Lost Cause (Killer of Kings 8)

“Didn’t I tell you I’d take care of you?”

“Yes, but—”

“That includes Fred.”

She rolled over, resting her forearms on his chest. “What do you mean?”

“I took care of it. He’s important to you, so I made sure the fucking fish was safe.”

“Fred? Really? Where is he?”

Cleo imagined she didn’t have an apartment anymore. She hadn’t shown up or paid rent in months.

“That bastard Killian is babysitting him. His little boy is making sure he’s fed.”

She couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re not so bad after all,” she teased.

“Even though I kidnapped you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “That’s not something we should bring up too often. That’s one story I won’t be telling our grandchildren.”

“Grandchildren now?”

Cleo shrugged. “What? You don’t want kids?”

“You know I do. Once I knock off whoever’s after you, we can do the whole white-picket-fence deal,” he said. “The first thing I want to do is marry you.”

She didn’t need the perfect fantasy. Part of her knew a traditional relationship would be out of the question with Priest, and she was okay with that. If she had to hide behind Fort Knox during the day and play with her husband at night, so be it. Anything was better than her previous loveless existence.

What she worried about was Priest getting hurt or worse trying to kill her enemies, or her father’s enemies by birthright.

“Let’s just take one day at a time. We never know how long we’ve got,” she said.

Priest’s cell vibrated on the nightside table. He reached over and grabbed it, then narrowed his eyes as he leaned up on his elbow reading whatever the message was.

“What’s wrong?” Cleo asked.

“Maurice was able to track down the mugshot of one of the shooters.”

“Does it even matter if they’re all dead?”

“It does because we need to get to whoever hired them,” Priest said.

She leaned over, taking a peek at the cell screen. “I recognize him.”

Priest sat up. “What do you mean?”

“That guy,” she said, pointing at the image. “He was at that whore house where Boss brought me. I remember seeing him go into a room with a couple of women.”

He kissed her forehead. “There’s definitely a paper trail then. No one goes into that place without being vetted. Maurice should be able to hack their records.”

“I’m guessing that’s a good thing?”

“That’s an excellent thing. All we need is a link to their boss and we can end this. I know for a fact Killer of Kings and The Circle of Monsters would bend the rules to team up for this one. It would free you and your father.”

She thought about the man named Target. Cleo knew absolutely nothing about him. Did she want to know more? She supposed she should be more bitter, but like Priest said, she was too grateful right now to be angry. Hate and pain didn’t vanish with revenge. It was a choice to be happy and not let the past control her heart. Priest taught her that.