Page 2 of Cherished by the Sinners (Sinners Never Die #4)

Darlene

T here was a hasty conversation in Japanese, then the door was opened.

“I’m looking for one of our housekeepers who hasn’t checked in.” The words were said in a deep, dark, grumbling tone.

Mason or Magnus. Or both. Worrying about her again.

Wait a second, she’d never had to check in before.

Darlene walked out of the bathroom and through the bedroom in time to see Mason, yes she was sure it was him, standing much too close to the Japanese gentleman who’d spoken with her.

She’d seen that body language in him before. Usually prior to physically ejecting someone from the hotel.

The bottom fell out of her stomach, leaving her in a freefall without any way to slow down.

These guests were important. A conflict between Mason and the guests would be bad for everyone.

She cleared her throat. “Mr. Breznik,” she said in a tentative tone.

Mason’s head snapped in her direction.

“I’m terribly sorry to have caused any alarm.” She tried to smile, but she was sure she had too much adrenaline rushing through her for it to be convincing. “Did you need to speak with me?”

“Yes.” He stepped back two paces away from the Japanese guest, his face as expressionless as ever. “Outside, please.”

It took effort to swallow and make her vocal cords work. “Of course, sir.”

She headed for the suite’s entrance and walked out in the hallway. She felt more than heard Mason following her out. He was so close behind her his body heat warmed her back.

She walked several paces down the hall toward the elevator before stopping and turning to face him.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to check in,” she said before he could begin chewing her out.

He stared at her, unblinking for a couple of seconds before he said, “You’re usually done with the rooms much faster than this. Was there a problem with any of the guests?”

She thought about the extremely polite Japanese guests. “No, not at all. It’s a suite, so it takes longer to clean than a regular room.”

Spots of color reddened Mason’s cheeks. “I... had forgotten that.”

He’d forgotten... wait a sec... what ?

“There is no check-in protocol is there?” Her thoughts jumped to the next obvious conclusion. “Do you time me?” Before he could answer, she asked, “Do you watch me on the security cameras?”

Mason opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He swallowed, but still... nothing. No denial, no excuses, and no apology.

Oh yeah, he watched. That’s all he and his brother ever did with her. Watch.

“You did, didn’t you.” She said it like it was an observation not a question. “You and Magnus.”

Mason’s mouth slowly closed, then he tilted his head to one side, his gaze intent.

Darlene didn’t give a shit about whatever he found so fascinating.

She’d had enough of their arm’s length caretaking of her.

As if they had the right to do that. As if she wanted them to do that.

The health and security of hotel staff was one thing, but this surveillance and freaking out when she didn’t stay on their schedule was going to end.

She pointed a finger at Mason. “You and your brother are going to stop this nonsense right now.”

He straightened, his stance no longer hesitant, his chin raised, his eyes hard. “No.”

She glanced behind him and saw two Japanese guests watching them from the doorway of their suite.

She refocused on Mason and narrowed her eyes. “Yes.”

Mason took a step toward her, putting his body within touching distance.

He sucked in a breath, probably to say no again, but she beat him to the punch. “You are going to get me fired .”

Just the idea of losing her job punched panic into her heart.

A sob got caught in her throat, making it hard to find enough air to speak, but she had to find a way to make him understand.

“This job is the best thing to happen to me in a very long time, if I lose it...” She couldn’t finish the sentence. If she lost it, she’d likely be dead.

“You will not lose your job,” Mason growled. “I guarantee it.”

“Is there a problem?”

Mason spun on his heel so fast it made her dizzy.

The Japanese guest who’d spoken with her earlier was standing right behind Mason, and now Mason was looming over him. Mason’s shoulders and back were rigid underneath his suit jacket.

Darlene frowned, that wasn’t quite right. She glanced down and saw that he had his right hand tucked behind his leg and there was a long, wicked knife in his grip.

Holy crap, where had that come from?

He was hanging onto it so tight his knuckles were white with strain. His whole body looked like it was about to explode.

She moved before her brain fully comprehended what he might do with that knife.

She stepped forward, grabbed Mason’s wrist, slapped a smile on her face, poked her head around Mason’s body, and managed to say in a too cheerful tone, “No, nothing at all.” She had to suck in a breath to steady her uneven breathing.

“Mr. Breznik and I were just having a difference of opinion.” She shrugged. “He’s very passionate about his job.”

At that Mason turned his head to look at her with one eyebrow raised.

She managed to keep the smile on her face by forcing her lips to stay where they were. “Isn’t that right, sir?” She squeezed his wrist.

He studied her for another moment. “Very passionate,” he said in a flat tone.

The Japanese guest looked from her to Mason and back. “I see.”

Mason broke eye contact with her to glare at the guest. “Do you?” he asked, his voice clearly saying he didn’t believe it.

The guest looked between them again, then a hint of a smile lit up his gaze. “Yes, I think I do. If you don’t mind, I would like to provide a small note of feedback regarding the young lady’s work.”

Mason didn’t say anything, but she had to use more and more strength to keep his hand where it was.

The guest seemed to take this as permission, and gave her a nod of his head. “Your housekeeper is kind and works with great diligence. No harm will come to her from any of us.”

Mason didn’t say anything for several seconds, then, finally, he growled out, “During your stay?”

“Anywhere, at any time.”

The tension in Mason’s body ratcheted up another level. If this kept up, she was going to have to use her body weight to keep him from stabbing the guest.

“Why?” Mason asked.

“As I said, she is kind and... joyful. Happiness is sometimes difficult to find in the world today. It should be protected and allowed to flourish.”

Mason remained silent for another moment, then said, “Agreed.” He relaxed his shoulders, arm, and hand.

The Japanese guest bowed to Mason and walked back to the doorway to his suite.

Once the guest was out of sight, Darlene let go of Mason’s wrist and he did something that made the knife disappear.

How had he done that?

Never mind, she didn’t have time to figure out his magic trick. “I have to finish cleaning the suite,” she said to Mason. “If you will excuse me?”

Mason turned to face her again. “Why did you stop me?”

She blinked, and the anger that had subsided when the guest came to talk to them reignited, burning a hole through her sternum. “Because I didn’t want you to lose your job, or end up in jail,” she hissed at him. She smacked his chest with one open hand.

He glanced down at her hand, which was still touching his chest, then he looked at her again. “You were trying to... protect me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

“Why?” He sounded so confused.

“Because I...” Damn it, she’d almost said, because I like you, because you and your brother are the hottest men I’ve ever met, because if something happened to you I don’t know if I would ever recover . “Because I... care about you. You and your brother are my friends. I don’t have a lot of those.”

“Friends,” Mason said flatly as if he didn’t know what the word meant. He stared at her for so long, the expression on his face slowly transforming from irritated and angry to something closer to satisfied. “You care about us?”

He didn’t take a step, but somehow he seemed closer to her.

“Yes. You and your brother are good men and you’ve been kind to me.”

He snorted and shook his head. “We are not good men.”

She gave him a sad smile. “I guess that depends on how you define good , doesn’t it?” Darlene turned and walked back to the suite she was cleaning.

She’d bet her next paycheck that her definition of good was completely different than his.