Page 52 of Goodnight, Sinners

He hung back but left the door open, his eyes on them as they looked around.

“In here.” Saskia opened the door to the closet.

There was enough room for both of them inside. Saskia sank to her knees on the carpet, shoving hangers with clothing aside.

Shaun sat on the floor next to her and watched in fascination as Saskia opened the safe on her first try.

“Done this before?” Shaun asked sarcastically.

Saskia flashed her a grin and opened the small metal door. It was empty.

Saskia’s grin turned into a frown. “She must’ve emptied it before she took off. I was here right before things blew up and it was filled with cash, passports and a gun.”

Shaun wasn’t surprised about the gun. Leeza had pointed one at her when she’d tried to run away from a clothing store, shortly after the two women had met.

Shaun and Saskia were so engrossed in their conversation that they missed the panel at the back of the closet sliding open. It wasn’t until the smell hit them, sweaty human flesh and rotting food, that they realized there was someone looming over them.

Saskia noticed him first and screamed, diving for her purse and gun. Shaun threw herself in front of Saskia, determined to protect the younger woman when the man lunged for them.

He didn’t make it.

Hearing the commotion, Cooper flung himself into the room and got a shot off before the man could touch either woman. The bullet hit him and he went crashing backwards into the hidden room behind him.

Shaun scrambled after him, though Cooper yelled at her to stay back.

“He’s hurt,” she snapped, crawling up the length of the man and reaching for his neck, relieved to find a steady pulse. “He’s alive.”

“Yeah, but who is it?” Saskia flicked the light switch on in the safe room and gasped. “Adam.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“She’s here.”

Jozef looked up as Havel entered his office. He’d been pouring through his uncle’s appointment diary and records. He was about ready for a change of pace. He sincerely hoped the life of a mob boss didn’t always include this much paperwork and politics. He was itching to get back into the field with his men. Not just men anymore, not if this meeting went well.

Jozef nodded at Havel to show her in.

Havel hesitated. “Are you sure about this, man? She’s… she looks so delicate. Sure, she’s got some training, but what does that mean when we’re in a combat situation and she can’t keep up? I think you’re making a mistake.”

Jozef appreciated Havel’s blunt assessment. It was part of the reason he was Jozef’s second-in-command. He voiced his thoughts, whether or not Jozef wanted to hear them. The two men tempered each other. While Jozef was calm and measured, Havel could be a hothead. But the big, bald enforcer also had a sense of when to pull back, when to leave a deal on the table. He was protective and good at his job.

In this case, he was wrong. A woman on the team would be an asset. She would give them access to spaces and people that the men on his team couldn’t access. The more Jozef thought about it, the firmer in his decision he felt.

He wasn’t surprised by Havel’s hesitation, though. The other man tended to disregard women. He was one of those people who wanted his woman in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. It was the way he grew up. First, in a traditional household with a father who oppressed the mother. Havel eventually ended up driving his father away, liberating his mother, but he couldn’t unlearn what he’d seen. Then, on the Koba estate he saw the traditional roles the women in the family took. What he didn’t see was how much power each woman had held. He hadn’t lived in the house with them, hadn’t seen the conversations that took place where the women’s voices were heard. Krystoff might have been head of the house, but Dasha was his voice, and his daughters were given the freedom to speak their minds.

I’m not making a mistake,Jozef signed, standing up.You’ll see.

“By why her?” Havel argued. “She’s too connected. She could get us all killed just by standing in this house, let alone by joining our team. Let’s pick another woman.”

I will handle her family.

Havel shook his head, still not convinced. “I hope you don’t live to regret this.”

Jozef smiled grimly.I suspect if I’m making a mistake, I probably won’t live to regret it.

Havel laughed, the sound rusty but jovial. “Fair enough.”

He left the room, returning with their guest in tow.

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