“Jozef!” Shaun said sharply, drawing his attention. “I want to talk to him. Move your goon.”
Havel twisted around to glare at her. She’d called him that a few times and he’d made it clear he preferred second-in-command, security specialist, or even bodyguard, over goon.
Jozef nodded at Havel, and when the big man moved from her path, she was able to step forward and examine the object of her interest. She sighed heavily and reached into her purse for a fistful of tissues. She handed them Moreau, who was bleeding in her hallway.
He took them and pressed them under his nose, which was swelling.
“I think it might be broken.” Shaun reached for him, but Jozef jerked her away.
She turned a heated glare on her overprotective fiancé. “If you insist on punching strange men in the house, I will treat them. It’s not polite to send bleeding people from our home.”
Havel didn’t bother to conceal his laughter and, after a long moment, Jozef released Shaun’s arm and allowed her to examine her new patient.
“Come on, let’s get you sitting down in a chair.” She ushered Moreau back into Jozef’s office and gave him a small push, indicating he should sit by the fireplace.
He’ll bleed all over the place, Jozef complained.
“Then you shouldn’t have hit him, should you have?” She leaned over her patient. “Tilt your head up so I can see the damage.”
She felt the heat of Jozef’s body as he hovered against her back. She wanted to tell him to give her space, but the tingles zinging up and down her spine in a dance of pleasure at his nearness held her tongue.
“Yes, it’s broken.”
She pulled her first aid kit from her purse, opened it and grabbed a handful of gauze and a roll of medical tape. She picked up a garbage can. “Throw the tissues in here.”
Her patient did as she instructed, his light blue eyes following her movements. His expression was neutral, despite the pain he had to have been feeling.
Shaun wondered if he was used to pain. He barely reacted, even as Jozef was punching him. Maybe he was a mercenary, like Jozef and his men. She’d discovered they could take a lot of pain. Of course, once she turned her attention on them, they whined like puppies with hurt paws.
She packed the gauze against his nose and taped it.
“You should go to the hospital. You might need a splint and they can give you pain meds and antibiotics. They’ll also let you know if you need a procedure to correct the misalignment.”
His expression finally changed, becoming derisive.
“I don’t need a hospital.” His words were muffled, as though he had a cold.
Shaun shrugged. “That’s up to you, but if you want to breathe through those nostrils, you should make sure there isn’t permanent damage.” She sat in the chair opposite him, shoving her first aid kit back in her purse. “Now, tell me why you were following me.”
Jozef growled once again and Shaun threw her arm out, stopping him from attacking their guest. He would be able to easily break her hold, but he allowed her to continue.
“You followed me twice that I saw, though it was probably more. Once when I was leaving Prague after I was poisoned and once more a month ago at the Christmas market. Right before… before…” her gaze sharpened as her mind whirred. “Were you there for the shootout? Were you on the street? If you were following me at the market, it stands to reason you might have followed me to the restaurant.”
He sighed, a slight gurgle to the sound from the blood likely dripping down the back of his throat.
“I wasn’t following you.”
Shaun narrowed her eyes at him. “I know what I saw.”
“Why would I follow you? You aren’t on Interpol’s radar.”
“Maybe you wanted me to lead you to Jozef?” She was bewildered. She had definitely seen this man. His eyes had been on her. He must be lying.
“Why would I have needed you to lead me to Jozef?” His eyes had gone blank once more and his voice was neutral, as if he didn’t care about what he was saying. “He was already in custody when I first arrived in Prague more than a year ago. Then he was pardoned, no longer a target.”
“That’s not true,” Shaun charged. “Interpol is different from local police. You might still be after him and I would have led you right to him.”
Jozef tapped her shoulder and when she looked up, he shook his head and signed, he knew where I was. I wasn’t trying to hide. He wouldn’t have needed you to lead him to me.
Frustration welled up inside her. “Then why were you following me?” She turned her accusing glare back on the man sitting across from her.
