Page 57 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire

The grip on me tightened. “Odette, what the fuck happened to you?”

My brain finally caught up. The reality of what had happened slammed into me, and my eyes flew open to see my sister crouched on the floor next to me. I must have fallen asleep crying, and now I had some explaining to do.

Wiping the back of my hand over my eyes, I murmured a weak, “Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. Clearly something happened. You’re black and blue.”

I let out a heavy sigh and met my sister’s gaze. “Is it bad?”

“Your hair is tousled. Your lip is split and swollen. Your cheek—” She gripped my shoulders. “Tell me who did this,” she demanded.

For a split second, I debated lying to her, but I was too tired. I didn’t have it in me.

“The diamond smuggler,” I murmured tiredly.

She gasped and her eyes widened. “But why? We told him we’d find a way to get him the money. Right?”

I shrugged. “I guess he wants it sooner versus later. Or wants to show us he’s serious.”

“I want to murder him,” she hissed angrily.

Ares’s small body stirred on the bed and both of our eyes shot to him. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t wake up. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I had to get cleaned up. It seemed like we stayed frozen for hours, when in fact it was only a few minutes.

“Maybe someone does us all a favor and murders him,” I whispered. “That way, we’re not guilty of the crime.”

“I fucked up so bad.” Urgency colored her voice. We both knew this wasn't some simple robbery she’d committed. We were batting way out of our league, and it had become apparent this could get us killed. Drastic measures were needed.

“We need to fly to D.C. and reach out to Nico Morrelli,” I told her. “With some luck, we’ll get through to him.”

She sighed. “We haven’t had much luck lately, so I won’t hold my breath for it.” She was right; our luck had taken a downturn and there was no end in sight. It was one thing after another. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” she offered, helping me to my feet.

We made it into the bathroom and the reflection that stared back at me was gloomy indeed.

“Jesus Christ, I look like a battered wife.”

“Get in the shower and get your cuts cleaned up.” She moved around the bathroom efficiently, starting the shower and getting the toiletries out.

“Billie?”

“Yeah.” She reached for the towels.

“Why did Winston think Ares was his kid?”

She froze mid-step and for a few heartbeats remained like that. Then she got herself together and turned around, locking eyes with me.

“I told you I slept with him. Afterward, we had a scare and thought we were pregnant.” My mouth shaped into a silent O while I stared at her with disbelief. She usually shared those details with me—whether I asked or not—-so I found it unusual that she had never mentioned it before. “I’d rather not talk about all that. He’s my sore subject, like Byron’s yours.”

With a wordless nod, I stepped into the shower.

It would seem we both made some mistakes when it came to the Ashfords.

Chapter25

Byron

Igot two hours’ worth of sleep last night.

Images of Odette Swan ran through my mind. All the memories of that single night flashed through my skull like a movie on repeat. The way I fucked her against the mirror in that hotel room while she moaned my name. The image of her on the bed with her thighs spread open, her long legs hooked over my shoulders.