Page 46 of Cherished By the Sinners

Chapter Fourteen

Mason

Mason held Darlene’shand and followed his brother as he took the lead and opened doors for them and the forensic techs behind them.

He wanted to tear that stupid vice cop apart with his bare hands.He wanted to bathe in the man’s blood.But he couldn’t do any of it, because he was being watched, and if the cop suddenly turned up dead, he’d be the first man they questioned.

Next to him, Darlene tripped, gasped, and hopped on one foot for a moment.

“What happened?”he asked, stopping to crouch down and look at her feet.He couldn’t see anything obvious, so he lifted her left pant leg and found a huge bruise on her ankle.

“I hit it with my other foot,” she said with a tight smile.“It’s okay.I can walk.”

He wanted to pick her up, but the techs would likely object due to possiblecontamination.

“Mason?”His brother’s voice reminded him that they were still on the street, being observed by far too many people.

“Am I walking too fast?”he asked Darlene in a whisper.

She relaxed a little.“No, thank you for staying with me.I really didn’t want to do this alone.”

“Any time,” he said, and meant it.He slid his hand around hers and they continued into the hotel.

The lobby was as busy as the street, but Magnus forged a path through the chaos without hesitation.They took the staff elevator down to the shipping and receiving level where there were staff changing rooms that included shower stalls and lockers.

The forensic techs took photographs of all three of them first, then asked Darlene to remove her clothing, not including her underwear.

She went into one of the shower stalls with the female tech.The clicks and flashes of the camera told Mason the tech was taking more photographs.The shower started up and the tech came out with a large paper bag.Darlene’s clothing.

The male tech wanted to do the same with his and Magnus’s suits, but they refused to hand them over.

“You can take all the swabs you want,” Magnus told the guy.“Our suits are the latest in ballistic armor.They’re one of a kind, made by special order, and are hideously expensive.”

The tech stretched his neck out to get a closer look.“I’ve heard of them, but never seen one in person before.”He took lots of swabs and photos, then he repeated the exercise with Mason and his suit.

Hurry up.Hurry up.Hurry up.The mantra cycled through his head over and over as he forced himself to stay calm, or at least, look that way.

A member of the hotel staff showed up with a fresh set of housekeeping scrubs for Darlene to wear.