“Dasha.”
It was Havel who spoke.
“What about Dasha?”
“She was at the Christmas market and she was probably watching you when we met in front of your hotel. She must’ve followed me when I was dropping off your plane tickets.” Havel stared down at the other man, his face carved of granite. “Dasha Koba would make a nice trophy for Interpol, especially if you could’ve gotten her to flip on her husband.”
The air in the room crackled with tension, and Shaun realized exactly what she’d just stepped into. Two men, likely law enforcement, were in their home, essentially at Jozef’s mercy, while one of them was being forced to admit that he’d been surveilling the family.
“Is it true?” Shaun demanded.
Moreau nodded, his gaze locked with Jozef’s. He must’ve read death in Jozef’s expression, because the pulse in his throat began hammering and his eyelid twitched.
“I saved your wife.” It was clear he was attempting to get the mob boss to stand down before Jozef added to his injuries.
Shaun was confused. “You saved whose life?”
“Yours,” his gaze flickered to her. “Outside of the restaurant. During the shootout. You guys were sitting ducks in that car. I did my best to provide cover fire until help arrived.”
“You did a shitty job,” Havel growled. “We lost two men in that car.”
“But she survived.”
They remained silent for a few minutes until the other man who Shaun didn’t know spoke up. “I think we should be going.”
“I agree.” Havel looked like a boulder that was about ready to roll downhill, crushing everyone in its path. He looked confused, pissed and deadly.
The two men hurried from the mansion, leaving Havel, Jozef and Shaun by the front door. Jozef stared pointedly down at Shaun’s purse, then at the SUV in the driveway with its engine running and Cooper standing next to it with his arms crossed.
You were going somewhere? Jozef asked.
Shaun kissed him on the lips, a quick smack, before backing away so he couldn’t grab her and force her to stay. “I told you yesterday, I have a meeting at the hospital.” As his brows drew down in displeasure, she quickly added, “I have Cooper and two others to protect me. I’ve already talked to Dr. Černý and cleared their presence in the hospital.”
Take two more, Jozef signed.
Shaun was so relieved he wasn’t going to back out of his agreement to let her go to the hospital that she quickly agreed. “I will. They’ll have to stay in the solarium though since they haven’t been cleared.”
Jozef ignored her amendment to his demand. Come straight home when you finish. I have a surprise for you.
Pleasure sizzled through her and she grinned up at him. He always gave her the best surprises.
“I’m having an early dinner with my mom.” As his brows did the angry thing, she added, “You told me I could see her any time I wanted. But don’t worry, I’ll be back in plenty of time for your surprise.”
Jozef stared at her, forcing her to hold his gaze. After a moment, he nodded. Go to your mother then, but don’t be late or I’ll come searching for you.
She couldn’t help herself. “What happens if you have to come find me?”
The look he gave her sent her pulse fluttering and made her squirm in her panties. It might just be worth it to show up late.
Chapter Twenty
The drive to the hospital took about thirty minutes. Shaun chatted amicably with Cooper, her new favourite bodyguard. He was growing on her more and more every day, a bit like a foot fungus. He encroached on her personal space, chattered incessantly and made inappropriate and unfunny jokes. He was one of those people who treated death like it was a hilarious affliction. But he was sweet when it counted, and he was always respectful.
“You think the boss man will have those two assholes killed?” This was from Cooper.
Shaun rolled her eyes at him. They were sitting together in the back seat of an SUV that had been assigned to Shaun for her visits into the city. Two other bodyguards sat up front. Both were straight-faced and uninterested in what was happening in the back seat.
“Why would Jozef tell me he was going to kill someone?” she asked, not bothering to feel appalled by the question. She was getting used to Cooper. “I’m a doctor.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
The American was slouched in his seat, the seatbelt stretched taut across his broad chest, his chiseled jaw clean-shaven and his blond hair cut to perfection. If she didn’t have Jozef in her life, Shaun might find Cooper drool-worthy. At least until he opened his mouth and said something.
