Page 15 of Cherished by the Sinners (Sinners Never Die #4)

Magnus

D arlene was waiting to get examined by a doctor in a tiny cubicle. There was a whole row of cubicles, ten of them, all in a line down the hallway. The only thing separating them from each other and the hall were faded curtains that wrapped around each small space.

The nurse who brought them back to the exam rooms had pulled the curtain around Darlene’s bed, then told them to stay on the other side of it.

When Magnus moved to ignore that order after the nurse left, Davis had stepped in his way.

“Darlene would you like some company?” Magnus asked. He didn’t need to raise his voice, he could hear her breathing.

“I’m okay. I think I’m going to sleep for a few minutes.”

Davis angled his chin a little way down the hall. Interesting. What did he want to talk about?

Magnus moved about ten feet, then leaned against a wall.

Davis didn’t say anything right away. He just stared at Magnus.

Sometimes cops attempted to use the silent treatment to get people to talk.

Most folks found someone staring at them uncomfortable.

This guy had no idea how much experience Magnus had at watching people.

He could go days without saying a word. Besides, he liked this guy’s attitude. He’d kept his gaze off Darlene.

“Thank you,” Magnus said. Huh, well look at that, he did have something to say after all.

The detective’s eyebrows went up. “For what?”

Davis definitely hadn’t expected him to say that.

“For not being an asshole to Darlene.”

The other man nodded. “She’s trying to change her life and she’s willing to fight for it. I’ve got all kinds of respect for that.”

“Oh?”

The detective flashed a sad smile. “I had a cousin who lost the fight. I wish I could have helped her.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” The detective shifted his weight and leaned against the wall beside him. “This human trafficking shit is just about the worst thing one human can do to another.”

“Agreed.” Magnus studied the other man for a moment. “I’m trying to understand why they wanted her enough to kidnap her.”

The detective shifted and glanced away.

“What do you know?” Normally Magnus didn’t ask that kind of question, he demanded answers and got them. But his usual way of dealing with people wasn’t going to work with this guy. He was a cop. But he was a cop who worked with Nika. So maybe, something different would work. Like asking.

“We take care of our people,” Magnus said. That was true and something he, his brother, and the rest of his family made sure was publicly known. “I can’t keep her safe if I don’t know who’s after her and why.”

Davis sighed, then nodded. “We found out that there is a special order for a woman working at your hotel. Darlene’s name was on the list. It’s why we were at the hotel so soon after they tried to grab her. We were already coming over to warn you.”

“How did you find out?”

“We’re working with other law enforcement agencies, not just American, but international agencies too. We got a tip from the UK, Scotland Yard, that an organized crime family put out an order for her specifically.”

The UK?

The fucking British ?

“Was there any other information in this order?” Magnus managed to get out without sounding too much like he was about to lose his shit. “Who else is on this list?”

“Nika, Samantha, and Darlene are the top tier, after that, anyone they could grab. There was a note with Darlene’s name.“They knew she’d been injured recently, which would make her an easier target.”

Magnus had to make himself stand still, because if he moved, he was going to kill something. Or someone.

“Do you know who these people are?” Davis asked as he took a step back.

Going on a killing spree would not help Darlene. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “My apologies,” he said to the detective. “I’m just... angry. She deserves better.”

The detective nodded. “I agree with you, but you can’t help her if you don’t keep a clear head.”

Magnus nodded.

“It sounds like you know who our bad guys are.”

Magnus grunted. “I have no proof, but I do have a suspicion.” How much should he say, or rather, how little? “There is a rival... corporation in England who wouldn’t hesitate to resort to murder or kidnapping if they thought they might gain from it.”

Revenge for the deaths of their people when they tried to take Samantha was another reason, but he couldn’t say that out loud.

“Why does Darlene matter to them?”

“Because she matters to my brother and I.” There was no other rational explanation, but how had they figured that out? He and Mason hadn’t done anything overt. The only people who knew of their interest in Darlene were family, some members of the hotel staff, and...

