Page 94 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire

She didn’t look convinced. “Byron seems good with him. Ares that is.” It was true… he was good with Ares. Better than I could have possibly imagined. It made me sad that my baby boy had to miss out on it for the past six years. “Are you falling for him again, soeur?”

The question caught me off guard. Billie scanned me with eyes that seemed to see too much. I didn’t want to admit to her that I had never fallen out of love with the man. I came to terms with the fact our lives would be separate, but it would seem one night of amazing, mind-blowing sex fucked all sense and reason out of me.

“I’m fine.” I rolled my eyes. “I feel about Byron the way you feel about Winston,” I answered vaguely.

“Uh-huh.” I found her gaze, and suddenly, I worried how deep my sister was in with Winston, but before I could ask, she continued, “You’ll call me if something goes awry?”

I nodded, taking her hand into mine. “I don’t want you to worry about us. We will be fine. I want to see you happy. Now, let’s go shopping, take care of the cash so you can travel in comfort, and when we get old and frail, your adventures will entertain us for the rest of our lives.”

It was time for Billie to chase her own happiness.

Chapter39

Byron

Danso Sabir peered inside the three large black duffel bags. “A million dollars?”

“Count it,” Vasili sneered, spitting on the floor. Alexei stood stoic next to him, his arms folded over his chest, a vein throbbing in his temple, the only thing betraying his fury.

Leaving my son and wife safe at home, I flew to New Orleans where the Nikolaev family had gotten their hands on Danso Sabir. The diamond smuggler who dared touch my woman. The surveillance Nico was able to retrieve played on repeat in my mind. Over and over again.

There was no chance in hell Danso Sabir would leave this place in one piece. I’d get his boss’s name before I gave him back what he’d given my wife.

Danso began to sift through the money, bound in stacks of ten thousand. He didn’t seem worried, his posture lax and confident. It took him ten minutes to figure out all the money was there. Either that, or he didn’t know how to count.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” He zipped the last bag, then smiled. A sharky, menacing smile. “I almost hoped that bitch wouldn’t come up with the money. I bet that pussy’s worth a pretty penny. It’d have made me twice as much.”

Vasili and Alexei shared a glance before turning to the door. Alexei locked it with a soft click. I purchased the building an hour ago, so if I wanted to, I could set it on fire.

“That pussyis my wife,” I told him. “The mother of my child.” Danso’s eyes flared with surprise. I took a step toward him, Vasili and Alexei blocking his only way out. It was my turn to smile maniacally. “Now you’ll get a taste of what you gave to my wife.”

He tried to wrestle his way through Alexei and Vasili. A big mistake. Alexei grabbed him by his neck while I calmly went to grab a bucket of ice water. He shoved him onto a chair and chained him to it, then shoved a cloth over his head. Slowly, I poured ice water over his head and over the cloth, waterboarding him. There were quite a few things I learned during my time in the military.

“Stop,” he spurted, pleading.

“More, you say? Of course. Let’s do it again.”

And so we did. Again and again. Then I watched Vasili hang him by his arms from a hook in the ceiling where the chandelier had been two hours ago.

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket. Glancing at the screen, I saw Odette’s name flashing.

“A peep and I’ll slice your throat,” I threatened, then answered the phone, putting her on speaker. “Wife, is everything okay?”

Danso opened his mouth, and before he could let out a sound, I punched him in the mouth.

He grunted and I balled my fist again, ready to silence him. He instantly clamped it shut.

“What was that?” she demanded to know.

“A rat. Is everything okay?”

A beat passed.

“Yes, everything’s fine,” she assured in that soft voice that could easily get me off just from hearing it. “And my name is Odette. Just in case your memory’s short-lived.”

Vasili’s stifled snicker came from the back of the room. I flipped him off without a second thought.

“I like calling you wife. But if it bothers you, baby, I’ll find another pet name.”