An image of him being gagged by a woman before going to bed with her made Shaun laugh out loud. He gave her a strange look but didn’t comment. She shook the image away. Jozef was so possessive, if he suspected Shaun of daydreaming about another man, innocent thoughts or not, he would lock Shaun in their bedroom and beat up the man who’d infiltrated her head.
“My oath as a doctor is to do no harm, which I take seriously.”
“What does that have to do with your husband killing someone?” His blue gaze was on her face. That was another thing she liked about him. Cooper was direct when he spoke to her, and he looked her in the eye.
“I would prefer not to think of Jozef killing anyone,” she said tartly.
“And yet he does. Do you plan on burying your head in the sand so you can pretend it’s not happening? That doesn’t seem like you.”
She flinched.
Cooper had unknowingly touched on the single thing in her relationship with Jozef that could break them. She could look past a lot, including many of his illegal enterprises. She could reason that he was raised to lead a criminal organization. The one thing she couldn’t do was absolve him of the sin of murder.
Shaun and Jozef had discussed the ideology of murder more than once in their turbulent relationship. Jozef knew right from wrong. Knew when he took a life that his actions had ripple consequences. Yet, he still killed. Even though she wasn’t a part of that side of his life, she was aware it existed.
She shook her head. “I don’t have an answer for that yet. Maybe I never will.”
“You love him?” Cooper asked.
Shaun nodded. “Of course.”
“Then find a way to live with it.”
She frowned. “Why should I do that? Why shouldn’t he be the one who changes?”
“He has changed,” Cooper countered. “I’ve only known him for a few months, but I knew of his reputation before I started working for him. He’s changed, Shaun.”
“But he still kills.”
Except for the attack on the club, which had been an extreme situation in which Jozef had been forced to defend himself, she actually wasn’t sure Jozef still killed. She wondered if Cooper knew something she didn’t.
Cooper, being a very candid man, gave her exactly what she wanted, showing her she didn’t really want the answers. “Sure, he still kills. He had to take out a few of his uncle’s most loyal men so he could take the estate without getting a knife in the back.”
Shaun felt like ice water had been poured over her and she had to bite her lip to stop a gasp of shock. She shouldn’t be shocked, though. Jozef was a killer, a mob boss now. Head of a Bratva affiliated organization. He had decisions to make and some of those decisions would end lives.
“Then he hasn’t changed that much,” she said flatly, looking out the window, hoping her tone would shut down the conversation.
Of course, Cooper always had to have the last word. “Keep telling yourself that, princess.”
She turned narrowed eyes on him and opened her mouth to blast him, but he flashed her his signature grin and she smiled back. She couldn’t stay mad at her bodyguard. He was irrepressible, but more than that, after losing Karl, she wanted to make sure she had her bodyguard’s back.
She knew it made little sense; her bodyguard was there to protect her. It wasn’t her job to protect him too, but she couldn’t help herself. And it wasn’t just Cooper. She watched all the men, keeping an eye on them. She took a more active role in treating injuries and inquiring about their lives.
What she was learning was that many of them had rich lives outside of Jozef’s sphere, and Jozef, apparently, encouraged them. He thought having families and family support was healthy.
While treating a sprained wrist, one man had gotten during the attack, she’d discovered the man lived with his parents in the city. He was twenty-one and enjoyed working for Jozef because he could make enough money to buy a place for himself and his girlfriend. Another man had come to her needing treatment and had asked her advice on what he should get his wife for Christmas. It had been an oddly domestic conversation considering she’d been suturing a knife wound.
Jozef and his people were changing her. She felt it, but she also didn’t know how to feel about it. Condoning any kind of violence was a slippery slope to travel, and she’d already given up so much of herself to be with Jozef.
As always, her thoughts on this matter left her feeling slightly depressed and without any answers.
