Page 13 of Cherished by the Sinners (Sinners Never Die #4)

Darlene

D arlene could hear shouts on the other side of the van, men shouting at Magnus to step away from the guy he’d been pummeling. But their shouts were a little late, she could see he was already several feet away with his hands up.

More officers surrounded her and Mason, also shouting for them to put their hands up. Mason slowly released her and uniformed officers came up and put them both in handcuffs.

“She’s a kidnapping victim,” Mason told them. “She’s also obviously injured. She needs medical attention.”

She didn’t, but it was nice of him to say.

Someone started laughing, and it sounded deranged.

A few of the officers milling around parted, revealing the vice cop who was indulging in a belly laugh.

“She’s a prostitute and you two are part of a criminal organization.

” He looked inside the van, then turned back and grinned.

“I guarantee that all three of you are going to get some serious prison time for all this.”

“Graster,” a female voice said. “That’s enough.” A woman threaded her way through the officers.

Nika—Mason and Magnus’s cousin Bazyli’s girlfriend—was also a detective. She’d also arrested the man who’d cut up her back and tried to kill her.

Graster’s face twisted into a sneer. “Not your case.”

“It is now,” she told him with no expression at all. “There’s a dead body in the hotel stairwell, and the dude didn’t go down easy.”

“What?” Graster frowned. “No, that’s not...” He pointed at Darlene. “She solicited these men, then tried to rob them. Then these two got involved.” He pointed at Mason and Magnus. “I think they’re shaking down hotel guests.”

That lying piece of crap . “I didn’t solicit anyone,” Darlene said. “I told you before, I have a real job.”

“I have you, Mr. Graster,” Mason said with the smile on his face that meant he was planning on smacking someone.

“On surveillance tape, sitting with two men in the hotel restaurant. One of them is in the back of this van. On that tape, you approach our employee,” he nodded at Darlene.

“And said something to her that made her lean as far away from you as she could possibly get. And I believe the expression on her face was disgust.”

“I’ll need that tape,” Nika said mildly.

“Of course, detective. There are also several witnesses to their interaction. Guests of the hotel.”

“Do you know who the dead body is?” she asked.

“The other man Mr. Graster was sitting with in the hotel restaurant. We also have footage of Darlene’s kidnapping by those same two men, and how hard she fought them. She did not go willingly.”

“Graster,” Nika said, looking in the van at the man within. “How do you know this guy and my dead body?”

Graster’s face was so red, he looked like he was about to explode. “You’re questioning me in front of suspects?” His lips retracted in disgust. “Oh yeah, you’re banging one of them, right?”

Another detective jogged over to Nika. “Just got word from the team across the street,” he said, keeping his voice low. “The bomb threat was a fake. A classic case of ‘swatting’ to create a diversion.”

“Swatting?” Darlene asked, the word unfamiliar.

Nika gave a grim nod. “It’s when someone makes a hoax 911 call to draw a massive police response—like a SWAT team—to a specific location as a distraction.

Or a very sick prank.” She paused, turning to survey the area in a slow circle.

“Really? Interesting timing.” She turned and examined Graster with narrow eyes, but didn’t respond to him.

“The 911 operator said the man who called in the bomb scare,” the detective continued. “Kept the call short, didn’t give her an opportunity to ask questions, but did know all the key words to say.”

“Interesting,” Nika repeated. She waved at the SWAT guys then shouted, “Thanks, I think your team and the bomb squad can head out.”

They nodded back and walked away. That left a bunch of uniformed cops, and several suited guys who worked with Nika.

She studied Mason and Magnus and Darlene. “Darlene, do you need medical attention?”

“Wait a second,” Graster broke in, putting his hands on his hips. “Aren’t you going to arrest anyone? These two meatheads beat the shit out of two men and probably had something to do with your dead body.”

Nika smiled coldly at Graster. “I plan on arresting quite a few people. Making sure everyone involved is healthy enough to answer questions is step one. Something you’d know if you bothered to learn the law beyond your admittedly small understanding of it.”

“This is fucking ridiculous,” Graster said, rolling his eyes. “I’m out of here.”

“Not so fast,” Nika said, holding up a hand then gesturing toward the detective. “Williams is going to take you back to the station to take your statement.” She nodded at the man who approached Graster with a half grin on his face.

“Why do I need to make a statement?” Graster said, outrage making him louder. “I’ve got nothing to do with this.”

“Are you on duty?” Nika asked him.

“No.” As soon as the word left his mouth, a horrified expression flashed across his face before he could hide it.

Darlene checked Nika’s face to see if she caught it. Nika looked so relaxed, so unconcerned, it had to be an act.

“So, you were visiting with friends in the hotel, harassed an employee, then just happened to be around during a kidnapping and murder?”

Yup. An act.

Graster took an aggressive step toward Nika. “You fucking accusing me of something?”

“Several things,” she smiled at him. It wasn’t a nice smile. It was the kind of expression that made Darlene want to take a big step back. “It turns out you’ve been moonlighting as a scumbag human trafficker. I really hadn’t thought you’d be stupid enough to go after Darlene.”

“Bullshit,” Graster shouted. “I’ve been a cop for twelve years. I’ve seen every play, every scam, and grift.” He pointed at Darlene. “This piece of shit has been playing all of you.” He pointed at Nika and the twins.

“So,” Darlene said, confused. “I’m a low life prostitute and a criminal mastermind?”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Graster said, a sneer twisting his face.

“We’ve been watching you for weeks,” Nika told him as Williams approached the vice cop with his handcuffs out. “You’ve been selling police records on sex workers and other vulnerable women for a long time. Did you know that every time one of those records is opened, a flag goes up?”

“You’re fucking crazy. I’m a vice cop, I’m supposed to look at those records.”

