Page 11 of Goodnight, Sinners

You’re still having nightmares.

She nodded, then shrugged.My counselor says it’s normal after a trauma.

A trauma that I’m responsible for.

She reached for his face, cupping his cheeks. She slowly and deliberately shook her head, then dropped her hands to sign,you are not responsible for the actions of your family. You did nothing to provoke them. They made the choice to attack us, and they bear all the responsibility.

Jozef smiled grimly and lifted her hand to kiss the fingers. He didn’t argue with her, he couldn’t. She was so sure she was right and she needed his support, not his reality. The truth was, he was completely responsible.

Mafia families handled their own. While an individual could bear responsibility for his or her own actions, the head of the family bore the most responsibility. When Dasha attacked Shaun at the restaurant, it was up to Krystoff to respond to her infraction. Krystoff had made the choice to attack Jozef and had died in the attack, making Jozef head of the family. Jozef now bore responsibility for everything that’d happened.

Shaun lived in a world of black and white fairness. Either a thing was fair or it was not. Jozef didn’t have the luxury of living in her world.

I want to take you away for a few days. We’ll go to a cabin in the woods. No bodyguards, no worries.

Her face lit up and when she signed back, her words were so jumbled it took him a moment to realize what she was saying.Really? Can we really? What about security? What about your enemies?

Jozef chuckled and squeezed the tips of her fingers as her hand flew past him while she was wildly signing.

Leave it to me. We’ll slip away before anyone can notice. I’ll let H-A-V-E-L know once we’re on the road.

Is it dangerous?she asked, but the excitement remained bright in her eyes.

Jozef thought about it. He had an ulterior motive for taking her away. He’d needed to visit this cabin for a while but had put it off. Was now really the right time for this meeting? He shouldn’t be taking Shaun with him, but she needed to get away, and he needed to make the trip.

Her excitement tipped him over the edge and he shook his head.It’s not dangerous, but even if it were, I’d be there to protect you.

She grinned at him.Can we go now?

Jozef was about to tell her no, then he thought about it. Why not? If they decided to go and then just went, his people would be none the wiser until they were well away from the area. Leaving in the darkness of night with no one knowing was the safest way to go.

He grinned back at her.Let’s do it.

Her eyes widened and she threw her arms around his neck, squeezing. His heart jumped at the contact and he hesitated for a second before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her back.

They hadn’t had sex in weeks. Not since the attack. Jozef had been busy with work and Shaun was too traumatized. Or so he assumed. He didn’t want to push her and hadn’t initiated any sexual contact. Shaun hadn’t either.

He was feeling the strain, though. When she was near, or when her scent lingered around him, he would get an uncomfortable erection that didn’t go away until he either took a cold shower or thought about something deeply unsexy for a prolonged period of time.

Maybe some time away from the mansion could reboot their sex life too.

Shaun shoved away from Jozef and headed to her closet. “What should I bring?”

When she looked back at him, he signed,bring warm clothes, enough for two or three days. We’ll be deep in the woods. We’ll need to hike part of the way in.

She grinned and nodded, before going into the closet and coming out with a suitcase that was much bigger than what Jozef had imagined she would need. He watched in amusement as she filled it with every unnecessary thing she would never need in the place he was taking her. He barked with laughter when she folded an evening gown into the case.

She laughed as well, but defended herself, “What if we go out for a fancy dinner? You bought me a closet full of clothes and I plan on using them.”

Chapter Six

They snuck out of the mansion like two teenagers creeping around under the cover of darkness. Jozef carried their bags down to his Bugatti and packed them in the trunk, then came back for Shaun. She giggled when a night guard was passing through the halls and Jozef shoved her into an alcove, his hand over her mouth.

Of course, the guard saw them. He moved along quickly though, his expression blank. It wasn’t up to him to have an opinion about what Shaun and Jozef got up to. If their kink was creeping around the mansion and making out in alcoves, that was nobody’s business but theirs.

Jozef held a finger up to her lips. Shaun crossed her eyes and licked his finger.

Jozef chuckled and pulled her out of the darkened corner. Together they ran down the stairs and headed for the garage. There was another night guard who looked startled when they streaked by him.

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