Page 50 of Goodnight, Sinners

They laughed over the idea together and continued down the hall. Not only did Jozef not have time for a mistress, but his whole being seemed focused on his obsession with Shaun.

At first, his possessive manner had been off-putting, but as she got to know him, it now felt comfortable, like a security blanket. She knew he wouldn’t make a single decision without keeping her in mind. He would always put her first, which meant she would always be safe. Having that knowledge was power, one that she intended to keep safe in her heart. She wouldn’t take advantage of him, but she would appreciate how much he fought to make her world perfect.

“The stairs are this way.” Cooper stopped at the top of the wide staircase leading down to the first floor, while Shaun breezed past him.

“I know,” she told him, making her way down the corridor toward Saskia’s suite. “We need a tour guide for our inspection.”

She smiled at the guard standing stoically next to Saskia’s door. Shaun knocked softly and waited. Saskia opened the door a minute later. She looked dishevelled, but not sleepy.

“Am I disturbing you?” Shaun asked, stepping into the suite.

Saskia shook her head. “No, I was watching TV.”

Sure enough, the TV was playing, though the volume was so low it could barely be heard.

Shaun took in the suite. It looked like the Cookie Monster had flipped the place in his search for cookies. Saskia had only been back a few days, but her suite suggested she’d been living in her own filth for months.

“Is everything okay?” Shaun asked, concerned.

Saskia shrugged. “What could be wrong? My dad is dead, my mom is in the wind, my sister is god knows where and my grades are plummeting because I’m not allowed to leave the house or even contact any of my professors.” She threw herself angrily on the couch. “I wish I’d never been brought back here.”

Shaun sat gingerly on the couch, moving a porcelain doll so she wouldn’t sit on it. She rubbed Saskia’s arm. “It’s only for a few more days, until Jozef can make sure it’s safe for you to return to campus. He has to make sure the deal your father brokered with the dean of the university is still going to be honoured.”

“That’s what he says,” Saskia charged. “But I think he’s keeping me here because I’m a flight risk.”

Saskia’s frustration was real, but Shaun suspected it wasn’t entirely directed at Jozef. Saskia had tasted a moment of freedom and had looked forward to finally having the world at her fingertips. Now, she was right back where she started, but her entire family dynamic had changed.

“Are you a flight risk?” Shaun asked gently.

Saskia chewed on her lip and then swallowed hard, her eyelashes fluttering so the tears wouldn’t spill.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe.” She exhaled. “Things just feel so different now. It was never awesome living in this house, but at least I knew what to expect when my dad was running things. Now… I don’t know what’s going to happen. Not to me, or my mom, or Leeza. I hate being back in this stupid house. I feel like I’m suffocating at the same time as being surrounded by memories of my dead father.”

Shaun felt guilty at her own preoccupation with not wanting to live in the mansion. It must be so much worse for Saskia and Jozef. Maybe she should do them all a favour and burn the place to the ground.

“It’s okay to feel conflicted,” Shaun said gently. “You’re angry with Jozef and need some time to come to terms with what happened. I don’t blame you.”

Saskia shook her head. “You’re wrong. As much as I hate being cooped up, I don’t blame Jozef for any of this. He’s a victim. He was always a victim. Right from when his parents were killed.”

Shaun felt a rush of love toward Saskia, who could show Jozef compassion, even after he killed her father.

“Come on.” Shaun patted Saskia’s leg and stood. “We’re going for a walk.”

Saskia looked skeptical, like she’d had a day of pizza and TV planned and wasn’t going to give it up easily.

“Where are we going?”

“I want to go check out your sister’s cottage.”

Myriad expressions flickered across Saskia’s lovely pixie face before she settled on curious. “Why do you want to know what’s in there? My sister is pretty one-dimensional. She likes bleach and yoga, which her house definitely reflects.”

Shaun shook her head, trying not to laugh at Saskia’s description. “I’m sure your sister is more interesting than that.”

“Oh, I know she is, but her house is boring.” Saskia stood and reached for her coat, which was hung on an ornate coatrack by the door. “Did you know we don’t share a father?”

Of course, Shaun already knew that, but she wondered how Saskia knew something that must’ve been a monumental secret in the Koba family. “Who’s her father if not Krystoff?”

“I don’t really know.” Saskia shrugged. “If I had to guess, then an old business associate of my dad’s. My mom would’ve had more access to someone my dad was working with, and apparently their marriage wasn’t a happy one way back then. I don’t remember though. As long as I’ve known my parents, they were thick as thieves.” She snickered at her own joke. “But according to Leeza, they used to fight like cats and dogs when she was younger. I can’t imagine them fucking around if they hated each other.”

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