Page 29 of Sinner's Secret

“Sure. Like I said, lying requires too much of my very valuable time.”

She stared at him for a moment longer, then shook her head and went back to typing. “Every time you open your mouth, you say something unexpected.”

Nika’s cell phone rang. She checked it, then answered.

Baz ignored her conversation while he finished his statement and signed it.

She ended her call and looked at the paper he handed her. “All done?”

“Yeah.”

She glanced at his statement, then nodded. “That was my partner. He’s done at the hospital.”

“How’s his arm?”

“Okay, it was a through and through like you thought. He just needed a few stitches.” A small smile lifted the corners of her lips. “He and Davis have come to the conclusion that you saved his life. If you hadn’t put yourself between him and the street, the bullet that hit your back would have likely killed him.”

Baz laughed. “My mother always said I was a better door than a window.”

Her smile died. “You could have died, Baz. If the shooter had aimed higher...”

“Might haves and maybes don’t count, Nika, and they will mess with your head if you let them.” He stood, smiled, and spread his arms wide. “That’s why I’m so very rational.”

A couple of uniformed cops who were standing close enough to overhear, laughed.

“Where’d you find this guy?” one of them asked Nika.

“Cab driver,” she replied, then she looked at Baz. “Try to stay out of trouble.”

“Where would the fun be in that?” he asked as he saluted her. He strode out of the station, conscious of several pairs of eyes on him as he left.

Chapter Six

Baz drove off in the opposite direction of the cab company’s garage, toward Manhattan and its pricey apartments. He parked outside one of the most expensive buildings in the city. It was a hotel, but it was also where his cousin lived.

The doorman strode up to his cab and peered through the window. “Did someone call you?”

Baz opened the door and stepped out. “No, I’m here to see Yvgeny Breznik.”

The doorman screwed up his nose and shook his head. “Mr. Breznik has a car and driver.”

“He’ll see me.”

“It’s after three o’clock in the morning.”

Baz smiled enough to flash some teeth. “He doesn’t keep regular hours.”

“I’ll have to call his assistant to confirm.”

“Go ahead.” Baz leaned against the front of the cab to wait.

The doorman pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and made a quick call.

Baz hated coming downtown. Most of the city’s vampires lived in the concrete jungle, content to stay indoors, run their businesses, and indulge in their individual vice or vices of choice day or night.

Baz nearly burst out laughing as the doorman’s face changed from slightly disgusted to shocked, then horrified. The man closed his phone and approached Baz with a shaky smile and a small bow.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Breznik. Mr. Breznik will see you immediately.”

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