Jozef brought the car to a smooth halt next the wide stone staircase leading up to the mansion doors, their backup vehicle parking behind them.
Before Shaun could touch her own doorhandle, the door opened, and a hand sprinkled with hair and missing part of the small finger reached for her. Her heart sank as she allowed the owner to pull her from the vehicle. She found herself face-to-face with Krystoff Koba. She shouldn’t have been overly surprised considering they’d driven there to have supper with the family, but she felt ill-prepared standing next to the Koba patriarch.
Her heart froze, her stomach clenched and, though she tried to school her features, she must’ve looked like a scared rabbit who was positive the predator holding her was about to kill her on the spot. He didn’t say anything but took her shoulders in a warm grip and kissed both of her cheeks.
“Dr. Patterson, it is our pleasure to have you here in our home once more. We’ve missed you and worried over your health. It’s good to see you again.”
She peered at him, glad that her height and heels put her on equal footing with the man. She wondered if he meant what he said. She forced herself to relax and take a deep breath, assembling a weak smile.
His eyes were sharp, watching her every expression, but his face was relaxed into jovial lines. He seemed genuinely happy to greet her and welcome her into his home.
Before Shaun had a chance to completely gather her equilibrium, she found herself being pulled into a perfume-filled hug. She instantly recognized the strong dose of Chanel N5 fragrance and knew she was being held in the awkward embrace of Dasha Koba.
She felt rather than saw Jozef walk up behind her, the warmth of his body reassuring as he took her arm and gently tugged her away from his aunt. The two couples looked at each other warily, neither Jozef nor Krystoff making the first move. It hit Shaun that Jozef hadn’t been back to the mansion since the night of their engagement party. He’d been arrested and taken to prison. Unless he’d come back in the past few days, when he’d left her alone in the apartment, but she didn’t think so. The stiff reactions told her the family had a lot of healing to do.
Finally, Dasha broke the standoff. “Please, come inside, the girls are waiting for you in the sitting room. Cook has outdone herself with this meal.”
Jozef placed his hand at Shaun’s back as they were escorted inside. Shaun wondered if it was weird for Jozef to be in his old home, but this time as a guest instead of as a resident. If it did bother him, he didn’t let anything show. His face was settled into unreadable lines, while tension emanated from his muscles. His tension leapt to Shaun, ratcheting up her own worries.
Were they safe? She had to assume they must be or Jozef wouldn’t bring her there.
They walked into the sitting room next to the dining room, where Leeza, her husband Adam, and Saskia sat waiting. The three rose when Shaun and Jozef entered the room. There was an awkward moment of silence that was broken when Saskia launched herself at the couple, hugging them at the same time. She stood on her toes and kissed Jozef’s cheek.
“I missed you, cousin.”
Jozef extracted himself enough to sign, you should have waited for me yesterday morning when you came to see Shaun.
She shrugged. “I had class.”
He nodded, his gaze softening as he looked down at his much shorter cousin, pride clear in his expression. Yes, I heard that you’re completing a degree in applied linguistics at C-H-A-R-L-E-S University. Are you doing well?
“Straight A’s,” she said with a grin, flopping back into her chair.
“Well done,” Shaun chimed in with a genuine smile.
A year ago, she’d been stunned to learn that the Koba family wouldn’t allow their youngest child to attend secondary education. Shaun had helped Saskia formulate a plan that would convince her parents to let her go. Though Shaun didn’t know the details, she had to assume the plan worked.
“I want to complete my final year in Paris, but mom says I can’t.” Saskia made a face, while Dasha entered the room, catching what she’d said.
Dasha propped herself primly on the arm of Saskia’s chair. “You know that there are far too many security risks for you to study outside of Czechia. Your father has already gone grey worrying about everything that could happen to you on the Charles campus.”
“I worry less for her than I do the other students and faculty. Our youngest can cause mayhem by simply breathing.” Krystoff stood next to his wife, his hand on her shoulder.
The family looked healthy, happy and peaceful. Dasha looked up at Krystoff, her plum-coloured lips curving into a smile, her eyes soft. Shaun felt a shaft of guilt at her part in breaking up the family. Though she couldn’t make Jozef’s decisions for him, she was still a major factor in his decision-making process. If Shaun hadn’t come into his life, he would never have gone to jail, been torn from his family and forced to make the decision to leave his home.
“It’s good to see you again.” Shaun accepted a hug from Leeza who smiled pleasantly, though her gaze was guarded.
It was strange, no one seemed to blame her for the strain in the family. Either that, or they were better actors than she’d suspected.
Still, someone had poisoned her the last time she was in this house. She wasn’t about to drop her guard again.
As the family chatted, attempting to find some common ground to reestablish the normalcy of their relationship, a servant came to tell them the dining room was ready.
Shaun had a brief moment of hesitation as her plate was placed in front of her and she was