Graster.

The name hit him like a physical blow. Nika had confirmed the disgraced vice cop used a cloned keycard to give the kidnappers access to the employee-only areas.

But Graster wouldn't have known about their personal interest in Darlene unless he was doing more than just facilitating. He must have been watching them. Watching her .

The rage he’d been tempering came roaring back to life. That son of a bitch hadn’t just given them a key. He had sold her .

The detective studied him for a couple of long seconds. “So, we need to tread carefully then.”

“I prefer the word discreet.” Magnus bared his teeth.

Davis swallowed hard.

An alarm claxon began to ring through the building. A voice echoed through the hallway, “Fire in basement level, all staff and patients evacuate.” It repeated after four seconds.

Magnus strode to Darlene’s cubicle and yanked the curtain out of the way.

She was already sitting up, putting her shoes back on. “A fire? Now?” she half shouted.

Magnus only nodded, then scooped her up into his arms. When he turned around, Davis was there. “I’ll clear a path,” he said, and proceeded to do exactly that.

People were crowding into the hallway from everywhere. Some were patients or their family members, some were staff, and too many were in wheelchairs. The volume of people trying to get out quickly clogged the way to the nearest exit until they were barely moving at all.

Several staff members, nurses and doctors, tried shouting out instructions on where people should go, but the alarm claxon drowned them all out.

Magnus had an advantage, he was taller than most of the people around him. He could see that a set of double doors ahead, previously propped half-open, had now been thrown wide.

The crowd began to slowly move toward it.

An elderly lady fell just a few feet ahead of them. The press of bodies was so tight, she had no room to get back up.

“Put me down,” Darlene ordered. “She needs your help more than I do.”

He didn’t want to do it, watched Davis try to get the lady on her feet only for her to fall again, but Darlene was looking at him with an expression he’d seen before on Anna’s face. Are you stupid or something?

Magnus carefully set Darlene down on her feet, then managed to elbow his way to the lady who was screaming and crying.

He picked her up, then looked over his shoulder at Darlene. “Stay with me.”

She nodded, flashed him a smile, then grabbed his belt at the back of his pants.

“Good idea. Hang on tight.” He turned and followed Davis and the crowd moving at a snail’s pace toward the doors up ahead.

He kept looking over his shoulder at Darlene and she was always there with another smile or a roll of her eyes.

They reached the choke-point of the doorway. He had to turn sideways to get through, noting Darlene still hanging onto his belt out of the corner of his eye.

A small cluster of people surged forward jostling him and the lady he was holding. He was forced to take a few steps back before he could go forward again.

Once he was through the doorway, the crowd in front of him spread out as people in security uniforms were directing traffic in multiple directions to get out of the building.

Magnus stopped and looked over his shoulder.

Darlene was gone.

He looked around, searching for her among the people around them, but she wasn’t anywhere.

Something tugged his arm.

He spun around to find Davis frowning at him. “Where’s Darlene?”

“I don’t know, she was right behind me, but now...”

“I’ll take care of this lady,” Davis said, smiling at the elderly lady who didn’t seem to know what was going on. “Find her.”

Magnus put the elderly lady down, but waited until she had an arm slung over Davis’s shoulder before letting go. As soon as she seemed stable, he spun and hustled back through the doorway.

The volume of people had gone down significantly, but he still couldn’t see Darlene anywhere. He began looking behind desks, inside empty washrooms, and searching the whole area in the Emergency Room.

Nothing. Even the staff had cleared out.

A red exit sign up ahead at the back of the space caught his attention. Why hadn’t anyone gone out that way?

He headed toward it, the area empty of people. He’d only gone a few feet when the scent of blood hit him in the face.

He’d know that scent anywhere.

Darlene.

His stomach dropped so far and so fast he might as well have been skydiving without a parachute. It was a landing he wouldn’t survive. And if he didn’t find her, he didn’t want to live anyway.

