“You think you know everything,” Viko said. “You know nothing.”
“I know enough. I didn’t know about her existence. You did. You saved her when I couldn’t. That is what’s keeping you alive.” Boss left.
Killian waited for him outside. After climbing into the car, Killian drove off.
“I thought I told you not to wait.”
“You did, but I also don’t mind disregarding orders. We all may hate you most of the time at Killer of Kings, but you’re still a good guy deep down.”
Boss looked sideways at him. Killian was a good man, but he didn’t believe the bullshit coming from his mouth. “Did you plant a device on me?”
“Nope. You’ve got some major trust issues, Boss. I figured you’d need some backup. Viko is not a man to mess with.”
“And you think I am?”
“He’s the first guy you’ve put yourself at the mercy of. It may have all been an act, but I’m not stupid. I know the real risks at play, and so do you. If Viko wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
“This is a vote of confidence?”
“You and Viko are evenly matched. This is just a dick-measuring contest between the two of you. Why do you want him out of the country and if so, what does Xavier’s sister have to do with this?”
“I don’t have to give you my reasons.”
“Look, I hate to break it to you, but seeing as the drugs and the sister brought Viko to town, not to mention the mounting list of dead people, I’ve got to know. Were you aware that Scarlett was on this trail as well?”
Scarlett was Bain’s wife, a reporter, and a good source to gather information. He hadn’t had a chance to use her for any of this.
“What do you mean?” Boss looked toward Killian. He liked to be the first to know about everything, so this news didn’t sit well with him.
“She got wind of the story about a week ago. Bain told me something about drug users going crazy in the emergency room, begging for help, holding their heads, banging them together. She’s been tracing it all.”
“Why wasn’t I made aware of this?” Boss asked. “I want you to go to Bain and Scarlett’s house, now. I need to talk to her.”
Everything was going to shit. There was so much happening, one thing after the other, and he was struggling to keep up. Graciella distracted him and he wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.
“What are you thinking?” Killian asked.
“I want to know what she knows.”
“You think there’s a chance she could know more than you?”
“If my memory serves me right, Scarlett has her means of getting what she wants. She managed to get under Bain’s skin and that says a lot. Why wasn’t I told of this before?” he asked.
“I believe Bain emailed you, or he may have left you a memo.”
“Don’t get fucking smart with me.”
Killian had been born in an Irish whorehouse and his life had never been easy. Now he was happily married with kids. A family looked good on him.
“What’s going on, Boss?” Killian asked. “This isn’t like you and I don’t like it.”
Boss opened his mouth but went silent as his cell phone rang. He saw Maurice was calling. He answered. “I can’t talk now, Maurice.”
“Bain’s in the hospital,” Maurice said.
“What the fuck do you mean?” This wasn’t good. This wasn’t the kind of news he wanted to hear.
“Scarlett called the office. She needs you. Something’s going on. She said she made a mistake and now she’s terrified.”
“We’ll be there. Give me the address.” In a large city, there were several major hospitals.
“What’s going on?” Killian asked the moment he hung up.
“Bain’s in the hospital and Scarlett needs help.” He patted his knee, quickly putting the pieces together. “Bain took the drugs.”
“What? That’s not fucking possible. How could he have taken the drugs? The guy won’t even take a painkiller. No, man, you’ve got that wrong.”
“Something was bothering him this morning. He was … different today in the office. Sick. Fuck!” He slammed his fist against the front of the car. He’d gotten into this habit and with how strong he was, there were a few times he’d deployed the airbag. He had them all removed from the passenger side of the cars. He hated being hit in the face with it.
He gave Killian the address for the hospital.
Ignoring all the questions, as he didn’t have any answers, he arrived at the hospital to find Scarlett in the waiting room. Her face was blanched and it was evident she’d been crying.
“Tell me what the fuck you know,” Boss said.
“They’re coming in disguised as mints,” she said. “I was given this by a contact. It was completely sealed.” She handed him the bag. “I think Bain took one, thinking they were mine.” Tears were in her eyes. “What have I done? I let them out. I’m a fucking idiot. I think I just killed my husband.”
Killing Scarlett wouldn’t be good. Although tempting.
Of all his men, Bain had been handed the worst deck of cards when it came to childhoods. He felt for the man, fought hard to get him to work at Killer of Kings. He’d changed his life around … for what? To die in a hospital bed from tainted drugs?
He wanted to scream at Scarlett, tell her how stupid she was. Everything he’d discovered about these drugs, none of it was good.
He looked at Bain’s wife. “Do you know the timeline?” he asked.
“No. What people don’t know is how long from ingesting it that it takes effect.” She sniffled.
“Bain didn’t know you were working on this?”
“No. He’s been so busy with his latest mission, I just worked on my own. This was new and every time we were together, I didn’t want to talk work.”
“You shouldn’t have left them out in the open. You’re a fucking idiot.” And that was all he was going to say on the matter. If Bain died, he was going to have to make a choice, kill Scarlett, or make her live with the guilt of fucking up.
****
Graciella wasn’t going to kill Boss.
Viko’s offer, although tempting, wasn’t going to work. He knew it and so did she. Boss was a good man. A horrible, arrogant asshole, but he mostly did good work. He rarely took cases that meant the bad man won.
He killed bad men.
The men like the ones who’d taken her when she was a child, who made her suffer just because she was female. She hated men of all kinds, but Boss gave her hope. In her line of work, she’d seen the dark side in most.
Killing him wouldn’t do the world good. It would allow the bad guys to flourish. In the underground, there needed to be checks and balances. The sharks couldn’t be allowed to outnumber the fish.
Which was why walking into the hospital, she wore a pair of jeans and a floral shirt. Her hair was tied back, no makeup to speak of. This was not the façade she presented to the world. She’d heard what happened to Bain. One of Boss’s men were in the hospital, and he needed her right now.
Xavier didn’t even notice her as she stepped up to him.