Page 33 of Goodnight, Sinners
She gasped. “Jozef, no. We need to talk about this.”
He pushed her toward the office door, opened it, and shoved her out into the path of a startled Cooper, who’d taken up post outside the door while waiting for Shaun’s meeting to finish.
We’ll talk later, but the wedding goes forward. I’ve waited a year and a half. I’m not waiting a minute longer.
She chewed her lip, then blurted out, “But I can do the surgery, regardless of my consent for the wedding?”
He flashed her a grin, then slammed the door in her face.
“You’re a jackass!” she yelled through the door, before turning to walk into Cooper, who gripped her arms and set her away from him.
She glared at him. “Come on, we have work to do. I need to get my hands on every piece of research I left behind in Montreal. While we’re waiting for it to get here, we can catalogue the furniture and paintings in this mausoleum of a mansion and decide what goes into storage.”
The grin dropped from his face and she felt better.
Chapter Sixteen
“Saskia!”
Seconds after she heard her name, Saskia was enveloped in a tight hug. After a few seconds, she wrapped her arms around Madison and hugged her back. It had been three years since she’d seen her best school friend, but time fell away as the two reconnected.
“Let me look at you.” Madison pushed Saskia back and looked her over from head to foot, clucking her tongue. “You’ve lost weight, you have rings under your eyes, and you look stressed as all fuck.”
Saskia grinned, feeling herself relax for the first time in weeks. She’d taken a circuitous route to get herself into London. She’d had to go through Germany and Belgium, then France, using the fake IDs she’d commissioned after starting university.
“It could be worse,” she said, her voice husky. “I could look a lot more dead.”
Madison shook her head. “Don’t even joke about that. When my dad heard rumours that your family was under attack and you were missing, I was frantic.” Madison blinked rapidly. “I’m so sorry about your dad, he was a sweet man.”
Saskia sucked in a deep breath as pain sliced through her. She’d suspected her father’s fate but hadn’t known for sure. She’d had to lie low, purposely cutting herself off from the outside world. She told herself it was because she hadn’t wanted anyone to trace her movements, but in reality, she could have easily found out about her father. It was likely splashed all over European news.
She hadn’t wanted to know how bad it was. She didn’t think her heart could take it if any of her family members had died, and she’d been right. The news of her father gutted her. She started crying and couldn’t stop.
Madison didn’t say another word, gathering Saskia into her arms and rocking her on the city bench where they’d agreed to meet.
Saskia wasn’t exactly sure why she was crying. She hadn’t been close to her father, not in years. He was a mobster, and she was a family accessory. Decorative until she made an advantageous marriage, then the decoration of another mafia family.
Yet, her heart shattered at the news that Krystoff was dead. Her brain flooded with everything she would miss about him. She remembered the way he smelled as she sat on his lap when she was a child. A combination of tobacco, vodka, and crackling fireplace. He wasn’t a good man, but he was the rock in the Koba family. He was her father, now he was gone, and she would never speak to him again.
She was glad she’d told him she loved him the last time she’d talked to him.
Saskia pushed away from her friend and wiped her face on her sleeve. “Have you… have you heard anything about my mom?”
Madison sighed, rubbing Saskia’s back as she tried to bring her tears under control. “No, nothing. She went missing from the Prague hospital the night your father died, and there hasn’t been any news since. My father has been making inquiries on your behalf, hoping to find her safe and bring her over here.”
Saskia wasn’t surprised. Madison’s father, Lord Alexander Grayson, was a significant part of the London underground. He would have his fingers in every part of the European mafia scene. Lord Grayson adored his daughter and would keep tabs on the Koba family for Madison’s sake.
“Will you let me know if you hear anything?” Saskia asked, sniffling.
“Of course,” Madison assured her. “I’ll do you one better though. You’ll stay with me while you’re here, so you can get your news directly from the horse’s mouth.”
Saskia smiled weakly. “I appreciate that, Maddy, but it’s like I told you when I phoned, I can’t stay with you. I’m certain my cousin is looking for me, and I don’t know if his intentions are good or murderous. I refuse to put you and your family in danger.”
“Nonsense.” Madison used her motherly voice, a voice she used often during their high school years, despite being single, gorgeous and a major part of the London party scene.
“There’s no way I’m going to let you put yourself in danger for me. I can take care of myself,” Saskia insisted.
“I’m sure you can,” Madison said briskly. “But you aren’t going to. We’re doing this together. We’ll lie low and we’ll work out a plan for your future. I’m not letting you go anywhere until I know you’re perfectly safe and happy.”
