Chapter 10

"Your aunt will want to plan the wedding."

Jozef's uncle looked over at him, the glint in his eye somewhere between serious and teasing. Jozef's aunt was well known for her love of parties. She would insist on planning every detail of the wedding right down to the brand of toilet paper rolls in the guest washrooms.

Jozef glanced down at his fiance of only a few hours. She was sound asleep, occupying the seat between Jozef and his uncle. Her head was resting on Jozef's shoulder, the tiny huffs of breath escaping her lips skittering across his skin and the puff of hair on top of her head tickling his neck. He wanted to touch the tiny black curls, see what they felt like, what the skin of her cheek felt like, but he couldn't. Attachment was weakness. If Jozef showed tenderness toward this woman, others might decide she could be used as a weapon.

Jozef might love and admire his uncle, but he knew better than to trust the head of the Koba family.

"Your women friends will hate her," Krystoff commented, pushing his tired body down in his seat and closing his eyes. "They will be jealous of the foreigner who has captured your attention. Your work will be cut out for you with this one."

He was referring to Jozef's various lovers. As the enforcer for the Koba family, Jozef came into his fair share of feminine attention. He was not one to say no to a quick fuck, but he didn't particularly care for any of them. Never enough to fuck more than a handful of times. His last lover had lasted longer than the others, but had ultimately bored him. Giselle had been a fun distraction, but he'd cut her loose months ago.

Krystoff turned his head to look at Shaun, his gaze trailing her features in the dim lighting of the back of their car. Though it was the middle of the night, they were driving back to Prague. The patriarch of the Koba family had been away from his post for long enough.

Krystoff, Jozef and Shaun rode in the back of the spacious car while Terek and Halil rode in the front. The rest of their men were in the car behind them. Havel stayed in Kiev to ensure no one came after the family that'd harboured them.

"I hope you know what you're doing with this one." Krystoff's voice was thoughtful, his gaze still on the slumbering woman. Jozef wished Krystoff would stop looking at her with such intensity. "She could be a threat to everything we've worked for. Yes, she's very beautiful and the idea of killing an innocent and a doctor is not an easy one. But in this business, we must put family first."

Jozef understood what his uncle was saying. He should have killed her in the clearing. He hadn't been able to pull the trigger, and he wasn't sure why exactly. Something about her was different. As his uncle pointed out, she was beautiful, but Jozef had met beautiful women before and even killed them when it was warranted. Gender and beauty meant nothing to him when it came to family, loyalty and business.

Perhaps it was because she was a doctor. She had devoted her life to studying medicine and helping others. That kind of unselfish personality was non-existent in the mob. Jozef couldn't bring himself to destroy a person like that. At least not until he understood her draw.

He didn't sign his thoughts, but he gave his uncle an eloquent look.

Krystoff shook his head and chuckled. "Smart move declaring that she would become your wife. Make her part of the family so we can't outright kill her."

Though it had been a smart move, deciding Shaun would become his wife, Jozef didn't actually need to marry her. He could've driven her back to the hospital and then disappeared from her life. He could have forced her promise of silence. No, his desire to marry her was purely selfish. He was fascinated by her. He wanted her and couldn't come up with a better way of having her. Marriage would bind them together and keep her safe from his family.

As if echoing his thoughts, Krystoff said, "Be sure, boy. This marriage will be for life. There is only one way out of the family."

Krystoff's words didn't faze Jozef. He wanted to tie Shaun to him, keep her by his side. Those brief moments they'd spent together in the woods had cemented a bond that transcended the very different lives they led. Though he knew Shaun felt it too, Jozef was not a na•ve man; there would be many hardships in their path forward, but his desire for the woman was not one of those difficulties.

He traced her features with his eyes. She had smooth, flawless brown skin. The colour was lighter than her springy black hair but darker than her pretty golden irises. A long straight nose, eyes that tilted slightly inward at the corners and lips that he longed to see curved in a smile. Though she was tall, she was quite thin, as though she'd missed too many meals. She had slight curves packed into ugly scrubs.

Jozef enjoyed women; it was one of the perks of his position. When he went out to the clubs, the bounty was plentiful. He could pick up any woman available to him. Despite his lack of voice, his scarred, tattooed skin and abrupt manners, women flocked to the power and mystery surrounding him.

Yet, Doctor Shaun Patterson put the model-like beautiful women he was used to fucking to shame. It wasn't her looks, though she was indeed just as beautiful as them. It was something more. It was her altruism that made her different. That made her shine like a beacon of goodness in the night. Despite her fear, she'd still attempted to help the dying man in the basement. She'd also helped Krystoff, knowing that he could easily order her death.

Maybe that was it ? she was new and shiny. He wanted to touch her goodness and see what it felt like to a man who had known only violence and crime. When his fascination waned, as it inevitably would, he might be ready to let her go.

Despite this last thought, he couldn't tear his eyes from her. Somehow, deep down, he knew he would never want to let her go. There was something about her that told him she was his for life.

"She won't adjust easily to our lifestyle," Krystoff mused, reading Jozef's thoughts. "A woman like her, someone who chooses to work in a war zone out of the goodness of her heart will not settle into a life of crime easily."

Though the car was dim, Jozef signed to his uncle, she will not commit any crimes.

Krystoff caught enough to understand his nephew. He shook his head, a grim smile hovering about his lips. "Don't be stupid, nephew. She may not be committing the crimes, but you certainly will. If you think she will condone her husband's activities, I can tell you now that you are wrong."

Josef's signs were swift and decisive. She will settle into a new life. There is no need for further discussion.

Krystoff raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You are touchy with your new woman. A good sign for a good marriage, I hope."

Jozef said nothing, but settled into his seat, pulling the slumbering woman closer against him. His uncle might be head of the Koba crime family, but Jozef was a power unto himself. Everyone revolved around him, including his uncle. They had no choice. Jozef was the power, the muscle, the brains behind the crown. Though Krystoff's words held weight, if he wanted to keep his seat of power, he would align himself with Jozef's desires.

Jozef closed his eyes and prepared to sleep. They were still a few hours away from Prague. He curved his hand over her leg, resting it there, a sign of his possession. Shaun belonged to him and any man who tried to remove her would die a swift and painful death.

"I never saw Vasiliy himself while enjoying his hospitality, but one of his men spoke to me when I was in the cellar." Krystoff's tired voice filtered through the darkness.

Jozef tilted his head to look at his uncle, showing he was listening.

"He let slip that the Prizrak was responsible for my abduction. Perhaps a nickname for Vasiliy, since he is not often seen in public."

Prizrak... or phantom.

Jozef frowned as a thought tickled his memory. A recent shipment intercepted. He'd lost a man and then the authorities had descended, picking up the rest, as though they'd been tipped off. When Jozef had gone to meet his guy on the inside, after the dust had settled, he'd said they were ambushed in a coordinated attack. Then he'd muttered the word 'prizrak' before being taken back to his cell.

Jozef had shrugged it off as a strange turn of phrase. Now he wondered if the two incidents were connected.