Page 58 of Cherished By the Sinners
“I get to kill them after?”he asked.Damn it, that sounded much too eager.She wasn’t going to say yes.
“No, but you can scare the shit out of them.”
“That’s not nearly enough fun as killing them would be.”
“Geez, that’s exactly what Baz would say.”She shook her head.“You guys are so dark sometimes.”
“We have our priorities in the right place,” he said.
“Whatever.The deal is, you do what I tell you, when I tell you, and you can come with me.”
“Fine.”
“I need a complete sentence from you, Mason.”
“Yes, I will do as you say.”
“Good.”She relaxed a very tiny fraction.
“Tell me what happened.”
She did.
“I don’t know what they want,” he said after she was finished.“It doesn’t make sense to want Darlene this much.She’s a normal human.”
“Magnus thinks it might be because you two are in a relationship with her.”
“We want to be, but we were interrupted by the current stupidity.She doesn’t have all the information yet.”
Nika chewed on her bottom lip.“Does she have any idea that you two are interested in her, or is all of this going to blindside her?”
“She knows we...want her, but she’s hesitant.”He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“She’s had a rough life,” Nika said softly.
“She has more courage in her little finger than most people have in their entire body.She’s been treated like garbage her entire life.But despite that, she chooses joy, and she shares it with everyone she meets.Our head of housekeeping told me today that Darlene is the most reliable, hardworking employee she has.”He thought about her cleaning the suites for the Japanese and Chinese guests.“She was singing while she worked this morning,” he said in a whisper.
“She’s a survivor, Mason,” Nika said.“Whatever is going on with the British, I don’t think she’ll panic.She’ll wait and look for a way to get to safety.”
“If they hurt her...”he couldn’t finish the sentence.Couldn’t imagine what might happen without wanting to destroy something or someone.“Where are we going?”
“They want to meet in Central Park.The kidnappers have demands, the first of which is dealing directly with you and Magnus.In person.”
“In person can mean only one thing,” he said.
“They want to ambush you?”She grunted.At his nod, she said, “That’s exactly what Baz and Magnus said.Brian immediately wanted to send in some drones, but Anna shot that idea down.”
“Recording our conversation would not be wise.”
“No, but there are so many people around the Park, anyone could be recording it.So, we’ve decided to avoid that confrontation and create one where we have more control of the environment.”
“How?”
“Baz got a text from one of the British bastards, a guy named Eli.”
Mason had never met the man, but he was the youngest vampire they had.“He’s only a couple of hundred years old and the last vampire they added to their group.”
“Eli told Baz that his uncle is planning some kind of major event that will destroy you.A public event.He said Darlene is with them and is unharmed, but he’s worried about her safety.”
