Boss stared at him, not moving.
Harb cleared his throat. “I think we can all say that you’re not a lucky bastard. Your life has proven that.”
Priest was so close to having it out with him.
“Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that these guys have had ample opportunity to kill you, but they haven’t, and instead, they’ve been gunning for Cleo?” Harb asked.
Obviously, he’d noticed that, but he’d also been praying that it was all in his imagination.
“Cleo is connected to the Circle of Monsters,” Boss said.
The room went completely silent.
“No fucking way,” Priest said. “That’s bullshit. You’re fucking lying.” There was no way that the sweet innocent soul in his bed was connected to those bastards. He couldn’t believe it.
“How?” Gabriel asked.
Priest looked toward Gabriel.
“Does it matter how?” Priest asked.
“Don’t you think it’s important?” Gabriel looked around the room. “No offense, but she’s clearly not a cold-blooded killer, and according to all of our sources, she was abandoned at a care home.”
Boss smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile. “And that is why I decided to bring you into the fold.” He looked at Gabriel. “You’re not willing to jump to conclusions. Tell them, Maurice.”
“Cleo is one of Viko Fedorov’s monster’s daughters. He goes by the name Target. We have no other information at this point,” Maurice said. “It was Viko who reached out to us and requested this meet.”
“Actually, he reached out to Widow Maker,” Boss said. “Told her that he had some information that I might find … interesting.”
Widow Maker was Graciella, Boss’s wife, and El Diablo’s sister. She was a deadly assassin, but in recent months had given it up to be by Boss’s side. She still had contacts from her past, and one of those was Viko.
Priest didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to turn away valuable information.
“Wait a minute, you’re saying that Cleo’s daddy finally wants a meeting?” Priest asked.
“I’m not going.”
He spun around and looked toward Cleo. She had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a shirt, like the ones he wore.
“Cleo,” he said. Staring at her, he found it hard to believe that she was in some way related to those monsters. He refused to.
“You found my father?” Cleo asked, looking toward Boss.
“Yes.”
She shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. “I never asked for this. I’m not going.”
“Cleo, this is for your own good,” Boss said.
Maniacal laughter spilled from her lips, and she shook her head. “You have got to be crazy. Do you think I want to see my dad after all these years? A man who I know nothing about— who he is, what he has done, or why he abandoned me? It’s not happening.”
Boss put his hands on his waist, and Priest knew that move. He was growing impatient.
“We have no choice,” Boss said.
“I’m not one of you.”
“Then walk right out that door,” Boss said.