Page 73 of Goodnight, Sinners

She pretended to study the file she was holding as she walked toward the imaging center where Shaun would pick up her case files before heading back to her office.

Four minutes.

That was the average time it took for Shaun to chat with the imaging technician before she left the office. Cooper would step out ahead of Shaun, clear the hall, then allow his charge to go ahead of him. Dasha would walk past him as he swept the hall, and she would kill his principal before he could step in front of Shaun.

If he got in front of the girl before Dasha could get to her then she would shoot him in the knee, sending him to the floor, kill Shaun then finish the bodyguard. She couldn’t risk shooting him in the head in case he toppled backwards into Shaun, accidentally covering her and forcing Dasha to lose precious time. The knee was best, it would send him straight down or forward.

The door to the imaging center opened.

The scene crystallized in front of her, and it felt like everything slowed down as Cooper walked through the door, exactly how she’d predicted. His gaze swept the hallway and landed on her, paused, then moved past. No recognition.

Shaun stepped out behind him, her head down as she scanned the images on the page in front of her.

Dasha strode down the hall as though she owned it, her hand sinking into her pocket and wrapping around her gun. It was small, but it packed a punch. It would drill a hole through Shaun’s skull, turning her brain to mush.

Cooper eyed Dasha coldly as she walked toward them. She smiled slightly. She could sense the moment he realized there was danger, but it was too late. She’d already passed him and could see Shaun out of her periphery.

Dasha pulled the gun out of her pocket and swung her arm around, her finger tightening on the trigger.

Before she could get a shot off, Shaun leapt forward, grabbed hold of her wrist and pushed her across the width of the hall, slamming her into the wall. Dasha was so stunned by the sudden counterattack that she lost precious seconds to the other woman, who used them to slam her injured arm into the wall again, forcing Dasha to drop the gun as agony ripped through her.

Dasha stared at Shaun with incomprehension.

Except the other woman wasn’t Shaun.

A decoy.

Not as tall or slender as Shaun, but compact, fast and strong. Her hair had been done in Shaun’s style, a short afro pinned at the sides. She wore heavy makeup, reshaping her face in Shaun’s image, but now that Dasha was up close and personal with this woman she could see the differences.

Her plan had failed.

Jozef must’ve known that she’d been stalking Shaun at the hospital and had set her up.

Well, she wasn’t going down without a fight. She’d rather die here and now than risk being taken back to Jozef. She’d seen his handiwork in the shed, and while she could stand a lot of pain, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stand up against his brand of torture. He tore people to pieces over days and weeks, piece after piece, never allowing them the death they would come to crave. And those were the people he had no feelings for. Dasha was his aunt, a woman who had loved him and then betrayed him.

Dasha recovered quickly from her shock, sending her fist flying into the mystery woman’s throat. The woman ducked it and sent a fist back into Dasha’s chest, then her face, flinging her back against the wall. Dasha pushed off, flying toward the other woman, but met with Cooper’s fist when the woman ducked again.

The last thing Dasha heard was the sickening crunch of breaking cartilage as her nose shattered, then blackness overtook her and she sank to the ground.

* * *

Cooper stared down at Dasha, glad that the operation was finally over. It had been exhausting spending half his days at the hospital following first Shaun around, then tucking her safely in her office with a three-man guard, then following Ayaan around for a few hours hoping to draw Dasha out.

“I thought she’d put up more of a fight,” Ayaan pouted, stepping back as Interpol filled the hallway.

It was just like law enforcement to show up after all the excitement had ended. Too much red tape and rules to actually accomplish anything.

“Go fight Havel, you’ll feel better,” Cooper drawled as they leaned against the opposite wall while a doctor looked Dasha over before pronouncing her fit to be moved.

“I can’t win against him; I’d rather fight someone I can win against.” Ayaan watched with disappointment as Dasha was hauled away.

Cooper had known the moment Interpol connected with Shaun in Elisa’s office. They’d been watching her for a while, setting up a rotating team of men to give them the best chance at making contact. Once they finally did, Cooper had texted Jozef while Shaun was talking to the agent hiding in Elisa’s office.

Jozef had refused to use Shaun as bait, but appreciated the opportunity to take his aunt into custody. He didn’t care how it was done, as long as she could no longer threaten Shaun. Even better if Dasha took the fall for the criminal activities of the Koba family. Then he would be clear to move forward with his plans for the organization without Interpol breathing down his neck.

Cooper admired the way his boss worked through a problem. Instead of hotheadedly taking Dasha out at the first opportunity, he waited and watched, like the spider carefully weaving his web to trap the fly.

Now she was in Interpol’s custody and no longer their problem. She was still alive, which would please Shaun as well as Jozef’s cousins.

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