Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49989 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 167(@300wpm)
“Viko Fedorov,” Boss said.
Priest tensed up.
Viko was the leader of the Circle of Monsters, a group that was the complete opposite of the Killer of Kings. The man was deadly, and the men he employed had no morals, and they always took on the jobs that guaranteed death. What made them different from the Killer of Kings was their integrity. Circle of Monsters had none, and it was every single man for himself. At Killer of Kings, they had a code, and they lived by that code, or at least, Priest tried to.
“What about him?” Priest asked.
“We’ve got a meeting with him in an hour. Cleo needs to be there.”
“There is no fucking way she’s going to meet that piece of shit,” Priest said. “What’s the point?”
Viper whistled. “Whatever happened to you being the silent type?”
“I’d say that ended the moment a girl entered his bedroom.” Bain sniggered.
“What is all this about? On the phone, you said Cleo needed to be the one to talk to you, not me. You’ve got me running around in circles. Now tell me what it is?”
Boss stared at him, not moving.
Harb cleared his throat. “I think we can all say that you’re not a lucky bastard. Your life has proven that.”
Priest was so close to having it out with him.
“Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that these guys have had ample opportunity to kill you, but they haven’t, and instead, they’ve been gunning for Cleo?” Harb asked.
Obviously, he’d noticed that, but he’d also been praying that it was all in his imagination.
“Cleo is connected to the Circle of Monsters,” Boss said.
The room went completely silent.
“No fucking way,” Priest said. “That’s bullshit. You’re fucking lying.” There was no way that the sweet innocent soul in his bed was connected to those bastards. He couldn’t believe it.
“How?” Gabriel asked.
Priest looked toward Gabriel.
“Does it matter how?” Priest asked.
“Don’t you think it’s important?” Gabriel looked around the room. “No offense, but she’s clearly not a cold-blooded killer, and according to all of our sources, she was abandoned at a care home.”
Boss smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile. “And that is why I decided to bring you into the fold.” He looked at Gabriel. “You’re not willing to jump to conclusions. Tell them, Maurice.”
“Cleo is one of Viko Fedorov’s monster’s daughters. He goes by the name Target. We have no other information at this point,” Maurice said. “It was Viko who reached out to us and requested this meet.”
“Actually, he reached out to Widow Maker,” Boss said. “Told her that he had some information that I might find … interesting.”
Widow Maker was Graciella, Boss’s wife, and El Diablo’s sister. She was a deadly assassin, but in recent months had given it up to be by Boss’s side. She still had contacts from her past, and one of those was Viko.
Priest didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to turn away valuable information.
“Wait a minute, you’re saying that Cleo’s daddy finally wants a meeting?” Priest asked.
“I’m not going.”
He spun around and looked toward Cleo. She had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a shirt, like the ones he wore.
“Cleo,” he said. Staring at her, he found it hard to believe that she was in some way related to those monsters. He refused to.
“You found my father?” Cleo asked, looking toward Boss.
“Yes.”
She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. “I never asked for this. I’m not going.”
“Cleo, this is for your own good,” Boss said.
Maniacal laughter spilled from her lips, and she shook her head. “You have got to be crazy. Do you think I want to see my dad after all these years? A man who I know nothing about— who he is, what he has done, or why he abandoned me? It’s not happening.”
Boss put his hands on his waist, and Priest knew that move. He was growing impatient.
“We have no choice,” Boss said.
“I’m not one of you.”
“Then walk right out that door,” Boss said.
“Boss!” Priest tensed up.
“If you’re not one of us, then get your ass out that door and see how long you last. On my last check, you’d already be dead. All my men have been risking their lives to save you. A supposed nobody who has just turned out to be somebody.”
Priest saw the tears glistening in her eyes. She was strong, but this was too much, too fast.
“Boss, enough.”
“No, I’ve had enough of you right now. Do you want to know why you won’t be able to find who that name belongs to? The name you’ve wanted since day one at Killer of Kings? Because he’s already fucking dead. They all are. There, I said it. The man you’ve been hunting was killed years ago by one of Viko Fedorov’s men. I’ve been trying to gain intel on what exactly went down, but I can’t get shit because it’s been squashed by the Circle of Monsters. Now you happen to be fucking his daughter.”