Page 75 of Goodnight, Sinners

“Yes,” Havel acknowledged. “We’re both here.”

“Good, it has come to my attention that while Koba has recruited my sister into your organization, you are the one training her… touching her.”

Radik’s rage came through the phone loud and clear. Havel winced, which was rare for the big man. Jozef didn’t blame him. Radik was one of the few men on planet Earth who might be able to shake Havel’s rock-solid confidence.

“No one is touching your sister inappropriately,” Havel said calmly. “She’s in control of her situation and happy to be here. What more could a brother ask for his sister?”

Havel should’ve known better. It was like baiting a tiger.

“I could ask that my sister not be deliberately put in the line of fire!” Radik shouted. “You have pressed her into the service of a team of mercenaries.” The man spat the last word like it was poison.

Jozef signed,you hired that very same group of mercenaries, trusting them to take your sister to safety.

Havel translated.

“Yes, I did trust you to take her to safety, and paid an exorbitant amount to make it so. Now you have dragged her away from the safety of France, turning her into a soldier for hire.”

She was a soldier for hire before we ever got to her. I’m simply using her considerable skills and paying her a large salary. You should be happy for her.

“Would you be happy if one of your cousins was deliberately placed in the line of fire? Your doctor fiancé perhaps?”

Jozef growled the moment Shaun was mentioned. He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t care if it made him a hypocrite. No one was allowed to use her name, especially not a man of war like Radik.

“I wouldn’t mention the good doctor again, if I were you,” Havel drawled, shaking his head at Jozef.

“I don’t give a fuck if I’ve upset the boss. I want my sister sent back to Nice immediately.”

“Your sister doesn’t want to go back to Nice.”

“My sister is young and impetuous. She doesn’t get to decide what she wants.” Radik’s voice turned from rage to ice. “You will put her on a plane, or you will go to war.”

You don’t want to go to war with us. I have become far more powerful than when we met.Jozef signed while Havel translated.

“Good, then you will give me a worthy adversary when I come to crush you.”

Stay out of P-R-A-G-U-E, you won’t receive a welcome. Don’t forget that I have your sister under my control.

Havel shook his head as Jozef took things to the next level, but translated word for word.

Predictably, Radik didn’t handle the threat well.

“You will fucking die for this, Koba. I will crush you and yours, that is a promise.”

He hung up before either Havel or Jozef could respond.

“I think you need a course in negotiation. I believe the accepted practice is not to escalate the situation.”

Jozef chuckled.I’ll keep that in mind the next time a warlord wants to burn my house to the ground.

Havel stood up. “I’ll have the guard on the women doubled.”

Jozef nodded and waved Havel to the chairs by the fireplace. He picked up the maps from his desk and sat with his second-in-command.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Shaun stared down at the stick in her hand, waiting and watching, trying not to shake it. She sighed heavily and forced herself to set the stick on the edge of the sink. She stood, pulled up her leggings and washed her hands, splashing water everywhere because she was too busy staring at the pregnancy test.

She’d never taken one before, but the instructions were easy to follow. It was the wait that was difficult. Two minutes felt like an eternity and every second that ticked by was torture.

---