Being the head of Killer of Kings was starting to make him feel more and more like a parent of spoiled little brats.
****
Graciella had hoped Viko wouldn’t let his emotions get the better of him, but as they arrived at the location Boss had, it looked like that was very much not the case.
Not only was there no sign of the scientist, but Viko was also there with a mostly empty bottle of whiskey, and a gun, and it was aimed at all of them.
“I should have known you’d be on their side,” Viko said.
It was rare for Viko to lose control.
She kept her gaze on him. His men stood behind him, hand on their guns, ready to shoot.
“I take it you didn’t make your fucking arrival confidential?” Boss asked, stepping away from them and glancing around the factory. There were a few packets on the floor, but it looked like it had been packed up fast.
The operation wasn’t as big as she imagined it would be. The factory itself was small compared to most.
Viko burst out laughing, the sound of a crazed man.
The journey to the Dominican had been uncomfortable. None of the Killer of Kings wanted to talk to her. Even Boss had focused on his laptop, not giving her a single glance.
She should be pissed off.
Instead, she just stared out of the window and chanted to herself how safe it was to be on the airplane. She hated flying.
Hated it, despised it, often had nightmares of the plane going down into waters and being swallowed whole by a giant octopus, or eaten by piranhas. She very much preferred driving. Something to stay on the ground. Nice firm ground.
“Go ahead, Boss, shoot me. You and your boys want to do it. Go ahead,” Viko said. “What about you, Graciella? Want to shoot me?”
“Not today.”
He snorted and lifted his gun. It was pointed at her forehead.
She looked at him. There was an especially sore spot within her when it came to drunks. Men used alcohol as an excuse for their vile behavior. There was no fear inside her, only acceptance.
“I should kill you,” he said.
Graciella didn’t need to look back to know the Killer of Kings were tensed and poised. She didn’t reach for her gun. She knew Viko, not intimately, but enough to know he wasn’t going to shoot her.
“Go ahead.”
“You told me that son of a bitch was here!”
“He was here,” Boss said. He had his gun out. “You kill her and that’s it, it’s over.”
“We’ll have a good old-fashioned shootout. You think you’ll make it out alive, Boss? You’re good. Maybe you’re better than me, but I always have a plan. I have a lot of fucking plans in place and if you kill me, I’ll make sure you don’t get to sleep without someone breathing down your neck. I wonder how the Killer leader would be after weeks of no sleep. That calm exterior would certainly crumble.”
“Viko, we will find him,” she said.
His hand hadn’t wavered.
“We will.”
His jaw clenched. She saw the man slowly falling apart. “You know it was a thing of beauty. Your plan. Killing your enemies with their own product. I never had such vision. Sure, I’ve killed a lot of people but yours, yours was poetry. They got to see you and know what you’d done. You got your perfect revenge.”
“I know.”
“I never… It was supposed to fucking end there.”
“I know. I didn’t anticipate what happened,” she said.
“I should have known. She would—” Viko didn’t finish. Still, his hand didn’t shake. She took a step toward him.
This was the first time in all the years she’d known Viko that she’d seen any kind of real emotion. He’d always been stone cold. Alcohol had a way of pulling demons to the surface.
“She’d still be alive,” she finished for him.
“Graciella?” Xavier said.
She ignored her brother’s warning or Boss’s cleared throat. Going to one knee, she did something she never thought she would do, she hugged Viko. He didn’t touch her. The gun was still trained in the air.
“You!” He growled the word.
She held him a little tighter.
Boss nor Xavier understood. Yes, she hated Viko with a passion, was indebted to him, but in a weird kind of way, he was also her friend. They’d been through a lot together.
“I killed her,” he said.
“You didn’t.”
“It’s my job to save her. My job!” His gun dropped as did the bottle and his arms went limp. The scent of expensive whiskey wafted up as it spilled across the concrete floor.
“I know,” Graciella said.
She’d never met Viko’s daughter. That was how protective he was of her, but she’d gotten glimpses of his little princess. The only person close to his heart. There had been rumors he had a wife at one point, or a whore. The information about him was as vague as Boss’s.
“What is going on right now?” Killian asked.
“I don’t know,” Xavier said.
Silence rang out.
Time passed.
She didn’t know how much time but she sensed the impatience of the men, and it was increasing with every passing minute.
Bain would die.
Viko pulled away and stood up. There were no tears. Of course, there weren’t. He looked away.
“I don’t have time for this shit,” Boss said. “I get it, you lost someone important to you. You think the Circle of Monsters can handle this shit? You guys are known for creating an entrance. What this needed was fucking delicacy, which you don’t have.”
Viko glared at him.
“I heard about Bain,” Viko said. “My daughter, she was … she was young when she was given the drugs. I’ve been hunting this son of a bitch for some time.” He put his hands on his hips.
“Well, maybe it’s time for you to back away and not to do any of this shit anymore,” he said. “You’re clearly too close to it all.”
“Do not tell me what I can and cannot do,” he said. “I’m not in the mood to listen. Not now.” Viko ran a hand down his face. “Let’s go.”
Graciella watched, expecting Boss to complain, but he didn’t. They all stood by and watched as Viko and his men left the factory.
She turned toward Boss, who was staring at her.
“Congratulations,” he said. He stepped up close to her and she was shocked as he put a set of handcuffs on her wrists.
“What the fuck are you doing?” She tugged at her wrists.
“I’ve got one hell of a guy and he was able to put a trace on some of the technology they were using. He’s waiting for it to stop moving and the moment it does, we’re going to follow. For now, it’s about three hours from this location, heading east. We’re going to follow it. Xavier, take her phone.”
Before she had a chance to stop her brother, her cell phone was taken.
“Hey!” she yelled, glaring at her brother, pissed.
The cuffs couldn’t keep her for long.
“Killian, the hair.”
The clips and pins were removed from her hair.
Piece by piece, it was all removed. Even her earrings. She stood in only her clothes, which didn’t have any metal she could use to remove the cuffs.