Wrong Place, Wrong Time (The Criminal Connections Book 1)

Chapter 30

Magdalena

I'm an idiot. I really thought I did something there, huh? I can't believe I let that man- no. He's not a man. He's a creature with no conscience. I can't believe I let that creature affect me like that. My feelings are hurt. Its not the first time someone insults me or disrespects me to my face, but there's something different about being looked in the eye while someone tells you the vile things they would do to you – or rather regret not doing to you while they had the chance. I wonder how many women he has subjected that treatment to. A chill runs down my spine as another wave of fresh tears fall down my cheeks. All the women who've gone through that, deserve justice. Damiano's sister, Victoria, deserves justice. Weasel is exactly where he deserves to be.

I technically didn't do anything wrong, but I had no business going in there. I slap my forehead for the tenth time. How am I supposed to face Malcolm or any of the others again?

I've locked myself in my room at Malcolm's place, too embarrassed and upset to face the world. I left Nico by himself. I was too embarrassed to look at him after bawling my eyes out during the whole car ride. I wonder if he's still out there. I heard the elevator ping again just a few minutes ago. Maybe he did leave.

The elevator pings yet again, making me wonder what's going on out there. Are people arriving or leaving? I'm not ready to leave my room to find out, so maybe I should find something productive to do, so I can get my mind off the things that have just transpired. My eyes glide over the room looking for ideas. I spot my newly purchased laptop on the desk. Fuck, I haven't applied for any jobs yet. I sigh heavily as I get up from the bed to turn on the laptop. I'll check the local hospital's website for any open positions. I grab some paper to wipe my nose as my sniffles slowly die down.

Browsing their open positions, I find quite a few I'm interested in and apply right away. I spend way too much time reading every word of their job posts; health benefits, former nurses' evaluations and reviews of the hospital. They're not great, but not bad either.

There's a knock on my door. I pause my browsing, debating on opening the door or just pretending to be asleep. Another knock sounds on the door. I sigh. Whoever it is, they're not going away.

I clear my throat. "Yeah?" I call out, my voice cracking a bit after crying.

"Can I come in, darling?" It's Isaac. I close my eyes and sigh before getting up to open the door. I crack it open, hoping to use the door to shield my blotchy face.

"Is everything alright?" I ask him. He studies my face for a moment, then breaks into a full smile. He pushes the door open and ushers me aside to enter. He walks straight to the bathroom and I follow behind him, curious about what he's doing. He opens a drawer and pulls out a washcloth. He wets it with cold water and returns to me.

"Here, come sit." He puts a hand at the small of my back and leads me to sit on my bed. He grabs the chair from the desk and rolls it over to sit right in front of me. He holds up the cloth, silently asking for permission to use it on my face. I nod a bit confused. He gently pats my irritated eyes and the skin surrounding them. The cooling sensation soothes the stinging, and I find myself leaning into his touch. As he finishes up, I thank him.

"I'm sorry I went into the basement." I apologize.

"Why?" He cocks his head curiously. My mouth opens and closes, not knowing what to respond to that. "It's not like we specifically told you not to go in there." He shrugs. "You're a grown woman, you can do what you want." His points are valid.

"I don't know why I assumed I did something wrong." I tell him. Isaac gathers my hands in his. "I didn't even know it was him in there."

"I know. We've been having a bit of fun with him." I cringe at that. They've been torturing him and that appears to be Isaac's idea of fun. I don't feel bad for him, but hearing Isaac talk about it so casually is not something my ears are accustomed to.