He arrived at the exit and noticed a few drops of blood on the floor and a handprint in on the doorframe. Someone had tried to slow down or stop their departure. More of Darlene’s blood.

Magnus went out the door. It led to a small parking lot.

There were a few more blood drops on the pavement heading in the direction of the cars.

Fuck. Fuck . She’d been taken right out from under his nose, and now they were doing who knew what to her. Not only was he freefalling, but some kind of band had wrapped itself around his chest, slowly tightening along with his rising panic.

No. If they knew enough to take her, they knew her value. She wouldn’t be harmed. Not yet anyway.

Magnus pulled out his phone and called his cousin. “Baz, Darlene...” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t even fucking breathe. Fear had a choke hold on his throat.

“Don’t tell me...” Baz growled into the phone. “Again?”

“I think it’s the British. Davis said the police got a call from Scotland Yard.”

“Yeah, Nika texted me the same info.”

“They succeeded in grabbing her this time. The fire alarm started going off and we got separated.”

“They aren’t going to hurt her,” Baz said. “They want her, remember?”

Magnus said nothing. All he could think about was Darlene and what they might be doing to her.

Then he remembered. “She’s wearing Mason’s watch.”

“Brian,” Baz said, his voice slightly muffled. “Can you track Mason’s fancy watch?”

“Yup,” said a voice in the background.

“Darlene’s been taken and they got away this time. She’s wearing Mason’s watch.”

“I can track it, but it’s only going to help us if they don’t throw it out.”

“Is he doing it?” Magnus asked, his voice sounded hoarse to himself, as if he’d been screaming for hours.

“Yeah, give us a minute.” Baz was quiet for a moment. “Where did the British bastards stay when they were here last?”

“They didn’t. As far as we could figure out, they stayed in their airplane until they attacked us at the hotel.”

“Did they fly in again?” Baz grunted. “Never mind. Get your ass back to the hotel. This is the best place to be until we have more information.” It was an order and one he was happy to follow.

“Yes, sir.”

“Keep this call open,” Baz ordered. “Put me on speaker phone so I can yell at you.”

“I’m not going to go on a killing spree,” Magnus said as he headed around the building toward the main entrance to the hospital.

“You sure about that?”

“Yes. We have to get her back, Baz. I can’t help her if I’m... not rational.”

Sirens were screaming as he arrived at the busy entrance. Cop cars were parked haphazardly all over the place. One of them flashed its headlights at him. Davis .

“Davis is still here. I’ll get him to bring me home.”

Magnus didn’t waste any time approaching Davis’s car. He asked for a lift to the hotel and Davis agreed to take him.

Davis studied him for a moment before he put the car into drive and drove away. “I’m sorry,” he said. “If it were my wife, I’d be out of my mind right now.”

“Ahh, Davis,” Baz drawled, his voice sounding a bit tinny coming from the phone. “You’re a nice guy.”

“Hey, Baz,” Davis said. “Are things still crazy downtown?”

“Completely. It’s chaos here. I’m not a fan, but some of our guests are enjoying it. A couple of the Chinese ladies even brought popcorn.”

Magnus couldn’t pretend to be calm. “Baz, we need to get her back.”

“We’re working on it,” Baz said, no hint of levity in his voice this time.

Magnus didn’t respond. He couldn’t, fear was an immovable lump in his throat.

“If they took her to get to you and Mason,” Davis said slowly. “They’re going to contact you. Ask for some kind of ransom, information, or action.”

“That’s assuming whoever took her is a rational, reasonable human being,” Baz said.

“That’s true,” Davis replied.

“You two are not helping,” Magnus ground out.

“Sorry, man,” Baz said. “How far away are you from the hotel?”

“About ten minutes,” Davis said.

“Don’t take your time. We need to be ready to move as soon as we’re in contact with the kidnappers.”

Davis turned on his siren and stepped on the gas.