Perhaps this could be an avenue of escape for her. If she managed to convince one of the staff to help her, she might be able to get out of the mansion unscathed. The staff would know every entrance and exit and how much security was in place.
Shaun decided to risk taking a shower. She hadn't bathed in three days and was ready to feel clean again. She was pleased to find a lock on the bathroom door and flipped the latch. It made her feel safer as she stripped off her scrubs, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She’d been kidnapped in those scrubs, forced to work on a dying man, run for her life through the woods, and slept in them twice. She had no issues if she never saw them again.
Shaun heated the water and stepped under the spray, moaning in gratitude as hot water rushed over her naked body. Many of the places she travelled to didn't have hot water unless it was boiled. Her tiny apartment in Luhansk had a tiny heater for the whole building, which meant she hadn't had a truly hot shower in four months.
She took her time, carefully scrubbing each part of her skin and checking out the products available. They were all masculine and none were particularly fancy. A tiny part of her was gratified that there didn't seem to be the presence of another woman in Jozef's bathroom. Not that she was jealous, but if the man was talking about marrying her, the fact that there didn't seem to be any hint of a girlfriend made her feel marginally better about the whole situation.
She finished her shower and reached for a towel, realizing that there was only one nearby. Probably Jozef's. She pulled it off the rack and held it up to her body, sniffing it. A wave of his scent hit her so hard it took her by surprise. She gasped and nearly dropped the towel as her body reacted instinctively, flooding with desire.
She did not need that, not at all. She was getting the hell out of here at the first opportunity and no part of her was going to be attracted to her captor. She quickly dried off and tossed the towel back on the rack, not bothering to tidy it properly. She didn't particularly want to put on her dirty scrubs, but she didn't have anything else to wear.
She pulled her shirt over her head and dragged the pants over her legs but stuffed her dirty panties in her pocket. She absolutely refused to put dirty panties on. She had to draw the line somewhere.
She opened the door to the bathroom and froze when she spotted Jozef in the bedroom. He was sitting on the bed, his arms slung over his knees and his gaze on the phone in his hand. He looked up when she entered, his blue eyes roving over her body.
They stared at each other for so long the moments began to stretch and get awkward. Shaun wondered if he did it on purpose. Used his lack of voice to disconcert others. Well, it wasn’t going to work on her. In her profession she met every kind of person under the sun. She’d had more than her fair share of awkward conversations.
“I would like to talk to my mother please,” she said, trying for a tone of confident and deferential at the same time. She could get angry later if she had to, but she figured being on her best behaviour would probably get her further.
Jozef shook his head.
Shaun frowned at him. “No, I can’t call my mother?”
He shook his head again and this time Shaun had to shove her annoyance down, reminding herself she was talking to a killer.
“My mom will be worried, Jozef.” Shaun kept her voice conciliatory. “She’ll be devastated when she hears that I was taken from the hospital.” She bit her lip to stop the rush of tears. “She probably already knows and is freaking out.”
Jozef continued to stare at her, his eyes taking on a glacial look. He didn’t respond and Shaun guessed he didn’t need to. He’d told her ‘no’ twice. Nothing she said was going to change his mind. Still, she had to try.
“I’m the only person my mother has left. If she thinks I’m dead, it’ll devastate her.”
He remained unmoving and Shaun’s shoulders slumped. He wasn’t going to allow her to contact her mother. Jozef may have preserved Shaun’s life, but that didn’t mean he owed her anything, including a phone call. She blinked back her tears.
Jozef pointed to something at the bottom of the bed and she realized it was a bundle of clothes. She approached cautiously, but was eager for something else to wear, so reached for the clothing, despite their proximity to Jozef. Knowing that he could reach out and grab her as quick as a snake frightened her. She'd seen him kill two people, felt the cold press of steel against her head as he came seconds away from murdering her.
Until she found a way out of this place, she wasn't going to do anything that might piss off her captor. Or at least she was going to try her best not to upset him. She would wear his clothes, eat his food and sleep on the couch. She would play ‘good captive’ until she found a way out.
The clothes were far richer than she was used to. She could tell just by touching them. The soft fabric slid through her fingers like a silken waterfall. She held up a blouse, pink with white flowers. A pink flowing skirt matched the blouse perfectly. A bra and panty set were tucked beneath the items of clothes. She blushed but picked them up, hoping they fit. As she turned to walk away, she spotted a pair of high heels in a pretty cream colour.
Shaun shook her head and wondered if she could get away with just putting her running shoes back on. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd worn high heels in her life. Heels did not fit into a doctor's lifestyle. She was also nearly six feet tall. When she wore heels, she tended to tower over her dates.
Somehow she didn’t think Jozef would care if she was taller than him. He was a man very much in control of himself. She couldn’t imagine him being threatened by a tall career woman.
Shaun reentered the bathroom, changed quickly and presented herself back in the bedroom. Jozef got up from the bed and stretched, giving Shaun a good view of him. Her heart beat a little faster as she imagined the slabs of muscle beneath the suit he now wore. It was unfortunate that she knew what this man looked like naked, because dressed there was very little hint of the bulging muscles beneath.
He wore a wine-coloured shirt, unbuttoned at the throat, tucked into a pair of dress pants with a thick leather belt. The patent leather shoes on his feet looked expensive and Shaun bet they cost about as much as her monthly salary.
She looked around for her running shoes but didn't see them. "Where are my shoes?"
Put those on. Jozef pointed at the high heels.
Shaun grimaced. It didn't look like she would have a choice. Someone had taken her shoes and she wasn’t willing to argue with Jozef, which meant she wasn't going to have access to them. If she didn't find a good pair of running shoes, escaping the mansion was going to be tough business. She could easily picture herself foiling her own escape plan as she tripped and broke a limb on her way out.
We’re eating breakfast with my family. Jozef gestured at the door, indicating they would leave together.
Was she ready to meet the Koba crime family of the Czech Republic? Absolutely not. Did she have a choice? Probably not.
In line with her desire to show Jozef that she was a compliant captive, Shaun merely nodded her head and agreed to go to breakfast. Her heart pounded in fear and her palms grew damp as they walked through the opulent hallways of the sprawling mansion to the dining room. Shaun tried to remember which way they went and how they got there, but she quickly lost track as they passed room after room.