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.
“Hey,” she said, looking at her brother.
He frowned at her and then his eyes went wide. “Graciella?”
She nodded.
He pulled her in his arms.
At first, she tensed up, ready to punch him, to keep some distance, but instead, she wrapped her arms around him. It was strange, for a long time, she had forgotten what it was like to have her brother’s love, his protection, but it came to her fast and quick. She kept her eyes closed and relished the moment. She didn’t know when she’d get another one, or if it would even be possible.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
“I should be holding you.”
“I didn’t get to hold you enough,” he said.
The reality. They’d been ripped apart from each other far too soon.
She pulled away. “Where is he?”
“In Bain’s room. As usual, Boss took over. He’s now in a private room and only the best doctors can see him.”
“Can I go to him?”
“Did you know Bain?”
“No. I meant Boss. He’s going to want to see me.”