Page 24 of Cherished By the Sinners
He’d never seen so many wounds on anyone’s back before.The pain she must be constantly in, and never a complaint.
He’d like to hunt down the killer who did it and give him a taste of his own medicine.Unfortunately, the modern justice system frowned on that sort of thing.
“It’s okay, Mason,” Darlene said, her voice muffled slightly by the pillow.“He’s been arrested and will be going to trial.”
“The prison system is too easy for the animal who did this to you,” he said, his voice a low rumble.
“He’ll probably get the death penalty,” she mumbled.“He didn’t just hurt me, he killed a couple of college students and a nurse.”
“Oh,” Mason drawled.“He killed more people than that.”
“He did?”
“Yeah, the moron was a contract killer.An assassin whose hobby got him caught.”
She chuckled and turned her head so she could see him.“Isn’t that the definition of irony?”
He snorted.“One of them, anyway.”She had a smile on her face and it stunned him all over again how strong she was, how she never let anything get her down.
“How do you do it?”he asked so softly he wasn’t sure she heard him.
But she did.“How do I do what?”
“Be so brave, so positive after...”He didn’t finish the sentence, he didn’t want to put into words the horrible things that had happened to her.
Her smile died for a couple of seconds, then brightened her face again.“Happiness is a choice, Mason.I make the decision every day, every hour, every minute to be happy.I refuse to let other people control how I feel ever again.”
It couldn’t be that simple, could it?No matter how much shit life threw at her, she claimed the right to decide how she felt?
“You are the most simple, straightforward, yet complicated person I’ve ever met.”
She laughed out loud, and it reverberated through him, all the way to a wound deep in his gut.And for a moment, he felt no pain at all.
Someone knocked on the door with a heavy fist.Magnus.
Mason went to the door and opened it.Magnus stood there with one of the large first aid kits from the surveillance room, and he wasn’t alone.
Louise stood a little behind and to his right, craning her head to see into the room.“Darlene?Are you okay?”
Mason opened his mouth to tell Louise she didn’t need to worry, that Darlene was being taken care of.Louise never gave him the opportunity to speak.She ducked under Magnus’s arm, slipped through the doorway, and ghosted past him as if he weren’t even there.
“She’s quick,” Magnus said.
“And slippery,” Mason said, nodding.He got out of the way so Magnus could come inside.
His brother set the first aid kit on the desk, opened it and began pulling out the necessary supplies to clean the wound.Saline, gauze squares, tweezers, iodine, and self-adhesive bandages.
“Louise, I’m fine,” Darlene said.
“Did something happen in one of the suites?”Louise asked her, her voice tight and high.
“One of the guests from India was rude,” Mason said.“A cultural misunderstanding.It was explained to them how things work in the United States, and in this hotel in particular.If there are any complaints, bring them to me or Magnus, we’ll take care of them.”
“Oh,” Louise said.“They didn’t complain, they just told me to cancel any further cleaning of their suite.”She turned to Darlene.“The Japanese and Chinese guests all called to tell me how pleased they were with your work and service.And actually...they asked for you to clean their room, if at all possible, from now on.But it looks to me like you should be on bed rest for a few days.”
“No, I’m able to work.Magnus and Mason are going to take care of my back.”
Louise looked at Mason and Magnus, her face asking the question,can she work?
