Sin of Silence (Sinner's Empire Book 1)

by Nikita Slater

He turned and walked away from her, away from her sobs and away from her begging. It was one of the hardest things Jozef had ever done in his life.

  Jozef slammed the door shut to her cell and locked it. He made it five steps away from the door, away from the hysteria he could hear rising in her wails. His heart felt crushed beneath her grief. He had driven her to this. A doctor, a professional woman, crumbling in on herself in despair. Jozef almost wished he’d put a bullet in her head when he had the chance, given her the dignified death she deserved, rather than a life she feared and despised.

  He couldn't leave her like this, yet she needed to learn a lesson. Unable to walk away from her broken-hearted cries, Jozef retraced his steps back to the prison, leaned against the door and slid to the ground. He would be her guardian for the night. He would be here for her, even if she didn't know it.

  He slung his arms over his upraised knees, leaned his head back against the door and listened, his heart crying with her.

  Chapter Twenty

  It took a long time for Shaun to calm down. She cried for herself, for her mom, for Danilo, her dead colleague. Her sobs gradually become soft hiccups until she was finally able to look around and take stock of her situation.

  She was ashamed of herself. Since coming into Jozef’s life she’d done nothing but fall apart. She had gone from a self-possessed, cool, collected surgeon to a woman who couldn't keep her shit together. Shaun was the type of doctor who could stand in an emergency room and calmly direct other medical personnel during a flood of patients. At a glance, she could easily assess injuries and severity, and know which way to send them based on need. She’d conducted surgeries while listening to gunfire outside of a hospital. Nothing had rattled her calm professionalism.

  Yet, when it came to her own situation, she simply wasn’t able to cope. She’d lived in war zones, yet she had never experienced war herself. She was being faced with a situation that a week ago would have seemed so fantastical she would’ve asked if it was the plot to a movie. It was no wonder she had no idea how to react to everything happening.

  Shaun pushed herself off the hard, wooden pallet and stood on shaking legs. She walked unsteadily to the sink and turned the cold water tap on. She splashed her face and then cupped her hands and drank some of the water. She used her wet hands to smooth her hair back.

  Feeling better, she went back to the pallet and sat down, curling her legs underneath her and leaning against the concrete wall. She took a good look around and shuddered.

  The room was a square concrete box, approximately 10' x 10'. She was sure it was meant to hold prisoners. There were no windows except for the one in the door, which had bars in it. There was a single dull lightbulb swinging from the high ceiling. Too high for her to reach.

  Shaun tried the door but found it locked. She decided she wasn't brave enough to call out and see if there were any guards on the other side of the door. She didn't know who would answer and the possibilities frightened her. What if Jozef was on the other side and she called him back? What if he finally put a bullet in her head this time? What if one of his cronies was on the other side? She was vulnerable, easily hurt. She didn't even know how to defend herself if she had to. She only knew how to run and so far, even that hadn't worked for her.

  Far from being able to think of another plan to get herself out of the situation, Shaun was exhausted. Her long shopping trip, her sprint for freedom, her tense wait for Jozef with his aunt, being dragged down to this prison: it had all worked together to sap every ounce of energy from her. She lay on her side on the pallet and closed her eyes. She didn't think she would fall asleep, but at least she could rest.

  Shaun counted her breaths, four beats in and seven out. She’d learned the technique in a mindfulness class that she had taken online. It actually helped her calm down. To release the stress from her body.

  After several minutes of counting, Shaun drifted into sleep. When she woke again, she was confused and disoriented. She shoved herself up on the hard pallet, flinching from the stiffness in her joints. She squinted into the semidarkness and it finally dawned on her where she was. A prison.

  A hand touched her shoulder and Shaun jumped, twisting around, bringing her hands up in defense. Lying next to her was Jozef.

  "Wh – what are you doing here?" she stammered.

  Her eyes travelled down his body where he was sprawled out, his hands tucked behind his head. He was alert and he didn't look tired. Shaun suspected that he came in to lie down with her but hadn't fallen asleep yet. Perhaps the jostling had woken her.

