Lost Cause (Killer of Kings 8)

Crap.

Rather than close her eye, she opened both of hers and stared right at him.

“Ah, Cleo, how was your rest?” Boss asked.

“Eventful.”

Boss had explained to her, in the basement of the brothel, exactly what was at stake. Her life, mostly, and Priest’s. He had infuriated the mafia, so they were after her for killing one of their own. A big, gigantic fuckup. Boss’s words, not hers.

Boss smiled.

His smile made him look deadlier, but rather than say that, she merely smiled right back at him as if she didn’t have a single care in the world. Inside, she was terrified.

“So, Priest, I have a new mission for you. Seeing as you like to get this little girl into trouble, it’s now up to you to keep her safe. Not only will you be taking care of her safety, but Harb will also be keeping you company.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me. I don’t need him around.”

“You’ll spend the night here. Tomorrow, Harb will have all the details of the safe house. I need to work on damage control and figure this shit out.” Boss spoke over Priest as if he hadn’t tried to talk.

Cleo pressed her lips together to try to contain her smile.

Priest was so large and so scary. And ridiculously sexy. Over the past weeks, she’d learned to trust the big teddy bear. They talked, they laughed, and they grew closer to each other.

She found it hard to believe anyone could be the boss of this man, let alone a guy known as Boss. It was kind of funny.

“And the email?” Priest asked. “Was that all bullshit, too? I can’t even find info on the name.”

“No, that was real. You have the name you wanted. I’m not a monster.”

Boss left the basement. Cleo looked down to find two sets of keys. One for the chains that held Priest captive, the other with a door number.

“We’ve got a room,” she said.

“You do know where we’re staying, right?”

“Yes, but Boss already told me it was the perfect kind of cover, and seeing as he knows everything, I don’t see a reason to deny him.” She stepped toward Priest. “But should I unchain you?”

“You’re not going anywhere alone.”

“There’s this Harb.”

“You don’t even know what he looks like.”

She held her finger up. “Actually, I do. I met him. Boss had everything in place. I thought he was going to kill me, but instead, he’s going to make sure that I live. I mean, I can’t even afford to pay him, and here he is, going to extreme lengths, well, I assume they are extreme lengths, to keep me alive, and I am rambling right now, so how about I let you out, and then we can go up to our room?” That sounded rather intimate. For some reason, being in a brothel with Priest was making her have a severe case of dry mouth and word vomit.

It wasn’t like this man was her customer.

They were staying here because he’d put her in danger. Or saved her. She wasn’t even sure anymore.

She forced a smile to her lips.

“You’re going to talk my ear off, aren’t you?”

“Probably. It has been a trying twenty-four hours. Or is it forty-eight hours? I’ve had so many men trying to steal me away the past few weeks that I don’t know. The days and weeks are all mingling together.”

“Release me, Cleo. Now.”

She was tempted to leave him, but then she rounded the chair and got to work, unlocking the chains. “I think it’s very sweet of you hunting for me. I’m touched that you would go to such extreme lengths to see that I am, you know, safe.”