Sin of Silence (Sinner's Empire #1) - Nikita Slater Page 0,116

by the transformation of the ballroom. It was dripping in glittering crystal, gold and black accents and the most expensive settings money could buy. Shaun stared at the tablecloths covering the buffet tables. If she wasn’t mistaken, they were the exact same shade as her gown. She stared open-mouthed at Dasha, who was standing near the front of the crowd with her hand on Krystoff’s arm. The woman had outdone herself. When Shaun caught Dasha’s eye, the older woman lifted her champagne glass in salute. Shaun was truly impressed.

Dasha and Krystoff approached Jozef and Shaun, and in a moment of choreographed harmony, the matriarch and patriarch of the Koba crime family each took Shaun in their arms and kissed her cheeks. They were showing their assembled guests that they wholeheartedly accepted and endorsed Jozef’s choice for wife. It was a fraught moment as the guests whispered and Leeza and Saskia approached to follow suit.

When it was Leeza’s turn, Shaun was surprised to see the other woman’s husband reach for her hand, then felt guilty for forgetting the man existed. He was a quiet non-entity in the family. He’d been introduced as an accountant, but Shaun had since learned he was actually the accountant for the entire organization; the same man who blew the whistle on Jozef’s childhood friend.

He looked like every stereotype of a mafia accountant that Shaun might have imagined; short, or at least shorter than Shaun, balding, thick glasses with a slight paunch around his middle. Shaun suspected he might be pre-diabetic based on the slight shake to his hands as he touched her, a pale fatigue to his features and dry skin with some dark patches that shouldn’t be there for his age. Shaun would talk to him about it later, at a more appropriate time, maybe suggest some treatments.

Leeza stepped up and hugged Shaun warmly, kissing her cheeks. “Welcome to our family.”

“Thank you.”

Shaun watched as Leeza and her husband walked away, his hand hovering over her waist but not touching her. It was odd, but Shaun couldn’t detect even a hint of warmth in their marriage. She wondered how they got together in the first place. Leeza couldn’t be more than 28 years old, while her husband was significantly older. They shared a five-year-old son, which made Shaun suspect they’d gotten together while she was still quite young.

Saskia hugged Shaun next. “Can’t wait for you to join our shitshow of a family.”

Shaun laughed and shook her head. Instead of leaving to mingle among the guests, as the others had done, Saskia glued herself to Shaun’s side. She made it her personal responsibility to impart every piece of gossip she had on the assembled guests. Shaun laughed at Saskia’s unabashedly disrespectful opinions.

“See that guy over there in that seriously out of date cravat?” Saskia pointed at a man, drawing the attention of several people surrounding them.

Shaun laughed and pushed Saskia’s arm down.

“He’s a prince, but he’s living in exile now. He became embroiled in a political shitstorm in his home country and the parliament asked him to leave. That woman standing next to him is his number one whore. He leaves his wife at home and brings his bimbos out to these things.”

Shaun tried to stifle her peals of laughter, but it was useless. Saskia was the only true friend she had in the room. The younger woman was an unrepentant gossip, and even though she shouldn’t, Shaun ate it up with glee. Knowing the foibles of the super-rich people surrounding her made her feel more comfortable in their presence. She suspected Saskia knew it and that was why she was chattering nonstop in Shaun’s ear while Jozef looked on with amusement.

After a few minutes, guests started to make their way over to congratulate the couple. Saskia maintained her position at Shaun’s side, continuing to whisper her judgments in Shaun’s ear. It was funny, but Shaun was getting the distinct impression that Saskia was trying to protect her. Shaun decided the younger woman acted just as much a guard dog as her older cousin.

“Jozef, I’ve been dying to see you again!”

Shaun turned in time to see Giselle from the club throw herself into Jozef’s arms. Apparently her near death experience at Jozef’s hand hadn’t had much of an effect. The look of disgust on Jozef’s face while he tried to disengage the heavily perfumed, scantily clad woman was enough to calm any jealousy Shaun might have felt. She knew the two had a past, but it was