  Rather than answer, he reached up, took hold of her arm and tugged her back down to his side. Shaun tried not to overthink it as she sank against Jozef, pressing her face to his hard chest and tucking her hands against him. The pallet was so narrow that she was forced to push herself flush against him. He didn't seem to mind.

  Shaun lay in tense silence as his arm came around her body and his hand wrapped over her shoulder. When he made no other move to touch her, she allowed her eyes to droop. She began breathing and counting again, drawing his scent in through her nose and breathing it out through her mouth.

  Her body flooded with tingles as she breathed him in. She tried to tell herself that there was no way she was attracted to her captor, but Shaun knew it was bullshit. She was a doctor; she was well aware of what her physiological responses to Jozef meant. Her body didn't care what her mind knew. Her body didn't care that she could die at any moment. It wanted Jozef.

  Shaun drifted back into sleep, the warmth of Jozef's reassuring presence lulling her. When she woke up in the morning, he was still there, his arm around her shoulder and his gaze on her face. She smothered a yawn and wondered if he'd stayed awake or if he'd fallen asleep with her.

  She pushed away from him and sat up. This time, instead of tugging her back down, he sat up with her, flexing his hands against the edge of the pallet and rolling his shoulders back until they cracked. He tipped his head to one side and then the other, cracking his neck.

  Shaun had always hated the sounds of cracking bones and muscles. They reminded her too much of breaks and strains. Personally, she avoided the chiropractor like the plague, preferring to go to a massage therapist. She rolled her own shoulders back and winced as they cracked. Sleeping on a wooden pallet was not comfortable.

  "You stayed with me," she ventured, glancing sideways at him where he was sitting next to her.

  He didn't turn to look at her when he lifted his hands to make quick signs. You were shivering in your sleep and there are no blankets in here.

  "You were worried I was cold?" she asked tentatively.

  He didn't answer her question, but stood and signed, we should get back to the house.

  Shaun's heart sank. She wanted to talk about what’d happened, find out what it meant. Why would he try to comfort her? Why put her in a cell at all if he hadn't really intended to punish her? It hadn’t been much of a punishment, since he'd provided her with everything she needed, including his own body heat. She was starting to think a night on a wooden pallet was a fair trade for an escape attempt. She’d probably do it again. She was positive this was not the point Jozef had been trying to make with her.

  Shaun stood as well, but a wave of dizziness hit her. She had missed supper the evening before and slept deeply, using Jozef's warmth as a blanket. Now, her body was having trouble adjusting. Jozef reached out to steady her, his long fingers wrapping around her bicep.

  "I'm okay," she murmured.

  He nodded but slid his arm around her waist to escort her from the building. She allowed the familiarity, finding comfort in it.

  As they made their way out to the garden, the intensely bright sun blinded her and she tripped over the threshold of the prison, nearly hitting the tiles on the other side. Jozef caught her and cradled her protectively in his arms. Shaun looked up at him and their gazes caught.

  Everything about this man called to her. If only she’d met him in a normal way, maybe on the stree
t... maybe if she'd come to Prague for a visit before going back home to Canada, she would've agreed to a date if he'd asked her. Maybe she would've asked him. She didn't know, but she knew that their connection was real and unshakable. She didn't think it was just the intense life-threatening moments that they'd shared, but something deeper. Like their souls met and knew each other, even if their earthly minds didn't understand the connection.

  Jozef swung her up into his arms and held her close against his chest. Shaun clutched his shoulders and murmured a weak protest, telling him that she was okay to walk, that the sun had only blinded her for a few seconds. He ignored her though, continuing to stride through the garden and into the house. Shaun decided to relax and accept the ride.

  Truth be told she was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Even after a long night of sleep, she still felt drained. A result of her time working on the front lines of the Ukrainian conflict, and of her kidnapping. Such heightened anxiety would definitely take a toll on the body. Though she was a doctor, she was no stranger to anxiety. She felt it every time she worked with Doctors without Borders. She believed in their mandate, believed in her work with them, but that belief didn't stop the fear every time she travelled to a war zone. Every time she risked her life to treat others.

