Page 14 of Cherished by the Sinners (Sinners Never Die #4)

Mason

M ason held Darlene’s hand 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 possible contamination .

“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.

“Are you two finished?” Mason asked the techs once Darlene came back out. All the blood that had been on her had been washed off, leaving her pale with dark circles under her eyes.

The bruising on her neck and arms looked even more pronounced.

It made Mason want to kill something slowly with his hands. Preferably, the asshole who’d hurt her.

“Yes, but—” the female tech began. “We’re supposed to stay with you until we touch base with Detective Johnson.”

“Give us a minute,” Magnus said. “We need to talk to our employee.”

The two techs both raised their eyebrows. Their disbelief painfully obvious.

Mason had to put a lot of effort into keeping his mouth shut. Yeah, yeah, we’re acting like boyfriends, not employers. Mind your own damned business.

The two techs did move to the other side of the room, though, which was acceptable.

Mason crouched down in front of Darlene and took both her hands in his. “Are you in pain? Do you have any other bruises like the one on your leg?”

She snorted. “I’m still swimming in adrenaline, so I’m not feeling much yet. Besides my neck, that one on my ankle is the worst.”

“Let me see,” Mason said, leaning toward her to see her neck.

Magnus joined him, lifting her hair out of the way.

The bruising on her skin told a story of violence and fear.

Mason reached out, but didn’t quite touch her. Causing her additional pain was unacceptable. “I’m so sorry we weren’t there to prevent this.”

“You can’t be everywhere at once. That awful cop went to a lot of trouble to get both of you out of the way.”

“He did, didn’t he?” Magnus asked. “I wonder how much money that asshole was making from this bit of theatre?”

Darlene snorted again, but this time it was part of a laugh. “If he was getting paid, someone had to be paying him.”

“Indeed,” Magnus said. “We will follow the money.”

Mason didn’t say anything, he couldn’t. An earthquake was happening inside his body, shaking him apart. He needed to do something, he needed to protect Darlene, with his body if necessary. But, with so many eyes on them, he couldn’t.

He was afraid, very afraid, that if he showed her how desperately he wanted to touch her, comfort her, guard her, she’d run.

She squeezed his hands, and his gaze met hers. She smiled lopsidedly. “Hug?”

Her request cut the bonds he’d imposed on himself, and he reached for her. He grabbed her up and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her as close as he could get her.

The scent of her in his nose, her body fitting against his as if she’d been made for him, was a relief so profound, tears flowed down his face. “Thank you,” he whispered into her ear. “Thank you.”

He crouched there for long seconds, holding Darlene.

She sniffled a few times too, then sighed. “We should go. I’m getting tired and I still haven’t gone to the hospital.”

She looked over Mason’s shoulder and smiled. “Magnus looks like he’s standing guard over us.”

Mason glanced at his brother, who was standing right behind him blocking the view the techs had of him and Darlene and nodded.

When Mason got to his feet, Magnus leaned down to whisper to Darlene, “I will always have my brother’s back and yours.”

“We can go now,” Mason said to the two techs, who picked up their gear and walked out of the change room.

Nika was waiting for them in the lobby. After a few words with the techs, she turned to Darlene, she smiled.

“You look much better.” Nika ducked and Darlene lifted her chin.

“That looks nasty though. I still want you to go to the hospital.” Nika studied Magnus and Mason.

“Magnus, please accompany Darlene along with Detective Davis to the hospital. Mason, you’re with me. ”

Magnus escorted Darlene outside, following the detective, with his arm around her shoulder, keeping her close to him. Magnus glanced over his shoulder and met Mason’s gaze.

He gave his brother a nod and got one in return.

He knew he was going to be separated from his brother and Darlene, and had expected it to ratchet up his frustration and anger again, but as he studied Nika’s face, it hit him that she didn’t look a whole lot more awake than Darlene. Pale and with bags under her eyes.

“When was the last time you slept?” he asked her.

She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Not you too. I’m fine. I’ll sleep as soon as I have this mess cleaned up enough that nothing is going to start on fire when my back is turned.”

“If sleep isn’t possible, you should eat something.”

“Did Baz send you a list of talking points?” she waved her hand at him. “Don’t answer that, just stop acting like my great-aunt Minerva and get in the car.”

A small smile touched Mason's lips.