Saskia knew she was in trouble when her guard doubled seconds before her father called. One of the men grabbed her by the arm and hustled her toward a waiting car while she fumbled with the phone. "Dad?" she asked breathlessly. "Saskia, are your guards with you?" "Yes, and a bunch of the estate guards are here too. Since when do I need such a huge escort to get home from the university?" Saskia knew damn well they weren't there just to escort her. Some serious shit was going down. "You need to listen to every word they say, Saskia. I don't want any of your shenanigans. You listen to your guards and go home to your sister." He paused, then added. "I'm in the hospital with your mother." Saskia froze, stopping in her tracks. She ignored the frustrated exclamation from her guard. "What's wrong with mom?" she demanded, yanking her arm and pacing away from the guard. "Is she... is she going to be okay?" "Yes, she'll be fine," Krystoff snappe
Leeza checked her gun one more time, glanced in the mirror and then turned away. She stared down at her slumbering son. She'd given him a powerful sedative and it had taken effect. She felt intense guilt for doing such a thing to her child, but the end would justify the means. She needed him to sleep through the events that were about to take place. She took a deep breath and picked up her bag, slinging it across her shoulders and securing it between her breasts. She picked Kristoph up and held him against her chest, his head on her shoulder. She took several deep breaths and straightened her spine. She was not a weak person. She would do what she had to do, even if it would haunt her nightmares. The door opened and her personal guard, Igor, stuck his head in. "Ready to go ma'am? Your sister is on her way to the mansion. She should be joining you shortly." Leeza was supposed to go to the main house and cower in the safe room with her sister and her son. S
Krystoff stared at his man. "Both of my daughters?" "Yes, they left when we tried to collect them. We don't know where they are. They might've collaborated on this." Krystoff was stunned. His daughters had betrayed him? He stared down at his wife and tried to make sense of the situation. His entire family. Gone in a single evening. He hadn't truly known a single one of them. His wife had tried to kill an innocent woman. His daughters scattered when the family was threatened, and that threat was coming from the one person Krystoff thought would remain loyal until the end. He wanted to sit down and think, work out what'd happened. Saskia had told him he wasn't a good father, yet he'd provided everything they'd ever needed and then some. Hadn't he? He didn't have time to think about it. Maybe later he could work out what happened, see if he could repair his relationship with his youngest daughter. He wasn't sure where Leeza had gone but
Leeza peeked her head around the corner and, catching sight of Krystoff, ducked back into the room she was hiding in. The gentle whir of a machine reminded her that she was hiding out in another patient's room. The woman didn't look like she was about to wake up any time soon. The greatest risk was that a family member or nurse could walk in. It didn't matter though; she'd be out in a minute. Krystoff had no choice but to leave. He had to be part of the strike team preparing to hit Jozef. Leeza had texted Saskia, telling her to stay away from the mansion if she could manage it. Saskia's response had been, "I've got this. Take care of yourself, sister." Leeza had blinked away tears as she wondered if she'd ever see her wild little sister again. Saskia was even more secretive than their mother. It was why Leeza didn't really worry about her. The girl had more lives than a cat. Saskia was no longer her concern. Leeza had to protect her child and the woman who had cau
Meet me downstairs. Nikolay had been expecting the message. He'd been deployed with the rest of the team to secure the building ahead of a possible attack. This was the moment he'd been both anticipating and dreading. The moment when he would choose which Koba faction would be the winning side. Of course, he'd already thrown his lot in with Krystoff. Had from the moment he agreed to take a burner phone to the daughter, starting the chain of events that would lead him to betray Jozef. It hadn't been a difficult decision to make. He'd harboured resentment toward Jozef since they were children. They were both related to the Koba clan, though Nikolay was a more distant relation. They were both orphans and they'd both been raised at the Koba estate. The biggest difference was Jozef had been raised in the house, like a favoured son, while Nikolay had grown up in the barracks with the rest of the grunts. Jozef had chosen Nikolay to be part of his elite hit squad
"We have to go," Terek said, pacing the room, his eyes on his phone. "Intel coming in from our guys indicate there was an explosion at the hospital. Must be Krystoff, putting the hospital in lockdown so he can leave and keep Dasha protected." Jozef nodded at his team member. Terek's orders were to help protect Shaun and Fatima while Havel secured the building with the rest of the men. Krystoff was thinking on his feet, which meant Jozef needed to be two steps ahead. He pointed at Fatima and signed, take her to her apartment and get her packed. You have five minutes. I'll meet you in the lobby. Terek jerked his head toward the door. "Time to go, Mrs. Patterson." She looked up from her position next to Shaun who was sound asleep on the couch. "But..." "No buts." Terek took her arm and pulled her to her feet, escorting her to the door. Jozef was pleased that Terek was being gentle. The younger man had a mother that he loved and respected; Jozef
