. “I mean it. We all know how these things usually go down. I am truly grateful to be alive, let alone inheriting anything.”

Saskia gripped Leeza’s hand. She would be feeling the exact same as Leeza. Confused, grateful, angry, sad, grief-stricken… but also hopeful.

“You have nothing to be thankful for.” It was Shaun who spoke, her voice soft but firm. “Your home and family were taken from you. It’s our duty to return as much of what you lost as we can. I’m just sorry it’s not more.”

Jozef reached for Shaun’s hand and Leeza knew he was showing his support for her words.

“How much do we get then?” Saskia asked, instantly lightening the mood. “Like are we talking enough to buy a Hermes scarf or a couple of football stadiums?”

Leeza laughed at Saskia’s bold question, but she raised a questioning brow at Jozef.

Jozef smiled and shook his head before signing to Saskia, Enough for you to finish your university studies and get an excellent job as a foreign translator.

“Not fair!” she protested. “You should pay for my university and give me the money after. It’s what m…” her voice wobbled, but she took a breath and continued, “It’s what mom and dad were going to do.”

And so I shall, Jozef reassured her. When you're 21, you will be able to access your inheritance directly.

The two continued discussing the inheritance while Fatima drew Havel and Shaun’s attention. No matter the situation, Fatima was always unfailingly pleasant and motherly. Leeza felt better having Fatima in the same building as her and Kris. Another woman, and one who wasn’t part of the mafia world before Shaun married Jozef.

“I think it’s time to go,” Havel rumbled to Leeza a few minutes later, nodding toward Kris who was curled up in an oversized sofa chair, asleep with two of Saskia’s dolls clutched in his arms.

“Oh gosh, he’s so sweet,” Shaun sighed, her soft gaze on his sleeping face.

Fatima squeezed her daughter’s arm in gentle reassurance. Leeza had heard that Shaun was struggling to conceive.

Standing, Havel and Leeza said their goodbyes before Havel scooped a still sleeping Kris into his arms and carried him out of the sitting room, heading toward the foyer.

Leeza hesitated before following Havel. Fatima and Shaun were chatting and laughing together and Leeza wondered if the ache in her chest for all she lost would ever lessen.

It was a blessing to step out into the cool September evening and Leeza breathed deeply, taking the fresh air into her lungs as she left the oppressive mansion behind. She supposed it was better that the place no longer felt like home. Perhaps it would get easier to visit as time passed.

Havel held Kris easily against his shoulder with one hand while reaching for Leeza with the other, taking her cold fingers in his and squeezing, warming her. “You alright?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.”

“You will be.” It was a statement, but it was reassuring. He wasn’t going to let her wallow in her grief forever.

She offered him a smile as they made their way to their waiting car, surrounded by their bodyguards, the dying sun lighting a path for them.

* * *

Adam swiped at the sweat dripping down his brow. It was summer in eastern Europe, but it wasn’t a hot day. In fact, it was cool enough that he shouldn’t be sweating so much. There was something wrong with him. He knew it, but he didn’t have time to contemplate what it was.

When she’d first joined the Koba family, the woman doctor had suggested he might want to get checked. She’d tried to hint that he might have diabetes. She was a nosy bitch though, and a foreigner, so he’d dismissed her. Now her words floated through his head. Could he have a serious illness?

He didn’t know much about diabetes, but he knew there were needles involved and where there were needles, there was usually blood. If this were the case, it would be a problem.

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