Page 25 of Saint of the Shadows

Tobias huffed out a laugh. “That’s a yarn. We can barely pay overtime, let alone a fancy schmancy super-cop program.”

She set her cup of noodles on the car hood as her nerves finished off her appetite. “Would you doit? Dress up and fight crime?” Her heart beat faster as she braced in anticipation for the answer.

Tobias looked at her and smiled. “I do every day.”

Marisol checked her watch. Her shift would start soon.Dammit, Tobias, I know it’s you.

Screech! A speeding car from the street below split her eardrums. As she searched for its direction, Vincent Varian exited the hospital and waltzed toward his silver roadster. A black town car bounced over the curb and stopped on the sidewalk with a familiar, rubber-burning squeal. Vincent jumped back to avoid the car.

Tobias sprang from the hood of the car and watched the dumb show with a clenched jaw.

The passenger window rolled down. Vincent shook his head while two burly men in puffy coats exited the backseat and encroached behind him. Between the car and the two men, he couldn’t bolt forward to his car or run back to the hospital. One man struck Vincent on the head while the other shoved him inside the black town car, which sped away from the hospital.

“Call 911!” Tobias entered the unmarked car. The engine started, and he turned on his lights and siren.

Her hands shook as she dialed 911. “I’m at the Varian Family Hospital. There’s been a kidnapping.”

The maroon muscle car crashed through the parking barrier and swerved onto the street.

In the hospital, she wheeled a chair under the shared television on the patient floor. Nothing had come over the dispatch. She stood on the chair to reach the button to change the channel. Maybe the news caught wind.

Nurse Rossi greeted her. “Long time no see.”

Desperate channel clicking robbed Marisol of her ability to vocalize niceties. She simply nodded and grunted.

“Picked a good day. Vincent Varian stopped by with an armload of coffee gift cards for the staff. Said it was for Shadowhaven’s true finer people.” Rossi held up a gift card. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I just saw some people kidnap Mr. Varian.” She flipped through all the channels. No coverage yet.

Rossi helped her down from the chair and hugged her. “You’re freezing. Change into my spares. They arrived fresh from laundry and will warm you right up. I’ll check with first responders over dispatch to see if they heard anything.”

In the locker room, Marisol ran her hands under the hot water of the sink and splashed her face. Her breath steadied, and she grabbed a fresh set of scrubs from the laundry cart. At her locker, she removed her cold layers and stuffed them inside.

A shiny object caught her attention. She reached in and drew it out. She gasped. It was Abuelita’s necklace with its clasp fixed. Marisol looked around. He had been here. The necklace’s comfort melted away her fear, and she held in her heart that he would make everything all right.

Outside the locker room, the EMTs wheeled a man in a puffy coat with a pair of gardening shears stuck in his thigh into trauma surgery. The man screamed about being attacked by a monster. She recognized him as one of the men who had kidnapped Vincent.

“I’ll take garden shears. You’ve had enough of craziness.” Nurse Rossi followed the EMTs deeper into the hospital.

Spared, Marisol settled into double-checking the medicine log.

“I know you’re not supposed to play favorites.”

She jumped at the gruff voice.

Tobias leaned over the counter. “But his name is on the hospital, and I told him I knew a good nurse.” He turned around and nudged Vincent Varian forward. Vincent held a bunched-up dress shirt to the back of his head. Dots of blood sullied his white, V-neck undershirt.

“Really. I’m fine,” Vincent said.

She shook her head. Only Vincent Varian could use a head injury to charm. “Come with me, Mr. Varian. I’ll clean you up.”

She guided Vincent to the table inside a private exam room, and she washed her hands, put on her gloves, and greeted his dopey smile with a sigh. His siren allure had nothing on her Patron Saint.

She wheeled a stool over to him and sat down. “Mr. Varian, I’m going to clean your wound. The doctor will then examine you to see how we can help you.”

“I insist you call me Vincent.”

“All right. Vincent.”

---