Boss didn’t even hesitate unlocking his cuffs and marching toward the door. He stopped, checked the room, and he found what he was looking for. A gun had been left. He picked it up, checked the chamber, and left the room.
He followed the sound of Viko’s voice and pointed his gun, only to come to a stop when he saw Graciella sitting at the dining room table, two guns poised at her head, and she was still completely naked.
Her gaze was on him and he watched as she shook her head.
Poor thing had no idea.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Boss. I don’t really care which. Just know that you brought this on yourself. We can work together or I can kill you. I honestly don’t mind which it is. I’m game for anything. This is my kingdom though and I don’t take to having a gun pointed at me lightly.”
He lowered the gun, putting it on the floor.
“Excellent. Now that we know Graciella isn’t hiding anything, we can get her a robe,” Viko said. “You care to join us, Boss? The drugs I used will wear off even faster with food.” Viko picked up a piece of orange and placed it in his mouth. “Dig in. There’s plenty of food to go around.”
Boss didn’t expect Graciella to dig in but she did as soon as she had a robe. He watched her eat with relish, not once looking toward Viko.
“Am I the only person here with any sense?” Boss asked.
“I’m not going to kill you, Boss. You can eat without worrying.”
“I don’t want to eat. I want to know what all of this is about.”
“Eat,” Graciella said. “It’s not polite to ignore offered food.”
He didn’t pander to anyone’s needs but he did need food. The drugs he’d been given to knock him out had lingered a little too long for his liking. Picking up some fruit, he took bites, being careful and clocking all the available exits and possible difficulties he’d have.
“So, we have a problem. The drugs,” Viko said.
Graciella paused. “You know.”
“Of course, I know. I’ve been tracking them ever since the formula went missing, as did our chief scientist.”
Boss looked at the two of them. “What do you know about the drugs?”
“That they’ve crossed the border and are leaving a trail of bodies,” Viko said.
“I’ve got to clean the mess up,” Graciella said. “You know why.”
Boss didn’t like this. “You know about the drugs? The fever? The reactions? The hallucinations?”
Graciella looked at him and nodded.
“This is your time to speak up, Graciella,” Viko said.
“I’ve had enough of your fucking voice!” Boss growled. With each piece of food he consumed, his rage built. He hadn’t let himself be taken in a long time. Being at the mercy of anyone was against everything he stood for. He was the one who went and got his men to safety, not the other way around.
“Be careful,” Viko said.
“I’m the one who created the drugs,” Graciella said.
“You didn’t create them, dear. She was the one with the idea. I just thought it was brilliant, and so I funded and helped to see through to fruition.”
“It was only supposed to be for the cartels. The ones who dealt in flesh and blood. Who steal boys and girls and destroy them,” Graciella said. “I made a promise to myself during my captivity that if I ever got the chance to kill them, I would. Only, they deal in drugs, and I knew they sampled their own product. The idea was to make a batch that was tainted. The men would die a painful death, but I’d get all of them quickly. They had celebratory parties.”
“It went wrong,” Viko said. “Our facility was ransacked. The scientist involved disappeared along with the product. We believe he stole some of the formula and has been working to branch it out.”
“Wait, hold on a minute. You’re telling me the drugs that are now killing people came from you?” Boss asked. “Why would they sell this shit if it’s killing people?”
“I guess they thought they might have been able to change it, I don’t know. I’m not a scientist. I don’t know how this works,” Graciella said. “It’s why I’ve come to you.” She turned to Viko. “We’ve got to stop this.”
“I warned you, Widow Maker, that you’d make a move you’d regret. Every single death is on your hands.”
“Now wait just a minute,” Boss said.
“I have my sources looking into this. Your debt to me just doubled, Graciella. Know this, you will be indebted to me for the rest of our life. After last night, you better hope you don’t fail me again.”
****
Graciella paced in Boss’s office. The room was massive. This wasn’t how she wanted this to go down. She’d hoped to be able to deal with the drug problem herself but now it was taken completely out of her hands, and she didn’t know what to do.
He’d been so angry with her.
It doesn’t matter. Whatever he thought about her, she’d deal with it.
The drugs had been a stroke of genius when she had control of them. Now, they were a royal pain in the ass. With Viko helping as well, she didn’t know if having the Circle of Monsters involved would be a good idea.
Boss finally arrived and any remains of the drug he’d been given were gone. She’d been given the same drug. The side effects weren’t exactly refreshing. She liked to be in control at all times, and being drugged put her in a bad place.
He wasn’t alone as he entered the office. Killian, Bain, and El Diablo all entered.
She looked at her brother. A part of her wanted to run into his arms and pretend the last couple of decades hadn’t happened, but she wasn’t a little girl anymore. Hadn’t been for a long time. He couldn’t help her fight the demons that plagued her every single day of her life. Pushing her hair off her face, she was very aware of the fact she still wore the robe Viko had given her.
Being naked in front of men didn’t affect her. She’d long gotten over the fear and worry of being near a man. Viko didn’t trust her but then, she’d never really given him a reason to trust her.
“Graciella,” he said.
“El Diablo.” She rarely called him by his given name and she knew it pissed him off. He gritted his teeth.
“You’re not keeping out of trouble?”
“I have a problem with finding trouble.” She shrugged.
“Enough. Tell me it worked,” Boss said.
She looked at Boss then at Killian.
“It worked. We can hear him and we know where he’s going to be and when.”
“What exactly is going on here?” Something was going on and she didn’t know what. She hated being kept out in the dark.
“Do you want to tell her?” Boss asked.
She turned to her brother.
“You don’t really believe Viko got the better of Boss?”
She looked toward Boss. “You planned this.”
“All down to the little details of being captured.”
Killian shrugged, a guilty grin on his face. They were all in on this bullshit.
“So the little whore you were with, that was all part of the plan?” she asked. She hated how jealous she sounded. Not that it mattered to her what Boss was doing or with whom.