Sin of Silence (Sinner's Empire #1) - Nikita Slater Page 0,63

"Come, loosen up and relax. Jozef has done this many times. It helps him focus, helps him do his job. He is far more fun and social this way."

Shaun swung her glare toward Klaus. "He’s fun the way he is.” She ignored Jozef’s chuckle at her lie and continued, “I'm a medical doctor and there is no chance that I’ll condone him or anyone else in here doing this." She waved her hand toward the line on the table, her expression reflecting distaste. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

Shaun pushed her way past Jozef, not giving him a choice but to let her stand or end up with an elbow to the gut. Before she could stalk away from the booth, he caught her wrist, turned her on the spot and tugged her back until she was forced to face him again.

He let her hand go and signed, keep your bodyguards close and don't be gone long.

Shaun didn't respond but turned away and hurried from the VIP area, disgusted. She glanced around in frustration, looking for a doorway that might lead to a restroom. She spotted a shadowy hallway off to her left with a sign above it that she couldn't read. Assuming that she'd found the right place, she made her way through the throngs of people toward the hallway.

Before she made it though, a hand came down on her shoulder and stopped her. Shaun whirled around, bringing her hands up protectively. A woman stood behind her, beautiful, angry and ready to tear a strip off Shaun, which Shaun just didn’t have enough energy to face. She stepped out of the grip at the same time as Karl showed up, his massive bulk dwarfing the woman who’d touched Shaun. The woman lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender and stepped back.

"I just wanted to say hello to Jozef’s new woman." Her angry gaze assessed Shaun in a glance, her frown saying clearly that she found Shaun lacking.

The woman was stunning in what Shaun suspected was an extremely expensive red dress that clung lovingly to every one of her ample curves. Her throat, wrists, and ears were dripping in diamonds. She had long icy blond hair that waved artistically down her back, highlighting the honeyed tone to her flawless skin. As beautiful as she was, Shaun sensed a malicious underbelly to the woman. From her work in the hospital, Shaun was used to assessing people and situations quickly so that she could make snap decisions. This woman was not going to be worth her time.

Instead of responding, Shaun looked up at her bodyguard. "I just need a few minutes to myself. Which way is the rest room?"

He pointed her in the right direction, which indeed was down the hallway she'd been headed. His hand hovered protectively over the small of her back without touching. Shaun broke away from the two and quickly made her way toward the back of the club. Even though there were several stalls in the washroom, Shaun flipped the lock on the main door so she could have a few minutes of privacy. If another woman had to use the washroom she was just going to have to wait.

Shaun stared at her reflection in the mirror over the sinks. Far from the lovely confident woman she'd been when entering the club, she now looked like a shaken frightened lost girl. She didn't know where she was going, and she didn't know what she was doing. Jozef had narrowed her choices down to none, yet the single choice he was giving her was impossible. How could she possibly marry a murderous mobster who was at that very moment snorting lines of cocaine in a club Shaun would never have stepped foot in on her own?

A sob tore from her throat and she covered her face with her hands. She wanted to hate him, but she couldn't. Every moment she spent with him sucked her in more. Yet every moment she spent with him, she learned something new and terrible about him. This was no way to live.

She had to leave.

Shaun had always been one of those people who scoffed at the ideal of death over oppression. In her opinion, if a person’s life were at stake, they should seize it with both hands, no matter what was going on around them. She’d watched too many people fight for their lives after having tumors cut from their brains to take that sacrifice lightly. Yet, here