Page 53 of Goodnight, Sinners

“Jozef,” she cried, rushing toward him. “I’m so glad to see you again.”

Jozef caught her as she threw herself into his arms, hugging him. His thoughts on Shaun, he quickly shoved her away. She resisted, tangling her arms around his neck and attempting to kiss his chin. He would have to put a stop to her flirtations if she was going to work for him.

He set her away from him and put the desk between them. She flopped into one of his guest chairs.

“I thought maybe I was in trouble when you sent your guys to come get me, but this one,” she jerked her thumb at Havel, who narrowed his eyes in annoyance, “assured me I was still safe. Hey, does my brother know I’m here?”

As she chattered, Ayaan looked around Jozef’s office, her sharp intelligent eyes taking in everything in a sweeping glance. When her gaze settled on Jozef once more, he saw the inner workings of her mind flashing through her dark brown eyes. She was curious, but comfortable. She was exactly as Jozef remembered her when they rescued her from Central Africa and flew her to Nice.

Your brother doesn’t know that you’re here,Jozef signed.

Why?She signed back.Are you hiding me for some reason? He won’t like that, you know.

Jozef was so startled by the revelation that Ayaan knew sign language that he couldn’t help his expression of surprise. Satisfaction lit Ayaan’s features as she watched him.

The brat was enjoying herself.

I had nothing to do while I was in F-R-A-N-C-E,she signed,so I hired a tutor and learned how to communicate with you.

Her signs were basic and clumsy, but easily read.

Jozef became even more sure about his decision to make her part of his team. It was a requirement that the members learn sign language. Not just so they could communicate with their leader, but to give them an advantage in the field. They could move through enemy territory in silence, using sign language to communicate. The method was extremely effective.

You thought you would see me again?Jozef asked, wondering what the young woman was up to.

She flashed him a cheeky grin,I hoped.

Jozef shook his head at her audacity. He would definitely have to curb her tendency toward the outrageous.

I want you to speak verbally while we conduct this interview.

“Interview for what?” She switched easily back into verbal speech patterns, glancing over her shoulder at Havel. “He didn’t tell me why I was here.”

I requested he keep my reasons private until I spoke with you.

She nodded.

Tell me about your training. Your brother made you a soldier as a child?

“No, I made myself a soldier when I was a child,” she corrected him. “Muhammed had nothing to do with that choice. He tried to dissuade me, but I was determined to follow him and his men into battle. He decided it would be safer to have me properly trained and supervised.”

How old were you when you began training?

“Six.”

Jozef was shocked. A six-year-old had made the decision to go to battle with her brother? Her expression was shuttered, closing him off from the open young woman who’d walked into his office. He suspected she was like him. She’d experienced some kind of violence at a young age that had shaped her decisions, made her determined to follow in Radik’s footsteps.

As a child, Jozef had experienced violence. Had watched his parents die, had been stabbed in the throat. He remembered little surrounding the events, but he did remember the desperate desire to avenge his parents. His uncle had used that desire to shape Jozef into the feral dog he later became. Looking back, he realized he’d been traumatized, had perhaps needed coddling rather than the gun his uncle had given him. Regardless, the experience, like Ayaan’s, was the catalyst for who he was today.

If you’re accepted on my team, you will be expected to follow orders at all times. You will not be given the freedom you were given while working for your brother.

Excitement lit her eyes, chasing away the lingering shadows. “I knew you were considering me for your team! I saw the way you looked when you realized I could handle myself. When’s my first job? When can we leave? Are you coming with us?”

Jozef couldn’t help the chuckle that spilled from his lips. She was irrepressible. He enjoyed seeing the quality in a young person, but he worried it could get her killed.

New members of my team aren’t deployed until they are trained and ready.

“I’m trained,” she said excitedly. “I’m ready now.”

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