Breathe, breathe, breathe. Shaun's eyes followed Jozef's hands as he told her to keep breathing. Shaun wanted to warn him that he needed to get out of there before hospital security arrived, then she remembered he would be far deadlier than any security who showed up. She should urge him to leave before he hurt someone else. Instead, he sat with her in the stairwell as though he had all the time in the world. Jozef touched her face, cupping her head and holding her. He breathed with her, one long breath in and a longer breath out. She fell into the deep pools of his velvet blue eyes, unable to concentrate on anything but his touch, his face and the energy he was pushing into her. After another minute, the constriction in her chest eased and she was able to draw in a deep breath without feeling choked. She blinked the tears back and gave Jozef a tight smile. He seemed to realize she was better. He slid an arm around her back and eased her to her feet. She

Shaun spent the rest of the flight in silent misery, guilt eating her up every time she thought of her mother. Maybe she shouldn't have called. But then, the call hadn't been for Shaun, it had been for her mother. Fatima knew her daughter was alive, which was the only thing that mattered. If Shaun had to feel shame and guilt so her mother could rest easy, then so be it. She couldn't explain why she was in love with a man who was more monster than human, and the tailspin of emotion was eating her up. The darkness that had shaped most of Jozef's life had also shaped their relationship. For him, kidnapping, beating people, killing them, it was all part of his job. For her, it was unthinkable. How on earth did he think they could be compatible together? She would be utterly miserable if she were forced to accept the type of life he lived. She would become a shadow of herself. All her convictions, values, her life's work, would mean nothing. She would be trading it all in for

Good work, Jozef signed to Havel as they toured the new operations center that had been set up on the third floor, above the club. He'd asked Havel from inside the prison to direct the removal of Jozef's belongings and his team from the Koba estate. He'd also asked Havel to create an operations center that would rival what the men were used to when doing jobs for Krystoff. Havel had exceeded expectations. The space was designed to look like a high-end office with board rooms, cubicles and desks. The entire floor had been opened up, the removal of walls creating an open concept. One end of the floor was dedicated to their tech equipment and the two men who operated from the office while the teams were in the field. There, the similarities to an office ended. A locked and coded cage contained their weapons. His men carried personal weapons at all times, but the heavy stuff was kept in the cage. Next to the cage was a sparring area covered with rubber matting. Alon

When Jozef still hadn't come back by 10:00 PM, Shaun went to bed without him. It felt strange being with him in Prague once more. It was the same as it had been a year before, but also not. Something was different this time; something besides the apartment and their year apart. As she lay in bed, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window at the sprawling cityscape, it hit her. The balance of power had shifted in their relationship. While she was still Jozef's captive, she wasn't afraid of him. Not like she'd been when he'd kidnapped her from Ukraine and held her at the Koba estate. She'd been terrified of him back then. She's seen him kill two men and she couldn't have said with certainty that Jozef wouldn't kill her. Now, things were different. He'd gone straight from prison to an airplane, which took him straight to Shaun. He didn't stop to visit his family and he didn't inspect his new apartment. He flew straight to her because he didn't think he could live without her

After they finished eating, Krystoff suggested he and Jozef retire to the study for a drink. Jozef was hesitant. He didn't want to leave Shaun alone. Throughout dinner she'd been tense and jumpy. She was thinking about the poisoning and likely wondering if her would-be murderer was sitting across the table from her. Perhaps it had been too soon to bring her back to the Koba estate, but Jozef was still family. Though his position had shifted, this had been his home for thirty years. His aunt had acted as mother to him, his uncle a father figure. Despite their rift, the Kobas were still the most powerful organization in the Czech Republic. Jozef would have to work with them if he wanted his own budding organization to succeed. He'd far rather be on Krystoff's good side than his bad. Though Jozef had been his enforcer for two decades, growing in both intelligence and brutality, he was under no illusion that his uncle didn't still have a few tricks up his sleeve. If Jozef d