Boss (Killer of Kings #7) - Sam Crescent Page 0,16

numbered and after everything I’ve done, a quick death would be a mercy to me.”

“You’re not dying.”

“Look at my record. I’ve killed so many people. The drugs, you think that is the worst thing I’ve done? It’s not. From the moment I was taken, I was lost. I’m not a good person.”

“If you’re not a good person, why are you trying to locate the source of the drugs? That was why you broke into the police department, wasn’t it? You wanted to determine if the drugs were back? Is that why you’re still here? Or is there another reason?” he asked.

He was so close.

His lips—all it would take was her to lean in and she’d kiss him.

She’d always hated kisses. They were normally wet and disgusting, giving way to a man’s need. Boss’s kiss hadn’t been gentle or fumbling. He knew what he was doing and he’d taken complete control. It was the first and only kiss in her life she’d really enjoyed.

Viko had once made her kiss him. That had been one of the payments he’d required. A single kiss. It was many years ago, but the one she’d given him made her feel nothing. Boss made her feel and she couldn’t have that.

“What’s the matter, Boss? Do you think I’ve come to stick with you? That you can hold all of my attention?” She pouted. “I’m here to do a job and when it’s done, I’m out of here.”

“I could kill you,” Boss said. “If that’s what you’re hoping for.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to die.”

“You’re not really living.”

“Look around you, I can do whatever I want.”

“You go home alone every single night, eat takeout, watch movies. You’re telling me you’re not lonely?”

“Takes one to know one, Boss.” She pulled out of his arms. “Stay away from me.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said.

“You can keep at your desk, going through the same old bullshit reports all you want, but the real answers come from ground work. That’s what I’m going to be doing.” She opened his door and was gone. She didn’t immediately leave. Boss’s office was full of weaponry and clothing. She went to one of the supply closets and found some sweatpants and a shirt in her size. She’d just finished getting dressed when El Diablo came in. He stood at the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.

“You don’t have to keep on running,” he said.

“I don’t have time for the brotherly rant.”

“Damn it, Graciella. I want us to be a family.”

She flicked her hair out from her shirt. “We’ll always be a family. We’re just not going to be the kind that share postcards and Christmas gifts. We’re just a brother and a sister by blood.”

“You know not a day went by when I didn’t think about you,” El Diablo said.

She shrugged. “And I guess it didn’t work out too badly for you. I’m not doing this with you, Xavier.” She spoke his name, hoping to hurt him enough for him to shut up and let her leave.

“I don’t want you to go,” he said. “Let us help you.”

“I got into this mess and I’ll find a way out of it. It’s what I’m good at.” Someone had a main lab. She had to locate it, destroy it, kill the fucking scientist and every single person who was in on the distribution, and then remove all of the product. Piece of cake, just so long as she stayed away from Boss, she’d be fine.

Chapter Five

He dropped the file folder on the corner of his desk. “Don’t fuck this one up,” Boss said.

Bain groaned and snatched the file.

“How was I supposed to know that bitch was tailing my mark?” Bain said.

Boss cringed. “Don’t call her a bitch.”

Bain narrowed his eyes but kept his mouth shut. He leafed through the folder. “Piece of cake.” He kept tugging at his collar, and Boss noticed sweat beaded on his forehead.

Boss cocked an eyebrow. “You feeling okay?”

“What?” Bain was a cold motherfucker. He’d had a hellish childhood, but now he was happily married. He deserved it. Boss personally invested himself in the people he invited to work for him. Killer of Kings was more than just a group of hitmen. It was much more than the Circle of Monsters.

“Nothing. Call me when it’s done.”

Once Bain left, he sat in his office chair and tapped a pen against his lips. After everything that had gone down last week, the one thing that kept lingering in his mind was