Page 45 of Cherished By the Sinners
Darlene sighed.“Graster is a bully.I don’t think he’s smart enough to be more than a—”
“Low level player,” Mason finished his voice hard and clipped.“Can I take her to the hospital now?”
Nope, he wasn’t calming down at all.
“Actually, our forensics people are going to want her clothes, samples from under her nails, and all the blood on her.Same with you,” Nika said, her gaze sweeping over to include Mason.
Nika looked around.There was a crowd of law-enforcement people milling around, along with press and members of the public filming the whole area.“Can you two take her into the hotel where forensics could do that in private?”
“Yes, of course,” Magnus said.
“Once you’re done with that, you’ll come with me to the precinct,” Nika told Mason.“Magnus, you can go with Darlene and an officer to get her checked out at the hospital.”
Mason opened his mouth, but Nika stuck her finger up in front of his face.“You are going to stay with me, where I can watch you and make sure you don’t kill anyoneaccidently.”
Mason snapped his mouth shut with a click.
Magnus met Darlene’s gaze and nodded once, confirming her impression.Mason was hanging onto his rationality by the tips of his fingers.
Darlene checked Mason’s reaction, but all he said was, “Yes, ma’am.”His posture relaxed a fraction and he glanced at her, his gaze concerned rather than angry.
She gave him a small smile and was rewarded when he relaxed a bit more.
Huh, give the man a direct order and that settled him.She’d have to remember that.
Darlene cleared her throat.“Could I talk to you for a minute?”she asked Nika.“Privately?”
“Sure.”Nika walked away from the crowd of police officers and first responders.Until they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I...um...I think I killed the man in the stairwell.”
Nika smiled at her.“I know.I saw the footage.That hotel has the best security in the city.”
“Oh.”
“Darlene,” Nika put her hand on Darlene’s shoulder.“Those two guys grabbed you and had you out of that hallway unbelievably quickly.I was fucking impressed by how viciously you fought back.”
Darlene winced.“I’ve been grabbed and hurt before.”She glanced over at Mason and Magnus, now standing side by side, watching her.“This is the first real job I’ve had in a long time, and I like it.I never want to go back to working the streets again.I like feeling safe.I like...”She darted another glance toward them.“...feeling safe.”
Nika followed Darlene’s gaze.“Are you sure about...them?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, there’s two of them and I think they come as a set.”She frowned at Darlene.“You know what I’m saying, right?”
Darlene looked at them again.“They watch me, you know, like all the time.No one has ever paid attention to me, watched me, cared about me, until them.”She turned her gaze to Nika’s face.“Could you walk away from Bazyli?”
Nika shook her head as a rueful smile crossed her face.“Not a chance.”
“I can’t either, and I don’t want to.”
Nika nodded.“Okay.After forensics is done with you, you’re going to the hospital to get checked out.Then Magnus is going to bring you to the station where you can give your statement.Like I said, we’ve already got the security footage, so just write down everything you remember.Okay?”
“Okay.”
Nika extended her hand toward Mason and Magnus, and raised her voice a little so they would hear her too, “Then let’s get moving.”