  Jozef had unfortunately proved all of her concerns to be true. She had been in a war zone when she found herself being violently kidnapped. She wouldn't have been in a position to be abducted if she'd been safe at home in Canada, working in the Montréal hospital where she’d taken her residency.

  "Jozef." His name rang sharply through the lobby of the mansion as they were passing through to Jozef’s private quarters.

  Jozef paused to look over his shoulder as Dasha approached them. She looked annoyed at Jozef, but her gaze shifted to concern when she glanced down at Shaun in Jozef's arms.

  "Is she hurt?” Dasha’s accusing gaze pierced her nephew.

  Jozef shook his head at the same time as Shaun replied, "I'm okay. I don't even really know why he's carrying me. I tripped in the garden…."

  Dasha reached out to pat Shaun's arm. "It's fine, dear. I'm more concerned that you spent the night in the shed." Her accusing gaze lifted to her nephew. "Family does not stay in the shed.”

  Shaun turned her face against Jozef to hide the smile that was stretching her lips. Really, it was one of the first things she had to smile about since entering the mansion and she was grateful. Dasha was standing up for her. Giving her nephew shit for locking Shaun in “the shed". Shaun felt elated that anyone in the mansion cared enough about her well-being to inquire. They all knew about Shaun's escape attempt yesterday. Dasha had even warned her about Jozef’s reaction, had attempted to give Shaun advice. Shaun was beginning to look at the other woman as a kind of mother figure; a very deadly one, but still occasionally warm and most definitely effective.

  Jozef turned away from his aunt and took a step toward his apartment, but Dasha caught hold of his arm and hurried around to face them.

  "People are starting to talk," she said quickly, her concerned gaze now on her nephew. "They know you brought a woman home with you and her unique…” Dasha’s eyes lingered on Shaun’s face, as she continued, “complexion means there’ll be questions if she’s linked to the missing doctor in Ukraine. We need to announce the engagement right away if we’re going to quell these rumours."

  Shaun wanted to laugh at Dasha’s way of saying Shaun was a black woman, which made her stand out in that part of the world. Jozef gave another sharp nod that Shaun interpreted as his permission. Apparently, Dasha interpreted it the same way.

  "Good. I'll make an announcement to the papers. We’ll have the engagement party here at the mansion." She pulled her phone out of the clutch purse attached to her wrist and tapped on the calendar app. "I think next Saturday should work. It's short notice, but we’re extremely rich, people are used to eccentricity from the rich."

  Shaun couldn't help herself, she giggled at Dasha’s nonchalant comment. Dasha’s face softened and she addressed Shaun directly. "I hope you don't mind if I plan it for you, dear. You've barely been here a minute and you won't know how things operate yet. I'll order the flowers, decorations and orchestra, and I'll prepare a guest list. I'll have it brought to Jozef's suite within the day for your approval."

  Shaun didn't know what to say. She had so many questions, so many thoughts. Who was going to be on the guest list? Was it a real engagement party or a fake one? And since they were technically engaged, or about to become so, was Jozef’s suite now hers as well?

  Jozef shifted Shaun in his arms. She glanced up at him and caught a scowl directed at his aunt. He was becoming impatient.

  "Okay, you two get going. I'm sure you could use a rest in a real bed after spending the night in the shed." Dasha’s words were pointed as she sent a glare to her nephew and patted Shaun’s arm again. As Jozef strode away from his aunt, she added, “Take Shaun to the club tonight. At least make an appearance with her before the engagement party. People can get used to seeing her face before it becomes official."

  Jozef didn't say anything, not that he could with his arms full of Shaun. He ignored his aunt’s demand and continued through the stone hallways toward his own set of rooms. Shaun wondered if each family member had a suite like Jozef's. It was like an apartment inside of the great big mansion. It made sense. Each grown-up family member could be independent while still living close to the family.