Her mood lifted considerably when she saw Dr. Černý’s smiling face at the hospital. Elisa shook Shaun’s hand warmly.
“I’m so happy you’ve agreed to come.”
Elisa led her to the neurology department, where Shaun looked around with a wave of nostalgia. She loved being in a hospital again. The smells, the sounds, the feel, it all spoke to her soul. Some of her greatest successes had taken place in a hospital similar to this one.
Elisa showed her into an office. It was brightly lit with large windows that showed a view of the parking lot. The other woman caught Shaun looking out the window and gave her a wry look.
“I know, it’s not spectacular, but it’s mine.”
Shaun laughed. “My office in Montreal barely fit two people, and it had no windows. This is a considerable step up.”
Though she disparaged her little office, she missed it. It had been hers and she’d worked her tail off to earn the position of Chief of Neurology. It was a coveted position, one that she’d been shocked to learn she’d be given. At first, she’d thought her father had pulled strings, but when confronted he’d denied giving her a leg up over the competition. It had been a combination of her flawless residency, her excellent track record in surgery, and her outside-of-the-box thinking. She’d been the youngest chief in the hospital, but one of the most respected.
“I can’t tell you what an honour it is to have you in my hospital discussing a surgery that we’re going to conduct together.” Elisa looked extremely happy. “I hope that we will convince you to take a position with us once we have completed our surgery.”
Shaun grinned at the thought of taking a position at the hospital. She hadn’t contemplated her career beyond the surgery. She’d been so grateful for the opportunity that she’d forgotten she was one of the preemptively sought after neurosurgeons. When she worked at the Montreal General Hospital, she would often have to fend off job offers from other institutions. She’d considered them, especially one from UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. Their neurology department, complete with all the cutting-edge toys for surgeons, was a dream come true to any neurologist. She’d declined their generous offer, choosing to stay in her hometown.
Now, she had a chance to
work with a hospital and staff that were foreign to her. She could learn new techniques and share her own. It was an exciting opportunity.
But would Jozef go for it?
He was already in a tizzy over the single surgery she would conduct in a week’s time. She couldn’t imagine him being okay with her taking a permanent position.
Regardless, it was a worry for another day. She had a surgery to look forward to, and that was enough for now.
The two women spent several hours going through the procedure, first with each other, then with the three surgical nurses and anesthesiologist who would assist them. They ran through every scenario, making sure that they were completely thorough in their risk assessment.
By the time they finished, the two women were exhausted but satisfied.
“With the surgery we’ve come up with, I give him 50/50 odds of a full recovery,” Elisa said enthusiastically.
Shaun agreed and looked at her colleague. “You know what I love about tumours?”
Elisa laughed. “No two are the same.”
“Exactly.”
Only a neurologist would love a tumour. It was one thing that bound them. The desire to find, diagnose, and eradicate masses from the brain. It was a strange obsession, but one that they shared.
“I’ve booked the learning lab for Saturday if you’d like to join me for a dry run.”
“Of course,” Shaun readily agreed. “We should orchestrate the entire thing from beginning to end. Decide where everyone will need to stand and where the instruments should be. I’m a newcomer to this hospital, so I’d also like to see the surgical room I’ll be working in.”
“No problem. We can do that now so when we do our practice run, we’ll know where everything will be.” As they left Elisa’s office and made their way to the surgical ward, she said to Shaun, “You’ve done procedures in less than ideal conditions, I’m sure this will be a treat for you.”
Shaun shot the other woman a look. She was talking up her hospital in order to get Shaun to accept a position with them. It would be a feather in her department if she convinced Shaun. It was to her credit that she wasn’t letting a sense of competition get in her way. Competitiveness was a common trait among surgeons, which could be both good and bad. It drove them to strive for perfection, but it also made them overlook excellent surgeons and opportunities in their drive to get to the top.
Goodnight, Sinners (Sinner's Empire Book 3) Page 13