Page 6 of Cherished by the Sinners (Sinners Never Die #4)

Magnus

M agnus stood in the doorway of the suite, keeping everyone in his line of sight, including Darlene. Their guests from India looked chagrined, but not repentant. Not that he was surprised, but it was going to take more than one discussion and beating for them to change their expectations.

They saw staff as servants, which were barely human in their estimation. It was an old cultural view, but one they would need to let go of if they wished to continue to enjoy the Breznik family’s hospitality.

If they didn’t, it wouldn’t hurt his feelings if he and Mason had to dispose of pieces of them.

Darlene checked her cart, then continued tidying the rooms. All of the Indian vampires stayed seated on the couch or chairs in the living area of the suite. Everyone watched Darlene work as if it were the most interesting thing they’d ever seen.

Aside from a few frowning glances from Darlene in his direction, she didn’t look at anyone else.

Good. They weren’t important.

When she finally finished, she pushed her cart out of the suite and moved down the hall, past the elevator and toward one of the Chinese suites. They had two, since their party was much larger.

“Are you just going to follow me around?” she asked him.

“Yes.”

When he didn’t say anything else, she sighed, shook her head, and knocked on the door. “Housekeeping,” she called out.

The door popped open and a Chinese lady, not one of the vampires, smiled broadly at Darlene.

“I need to clean your room, is that okay?” she asked the lady.

The lady held the door open wide and waved Darlene inside.

When Magnus took up a position in the doorway, he was surprised at how many ladies there were in the room. Every chair, couch, and cushion had someone on them. Several of them were seated on the floor.

Darlene stared at them for a moment before walking over to him. She smiled at the room, then waved at him to bend closer. “Can we get some more chairs or something?”

“They do tend to stick together in one or two large groups,” he admitted. “I’ll see what Louise might have in storage that could be brought up.”

Darlene gave him a brilliant smile and returned to her cart.

He called Louise and discovered that there were several loveseats and chairs that could be added to the suite. He told her he’d call back after talking to the guests.

Magnus nodded at the lady who’d opened the door and waved at her to come over.

She trotted over and gave him a little bow.

He inclined his head and spoke in a low tone in Mandarin, “Our housekeeper,” he gestured at Darlene, “would like to have more seating brought in for you. Is that acceptable?”

“Oh,” the lady said, glancing at Darlene with a smile before returning her gaze to his face. “Yes, thank you.”

“The same for the other suite?”

“Yes, thank you for your thoughtfulness.” Her smile was wide.

“Our housekeeper is very thoughtful,” he replied.

The lady turned and told the rest of the guests in the room that their housekeeper and security man were arranging for more chairs for their suites.

Applause broke out across the room, and several of them turned to Darlene and said thank you in horribly accented English.

Darlene shocked them all by saying you’re welcome in Mandarin.

The applause got louder.

A couple of the ladies approached her and spoke in slow, careful Mandarin. Asking if she spoke the language and where she learned it.

Darlene replied slowly, obviously thinking hard, saying she’d just picked up a few words here and there. Then she bowed a little and turned away to get back to work.

She could speak a bit of Japanese and Mandarin. How many other languages could she get by in?

Magnus stayed in the doorway, ignoring the looks, whispers, and giggles from the mostly female guests. He’d have been annoyed at having so many people speculating about his and his brother’s intentions toward Darlene, if Mason hadn’t already made it plain to their Japanese and Indian guests.

He just hoped it didn’t annoy Darlene.

Finally, she finished cleaning the suite and pushed her cart toward the door, exchanging goodbyes with everyone.

The elevator dinged and Magnus turned to see who was arriving at the floor. The furniture. Good.

Darlene was able to get her cart out just in time for the first loveseat to be rolled in.

Once again there was applause.

She headed to the second suite their Chinese guests were staying with a smile on her face. “They certainly are easy to please. A couple of the ladies have even offered to tutor me in Mandarin.”

“I’m sure they’ll teach you all kinds of things if you let them,” he said, considering how dangerous each and every one of those ladies were.

“Like what?” Darlene asked, a little frown on her face.

“I can give you a background on most of them if you want, but to boil it down... they’ve all been trained in multiple martial arts styles.”

Darlene blinked. “Why?”

“Well, some of them are something like ambassadors, and the others are both family and part of their security detail.”

“Sort of like Yvgeny, Baz, and you and your brother?”

He glanced at her, but she was already nodding her head. “I get it.”

She was very observant, and a lot smarter than everyone assumed.

“Did you finish high school?”

She winced. “No, not quite. My life kind of imploded in my senior year. I never finished it.”

“Would you like to?”

She stopped abruptly. “What?”

“Would you like to finish high school? You can do it remotely.”

She stared at him like he had three heads. “I don’t... I don’t have a computer or any money to buy one or pay for the classes—”

He shrugged. “The hotel will cover all those costs.”

Judging by her shocked expression, he’d sprouted a couple more heads.

“But why would the hotel do that?”

Because it’s the right thing to do.

Because she deserved to be treated with respect.

Because every time he or his brother saw her stumble or look sad, they wanted to kiss her sadness away .

None of those answers were quite right, and he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. Something that might make her run away or reject what he and his brother wanted to offer her.

So, he said the bald truth. “Because we want you to be happy.”

Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped open, and stayed there.

He winced. Shit, was that too truthful?

“You mean it?” she asked in a small voice.

She wasn’t running. Yet.

“Yes. You will have to do the work and write the exams.”

“I don’t mind. I loved school.” Her eyes shone with so much joy, he was warmed by it.

This is the first step. A foundation for the future she deserves—a future with us.

Her smile dimmed a bit. “It seems like a lot to provide one employee. I don’t mind waiting until I can pay for it myself.”

“We’ve done this for other employees,” he explained quickly. “It’s something we offer any staff member who might be interested.”

And now he’d turned school from a treat to nothing special.

“Have many of them done it?”

He thought about it. “There are about eight employees who’ve finished high school remotely while working for us. A couple of them have also gone on to do some college classes, and one of the night clerks went to school with our support for a hospitality diploma.”

Darlene’s smile returned, softer and deeper, which made him feel decidedly warm under the collar.

“Thank you for offering me this chance to finish high school.” A blush crept up her cheeks.

“I think it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.

” She turned then to knock on the door to the suite they’d stopped in front of.

She went into the room as soon as the door opened to the great excitement of the ladies inside.

Magnus took his spot in the doorway without really thinking about it. His mind was hung up on the idea that offering Darlene the opportunity to finish school was the nicest thing anyone had done for her.

She deserved so much more.

He was determined to give her much more.