As his uncle approached, Jozef had no choice but to lay still, his arms stretched wide, blood seeping from the cuts he'd gotten when he fell through the table. "I loved you, boy," Krystoff said gruffly, standing over Jozef. Tears dripped down his face, soaking into his beard. He either didn't notice or didn't care because he made no move to swipe them away. "I gave you everything and you chose this over your family." He waved his arm around the apartment as though to say, he didn't understand the draw. Jozef remained on his back but lifted his arms to sign. You would do the same for D-A-S-H-A. In fact, you have. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for her. Krystoff nodded, and then did something Jozef wasn't expecting. He sat heavily on the couch, his body collapsing under the weight of his responsibilities. His gun was still in his hand but not pointed at Jozef. Jozef wondered why his uncle didn't finish him. The more time that passed, the more Kry
It took Shaun a few minutes to find the light switch in the panic room. She was slow and clumsy from the painkillers she'd been given. She realized the dose was far larger than she would have given herself. Likely Jozef had told the doctor to make sure she wasn't in any pain. And it was working, she hardly felt a thing except for an intense desire to leave the panic room. Once she found the light switch, she immediately went to the panel, intent on releasing herself. She stopped and stared at it. Jozef had put her in that room for a reason, so he could do what he had to do without Shaun being in the way. If she went running into the fray without a clue, she could get herself and others killed. "Oh god," she moaned and gripped her head. She turned her back to the door and sank to the floor staring sightlessly at the wall opposite. This was her fault. She hadn't done anything intentional, but she was the cause of the destruction of the Koba
Jozef sat in the window of his hut, looking out at the incredible cerulean blue of the ocean beyond. When Shaun had found out that Jozef had never spent time near the ocean, except briefly when he was on mission, she'd insisted they choose an oceanside setting for their honeymoon. It had been four months since Jozef had murdered his aunt, and he still thought about that moment. Her confessions, her reaction to his being there. He felt intense anger when he thought of her killing his parents and her attacks on Shaun, but time had given him a better perspective. She'd grown up in the mafia. She'd been highly intelligent and motivated. Like Jozef, like his uncle, like the best in the business. Perhaps if she'd been born a man, given her own organization to play god with, she might have channeled her abilities into better use. Her death made him think long and hard about himself. He wasn't much different. He killed too. She used death and destruction to manipulate w
Saskia loved everything about school. She loved the books, she loved her laptop, she loved taking notes, she even loved exams. When Jozef deemed it safe enough for her to return to the University, she'd immediately registered for her winter classes. It took some cajoling to get into a few of them, given her late attendance, but she managed a full course load. Saskia loved university and opted to spend more time on campus than off. She ate in the cafeteria, she studied all over the place, wherever she could find a sunny nook. She spent time in the library almost every day, soaking in the atmosphere. It was the university that made her return to Prague bearable. The shining goal of finishing her linguistics degree. As a child she had grown up with tutors, only attending classes with other students in her two years of boarding school. That had been different from the university. The students were similar age and background, and class sizes were limited to a handful
Dasha woke with a start, the clicking of heels on the tiles of the hospital floor reminding her of muffled gunshots. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart. Slowly, painfully, she sat up, reaching for the water on her nightstand. The process was made awkward by her other hand being cuffed to the bed. She'd been transferred the day before. She'd waited as long as she could manage before finally giving away her condition. She'd been in so much pain, the poison twisting her guts; the fever raging through her that she'd raved with hallucinations. Screamed obscenities at the prison staff as they strapped her to a gurney and moved her. She took long sips of water, pulling it through the paper straw. It felt like heaven against a throat raw from days of vomiting. Her hand shook as she set the water down. Collapsing against the pillows, she forced herself to stay awake, to keep alert. She was here for a reason. Someone had poisoned her. Not some