  Jozef set Shaun back on her feet once they reached the door to his suite. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, waving Shaun inside. She took a few steps into the room but didn't get far before Jozef wrapped his hand around her arm and swung her back toward him.

  "You don't need to carry me anymore – " Shaun started, but her words were crushed under a kiss.

  Shaun gasped in surprise and Jozef took advantage, wrapping his arms tightly around her and pressing his tongue into her mouth, kissing her with a passion she hadn't expected. He hadn't made a single romantic move toward her other than to declare that they would be married and one quick peck on the lips before her ill-fated shopping trip.

  Shaun was shocked, she was disturbed… and she was excited. The world faded as his lips danced with hers.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  After a quick shower and a change in his walk-in closet, Jozef left Shaun alone in his room. The first thing she did was try the door. As she suspected, there was a man standing on the other side. He was pretty rough looking, his head shaved, tattoos covering his body including his neck and head. He wore a suit though, similar to what Jozef wore, but less expensive she guessed.

  "Can I help you, ma’am?" His words were slow and heavily accented, as though he was new to English.

  “Dr. Patterson,” she corrected him automatically.

  “Dr. Pay… der…son,” he said respectfully, struggling to wrap his tongue around her name, the syllables halting with his heavy guttural accent.

  Shaun bit back a laugh at his attempt to say her name. She said it again, this time slower. He repeated it perfectly, finishing with a smile. Shaun had noticed that the family spoke flawless English, as though they'd been born to it. Yet most of the staff around the mansion, including the security, spoke heavily accented broken English.

  Shaun wondered what Jozef's accent would sound like, if he could speak. He did make sounds, like grunts, growls and sighs. She suspected he would have a deep voice, rough, not smooth. Like whiskey, not wine.

  She shook her head at the guard. "No, thank you, I don’t need anything." She turned to step back into the room and close the door, but then remembered she still hadn't eaten. "Actually, can you, or someone else, please get me something to eat?"

  "Of course." He snapped his fingers and another man materialized as though out of thin air. "Alert the kitchen that Dr. Patterson would like a tray." The guard looked at her with a quick grin and she gave him an answering smile. He turned back to the other man. "Please ensure that lunch is sent to Mr. Jozef Kob
a’s room right away.”

  Shaun was surprised at how formally the man spoke, as though he'd been trained as a butler, but worked as a thug for his side job.

  "Thank you," she murmured and retreated, closing the door.

  She looked at the lock for a moment and toyed with the idea of flipping it but decided it would make no difference. The door was thick enough, but she suspected the man on the other side, as well as Jozef and perhaps a few other people in the mansion had keys. She was probably the only one without a key.

  Besides, though she knew better, the man on the other side seemed harmless. Or at least like he didn’t plan on hurting Shaun any time soon.

  She glanced around the room, wondering what she should do with herself. She was still a little tired from her night spent on a wooden pallet, but not tired enough to lie down and go back to sleep. The apartment was already tidy, so there was no point in indulging her obsessive need to make sure that any area she inhabited was uncluttered. People teased her about having OCD, but she knew it came from her years spent as a surgeon. She had to know where each and every tool was before she cut into a person. She had to know that those tools were sterilized and in perfect condition. Those impulses bled into her regular life.

  Shaun wasn't used to being idle and knew she would grow quickly bored in the mansion if she had no job to do. And at the moment, there wasn't a single thing she could think of to do in Jozef's suite, except rest and relax.

  She wandered over to a shelf and picked up a book, glancing through the pages. The words were foreign to her and she wondered what language it was in. In her time with Doctors Without Borders she'd learned that households across the world, but especially in Eastern Europe, tended to have books in multiple languages. In fact, most people tended to speak more than one language.

  Coming from Canada, Shaun could relate to some extent. She spoke English and Québec French and understood two types of sign language, and that was more than many Canadians. People in Eastern Europe, and she suspected Western Europe as well, tended to speak many languages.