“Don’t you have mothers?” she demanded accusingly, staring around at Jozef’s team. “Do you have any idea what this will do to my mother? This will kill her.”
At first no one said anything. She could feel the heat of Jozef’s body at her back.
“It won’t kill her,” Havel finally answered, his eyes lifting to hers. “I’ve spent the past year observing both of you. She’s a strong woman. Persistent. She won’t give up on you.”
“Is that what you think?” she snarled, impatiently swiping at the tears on her cheeks. “And she can’t have a heart attack while she’s holding out hope? She won’t collapse under the stress? Maybe bankrupt herself while she searches for me? You haven’t just ruined my life; you’ve taken hers as well.”
Havel dropped his gaze, nodding his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Doc.”
Shaun wanted to yell at him, but he wasn’t the right target. Havel was following orders. She was fairly certain that if it was up to him, she would’ve stayed in Canada and their paths would’ve never again crossed.
She whirled to give Jozef the most accusing glare she could manage. “I want to call my mother. Right. Fucking. Now.”
Jozef’s eyes were hard chips of ice. He wasn’t going to let her call. When he lifted his hands to sign his refusal to her, she stepped away from him, shaking her head. She wouldn’t listen. She didn’t have to. She didn’t care if she was being an asshole by ignoring his signs; didn’t care if she cut him off. He was the bigger asshole for kidnapping her. Again.
“You either let me call my mother or I will spend every waking minute of my life trying to find a way to leave.”
Anger flared in his eyes at her ultimatum. His muscles tightened, as though he was about to grab her. Shaun held her ground, glaring at him. This time she didn’t interrupt when he signed his response.
You will not threaten me in front of my men.
“Why?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Are you going to kill me? Hold a gun to my head?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t, because she was right; he wasn’t going to do any of the things she mentioned. He’d promised he wouldn’t, and he didn’t break his promises. At least, not to her.
She poked her finger into his chest. “Unless you can come up with a consequence you can live with, you had better be prepared for life with a woman who hates you. I will make damn sure you never rest.”
If you think death is the only consequence I can give you, then you would do well to remember who you are speaking to.
Pure righteous indignation flared to life inside her.
“Is this what you want, Jozef?” she demanded. “War between us? Is this what you imagined when you were locked up? Did you fantasize about our reunion? Because whenever I imagined seeing you again, this isn’t what I pictured.”
He glared back at her.
No, I did not imagine our reunion would be like this, he admitted.
“Me neither.” Her voice was impassioned as she placed her hand over her chest. “I thought you cared about me enough not to put me through something like this again.”
He flushed and glanced away, telling her she’d scored a hit. Her anger fled, leaving behind despair. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him. Not really. This wasn’t the meeting either of them wanted, but this was what they had. Seeing him again, seeing his face and feeling his arms wrapped around her, she knew she didn’t love him any less than she had a year ago.
“Please let me call my mother,” she whispered, her eyes shimmering pools of sadness.
Jozef stared at her for a minute without saying anything.
It was Havel who finally broke the silence.
“Give her a phone call,” he said quietly, looking up from his seat where he was bent forward with his hands slung between his knees. “We all have family. None of us would want them to suffer. It won’t hurt to let her explain.”
Jozef’s hard gaze turned to his second-in-command. He didn’t look pleased. Explain what? Jozef signed, anger making his movements quick and jerky. That her daughter has been kidnapped for a second time? That she won’t be coming home? It’s better to leave her guessing.
“No, it’s not.” Shaun jumped in, seizing on the tiny bit of hope Havel was giving her. “I promise, I’ll be careful. I won’t tell her anything. I just need her to hear my voice and know I’m okay. Once she hears about what happened at the hospital, she’ll freak out. I can calm her down.”
Jozef swung his hard stare back to Shaun. Finally, after long seconds ticked by, he nodded his head. You can call, but make it brief, and don’t give her any information.
“I won’t, I promise.”
He pulled his phone from his back pocket and handed it to her. She took it gratefully. It was warm from his body heat. She sat back down and stared at it trying to gather her thoughts. What would she say? It didn’t really matter. She couldn’t tell her mother anything, other than that she was okay.
Before she could lose her nerve, she tapped the phone. It was locked. She looked up at him expectantly.
He signed, 0614.
Her birthday.
She ducked her head and entered the number, unlocking the phone. With shaking hands, she typed in Fatima’s cell phone number.
Jozef took the phone and hit the speakerphone button before handing it back. It rang twice before Fatima picked up.
“Hello?” Her voice sounded out of breath, as though she’d been running.
“Mom, it’s me.”
There was a pause, and then Fatima burst into speech. “My god, Shaun, they’re saying you were taken from the hospital, like in Ukraine. Are you alright? What happened?”
“I’m okay, mom,” Shaun was quick to reassure her. She glanced up at Jozef who was watching her steadily, his expression inscrutable. “I w-wasn’t taken.” She choked on the lie. “I left the hospital on my