Nika’s smile turned radiant. “You looked at and copied my undercover persona’s file, you dumb fuck. You sold information on another cop.”

Graster’s face lost all color, then he broke and ran.

Straight at Darlene.

Mason and Magnus somehow got in front of her, both men crouching like they were line-backers prepped for a clash.

Graster was smaller and lighter than both men, so when he collided with the twins, he bounced off them and went down in a tangle of arms and legs.

Williams was on him a moment later, rolling the vice cop onto his belly and handcuffing his hands behind his back. Williams dragged him up onto his feet, then tugged him toward the numerous police cars parked all over the street.

“You fucking bitch!” Graster tried to yank himself out of Williams’ grasp, but the detective had a good grip on him. “I’ll have your job for this! I’ll sue you for slander too!”

Williams stuffed Graster into a car and slammed the door.

Mason turned around and took Darlene by the shoulders. “Are you all right?”

“What? Oh yes, I mean, I’m not worse than I was five minutes ago.”

Mason frowned as he studied her. “We need to get all this blood off you to see where you’ve been injured.”

“I can feel some bruises. Most of them are on my arms where Thug One and Two grabbed me, and on my face. They punched me a few times when I wouldn’t stop fighting them.”

Mason’s mouth tightened into a thin line. That’s when she noticed that his hands were bloody. Was he afraid? No, he was angry.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to prevent them from touching you.” Mason’s expression said that if the two men were in front of him now, he’d kill them with his bare hands. If he didn’t calm down, he was going to have a stroke.

“It’s not your fault,” Darlene said, patting his arm.

“How could you know they would try to kidnap me?” Darlene tilted her head to one side.

“Why did they try to take me? If you want a prostitute, there are plenty willing to do whatever for a price.” She winced.

“It seems kind of stupid to be going after me.”

As she spoke, Nika’s phone buzzed. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen, her expression hardening. She looked up from the phone, her focus sharp.

“It’s a very complicated knot of human trafficking going on here and around the world,” Nika said, her voice low and directed at them.

“There are a lot of people involved, some in law enforcement. Graster and another guy in Vice have been on my radar for a while, and your question of ‘why you’ might be linked to ‘how they did it.’ My team just confirmed it.” She held up her phone briefly before putting it away.

“They found a cloned keycard on the kidnapper we arrested. One of the guys from your hotel security team ran the signature for us. It matches a temporary all-access pass issued to an HVAC contractor last week. The guy never realized he lost it, so the ID was still fully active in your system. Graster must have found it, giving him a skeleton key to your operation.”

“You think he and his friends came into the hotel planning to grab someone vulnerable and Darlene was the target they decided on?” Magnus asked.

“That’s one theory.”

How many theory’s could there be?

Darlene sighed. “Graster is a bully. I don’t think he’s smart enough to be more than a—”

“Low level player,” Mason finished his voice hard and clipped. “Can I take her to the hospital now?”

Nope, he wasn’t calming down at all.

“Actually, our forensics people are going to want her clothes, samples from under her nails, and all the blood on her. Same with you,” Nika said, her gaze sweeping over to include Mason.

Nika looked around. There was a crowd of law-enforcement people milling around, along with press and members of the public filming the whole area. “Can you two take her into the hotel where forensics could do that in private?”

“Yes, of course,” Magnus said.

“Once you’re done with that, you’ll come with me to the precinct,” Nika told Mason. “Magnus, you can go with Darlene and an officer to get her checked out at the hospital.”

Mason opened his mouth, but Nika stuck her finger up in front of his face. “You are going to stay with me, where I can watch you and make sure you don’t kill anyone accidently. ”

Mason snapped his mouth shut with a click.

Magnus met Darlene’s gaze and nodded once, confirming her impression. Mason was hanging onto his rationality by the tips of his fingers.

Darlene checked Mason’s reaction, but all he said was, “Yes, ma’am.” His posture relaxed a fraction and he glanced at her, his gaze concerned rather than angry.

She gave him a small smile and was rewarded when he relaxed a bit more.

Huh, give the man a direct order and that settled him. She’d have to remember that.

Darlene cleared her throat. “Could I talk to you for a minute?” she asked Nika. “Privately?”

“Sure.” Nika walked away from the crowd of police officers and first responders. Until they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be overheard.

“I... um... I think I killed the man in the stairwell.”

Nika smiled at her. “I know. I saw the footage. That hotel has the best security in the city.”

“Oh.”

“Darlene,” Nika put her hand on Darlene’s shoulder. “Those two guys grabbed you and had you out of that hallway unbelievably quickly. I was fucking impressed by how viciously you fought back.”

Darlene winced. “I’ve been grabbed and hurt before.

” She glanced over at Mason and Magnus, now standing side by side, watching her.

“This is the first real job I’ve had in a long time, and I like it.

I never want to go back to working the streets again.

I like feeling safe. I like...” She darted another glance toward them. “...feeling safe.”

Nika followed Darlene’s gaze. “Are you sure about... them?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, there’s two of them and I think they come as a set.” She frowned at Darlene. “You know what I’m saying, right?”

Darlene looked at them again. “They watch me, you know, like all the time. No one has ever paid attention to me, watched me, cared about me, until them.” She turned her gaze to Nika’s face. “Could you walk away from Bazyli?”

Nika shook her head as a rueful smile crossed her face. “Not a chance.”

“I can’t either, and I don’t want to.”

Nika nodded. “Okay. After forensics is done with you, you’re going to the hospital to get checked out. Then Magnus is going to bring you to the station where you can give your statement. Like I said, we’ve already got the security footage, so just write down everything you remember. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Nika extended her hand toward Mason and Magnus, and raised her voice a little so they would hear her too, “Then let’s get moving.”