Page 6 of A Silent Reckoning

She wondered if he recognized Jozef’s second-in-command, then decided she didn’t care. She was leaving all this behind. And though she might leave half her heart in Prague, she would be going home to the things she loved.

As Shaun began scrubbing her hands and arms in the big metal sink next to her OR, she forced the memories back into the tidy little box in her mind where she kept all of her memories of Prague. They were a year old, starting to get fuzzy. They didn’t matter. The only memory that mattered was Jozef’s face, and she saved it for when she went to bed every night. She fell asleep with his image keeping her safe.

One of the RNs helped Shaun with her gloves, gown, mask and goggles. Pushing all thoughts of her time in the Ukraine and Czech Republic out of her head, she walked into the operating room with confidence, determined to give her patient a few more years of life.

Chapter Three

Jozef accepted the bag that was handed to him from across the desk. He glanced inside. It contained clothes, a phone, his watch and wallet. He pulled Shaun’s gold chain from the bag, holding the heart in the palm of his hand before closing his fist and turning away. He changed in the dingy prison guest washroom, then emerged to join the officer who would walk him off the premises.

He signed the release log and stepped through the doors into the open air. His first breath after spending a year in prison was sweet. Freedom. It didn’t matter that the prisoners got to spend an hour in the yard, working out and socializing. Prison air was more restrictive than the air breathed by a free man.

Jozef didn’t know if he could call himself truly free. He was being released because palms had been greased, certain politicians had been threatened and, ultimately, they hadn’t wanted Jozef on the inside. He wreaked havoc, killing the top Vory and liquidating their assets all while locked behind bars.

He’d worked his way to the top, determined to be the one man every single person in the Eastern European underworld feared. His name would be whispered like the bogeyman. With each death, Jozef sent his team of men out to ensure a smooth transition to his organization. Any resistance was dealt with swiftly and brutally. No one knew what he planned, and everyone was afraid. Jozef was shaking up the entire continent and, though he was behind bars, he’d become untouchable.

It had taken Jozef a few months to sort out his reasons for systematically taking out one Vory after another and forcing their followers to bow to him. At first, he believed he was building an army so when he discovered who had betrayed him, he would be able to execute them with ease. But after many hours of internal introspection, time that was easy to come by during his incarceration, Jozef realized he was doing it for her.

For Shaun.

Before Shaun, he hadn’t cared if he lived or died. That day in the hospital when he’d given himself up to the police, he would have happily finished the whole thing in a shootout that ended in his death, except he had to stay alive. What if she needed him? What if the person who poisoned her tried again? He had to live long enough to give the order that she be watched at all times. Then he had to live long enough to ensure his orders were carried out.

Eventually, he realized he had to live long enough to see her face again. Happy and healthy. Only the reports coming into him indicated she wasn’t happy or healthy. After returning to Montréal, she became a near recluse, refusing to leave her home. She’d admitted to her counsellor, whose records Jozef was easily able to access through a hacker on his payroll, that she was floating through life, unable to concentrate. Nightmares haunted her nights and anxiety had turned her days unbearable.

When she finally returned to her work at the hospital, she allowed it to consume her. The only two places she went were the hospital and her home. Occasionally she would go to her mother’s house, but more often Fatima would come to her. The few times Shaun left her house to go to the store or an appointment, she rushed back home as if a demon was chasing her.

Jozef wondered if he was her bogeyman.

The prison guard left Jozef after escorting him through the final gate. As expected, Havel was parked on the road next to the prison. He stood leaning against his SUV, a cigarette clenched between his teeth. Though half his face was obscured by aviator sunglasses, Jozef could tell Havel was happy to see him.

Havel rounded the vehicle and grabbed Jozef by the shoulders, pulling him in for bear hug.

Jozef was surprised, having never gotten a hug from Havel before. It took a moment, but eventually he relaxed and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the bigger man, squeezing.

You look good, old man, Jozef signed, stepping back.

“You don’t seem too bad off for a stint in this place. You’re coming out a much richer man than you went in.” Havel waved his hand at the prison, a huge concrete and metal monstrosity. Then he turned his gaze back to Jozef. “I see you got some new ink.”

Jozef touched the side of his neck and nodded. A Kizlyar blade had been seamlessly inked in among his other tattoos. It was the knife favoured by Russian Spetsnaz for its lightweight durability. Jozef had inherited one from his father, who had once worked for the Russian special forces.

Jozef had used the blade, which had been illicitly mailed to him by Havel while guards looked the other way, to dispatch each of the three Vory he’d taken out in prison. Each man was represented by a drop of blood tattooed beneath the tip of the blade.

Jozef reached for the passenger door and slid inside the car, sighing as his ass hit the plush leather seat. It would be a while before he took his life of privilege for granted again. He might be one of the toughest motherfuckers in that part of the world, but his ass liked a good cushiony seat.

Havel didn’t have to ask where Jozef wanted to be taken. They were going to Ostrava airport, the nearest international airport to the prison.

Jozef had been planning his and Shaun’s reunion since the moment he went in. There was a private jet waiting for them at the airport. They would leave once Jozef was on board. In less than twelve hours he would be landing in the city where his woman resided.

He’d thought about leaving her alone, letting her heal so she could get on with her life, but he couldn’t do it. His obsession was too compelling. It was unhealthy, it made no sense, but he knew that living without her would be like living without his own heart. He had transferred his loyalty from the family who had raised him but had also treated him like the family guard dog. He was raised to become their first line of defense against the dark and deadly underworld.

No more. Now he lived for Shaun.

Perhaps if there had been some proof that she was happy in Montréal without him, he would consider tearing out his own heart and living without her. The daily reports on her movements were consistent. She rarely smiled and walked with her head down and shoulders slumped. She was pale and jumpy, and she only left her house for work. She talked to her counsellor about feelings of hopelessness and depression.

Jozef would take her back. He would take care of her and help her find joy again. He would make sure the sacrifice of her career and family were well compensated. She would want for nothing for the rest of her life, he would make sure of it.

As though reading his thoughts, Havel verbalized the thing that Jozef couldn’t. “She’s going to hate you for this, man.”

Chapter Four

---