Your mother is here, Jozef signed, crouching next to the bed. Shaun looked at him, tears bright in her eyes. She hadn't stopped crying in almost two days. She tried to tell herself to snap out of it, to stop feeling sorry for herself. But she couldn't. Of everything that had happened to her in the past few years, this felt the worst. It was the final straw. She couldn't take anymore. "I don't want to see her." Jozef frowned, thunderclouds growing in his eyes. You turned her away yesterday, which we allowed since you need time to heal, but you will not turn her away today. You need your mother, and you will see her. He was the epitome of patience when it came to Shaun and her feelings, but he wasn't going to allow Shaun to push her mother away. She could already see it on his face. He thought she needed her mother, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. She pushed herself up on the bed, feeling dizzy and nauseous. She hadn't left the bed si
"Krystoff..." He moved closer to the bed. Dasha squinted against the harsh glaring light, but he still looked like nothing more than a shadow, frustratingly insubstantial. She knew it was him, though. She knew his shape, his scent, his touch... She'd poisoned him. More than once. She hadn't regretted it at the time, but she regretted it now. She worshipped him. She shouldn't have manipulated his love. Soon she would be with him again, and she would have to explain her actions and hope he could forgive her. Dasha had poisoned her first victim when she was five years old. Miss Anya. She'd hated her nursemaid. The woman was sour, dour, and no fun at all. She insisted Dasha wear dresses and always have her hair brushed. She was never allowed out if the weather was bad, and she was always made to complete her studies. If she didn't learn her letters, then she would get a sharp smack across the knuckles. Dasha had overheard her mot
Jozef didn't know what to do. It was a strange sensation for him. He always knew what to do, but this time he was out of his element. He crouched next to Shaun's chair, holding her hands in his as she sobbed. He hated every tear that crawled down her face. He was usually the one to cause her tears, but this time, it wasn't him. It was the doctor who'd disappeared discreetly from the room. They were in the fertility clinic where Shaun had gotten her referral. They'd been called to the clinic for the results of their first round of testing. Her tears dripped onto his hands where they were clasping hers. He bowed his own head, blinking back his own tears. Her heart was breaking, and he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't kill the thing without hurting the woman he loved more than anyone or anything in the world. He couldn't kill PCOS. Polycystic ovary syndrome. Shaun was infertile and the diagnosis was destroying her. He would have to take go
Nikolay had a bad feeling. He'd had it for months, but when no one accused him of betraying Jozef, he'd shoved the feeling aside. They didn't know. He was safe. Then why did he feel like the sword of Damocles was hanging over his head, awaiting the right moment to drop? "Saskia." He'd been standing in the shadows outside her suite, waiting for her to appear. She was coming down the hall toward him, her blue headphones wrapped around her neck, her wild brown hair a messy halo around her head. She wore tight ripped jeans, a black hoodie and running shoes. It hit him that she was really quite beautiful in her own way. He'd never found her particularly attractive when they'd dated. She was too wild and headstrong, and he preferred his women compliant. Submissive. Not words one could use in association with Saskia Koba. Yet, in this moment, with the light of the sun behind her, she looked ethereal. He felt a moment of loss, but quickly shook it away. His
Fatima giggled at Shaun's description of a drunk Jozef. "He must've been a bear the next morning," Fatima mused. "It seems so out of character for him to overindulge." Shaun laughed and sipped the rich burgundy liquid from her wine glass. "He was certainly growling like a bear. It took a lot of convincing before he would let me take care of him, but I finally got some painkillers and toast into him and he turned back into a human. Later, he told me he rarely drank that much and didn't plan on ever doing it again." "Famous last words." "Yes," Shaun agreed. "Though Jozef is usually pretty responsible. I think it was the excitement of meeting with the other Vor for the first time. I wonder if the other wives discovered drunk husbands in their rooms that night?" Shaun was filling her mother in on the details of her trip to Russia with Jozef. The five days spent at the palace were indeed the vacation Jozef had suggested they would be. Except for evening m
Shaun sucked in a breath as images from that day slammed through her. She had worked with her counsellor on mitigating their impact, but when the head of the Vor told her she was meant to be dead, it was like a fresh wound being ripped open again. "So I've been told," she murmured, bringing her teacup to her lips with a shaking hand. "You survived." He didn't sound either approving or disapproving, and Shaun wondered where the direction of the conversation was going. "You were poisoned, and you survived. You were attacked, stabbed, and you survived. Your husband was attacked, many within the building fell, yet you still survived." A chill ran through Shaun and she felt nauseous. She desperately wished she'd told Jozef where she was going. Was Ivan angry over the deaths that seemed to follow Shaun? Did he blame her for what happened to Krystoff? She didn't know what to say to Ivan, but he'd paused, seeming to expect some kind of response. "Yes, I survived."