Page 119 of Reign of a Billionaire

“Have you ever been to one?” He shook his head and I smiled. “Me neither. We have some catching up to do.”

But before we could iron out the details, I felt his body snap to attention, and I followed his line of sight right to Lykos Costello. At least my mother’s teachings proved to be handy in some aspects.

“Handgun?”

“Yes.” I watched Kingston’s entire posture switch to a predatory mode. “Do we not trust Costello?”

“We trust nobody in the underworld.”

I nodded, and we remained silent as we closed the distance.

“Mr. Costello,” I greeted him, extending my hand. “Thank you again for letting the women stay here.”

His dark eyes studied me, his face half covered by stubble. “Miss…”

He waited for me to give him my full name, but that wasn’t happening.

“Miss is fine.” I smiled tightly. “We’re here to see the girls.”

The man’s eyes were alight with humor at my not-so-subtle dismissal.

He gave a pointed look down the hallway. “All five of them are together in the last room on the left.”

A door behind him opened and surprise flooded me when I saw a woman, her hands and wrists bound to her bed, children around her.

Kingston’s hand on the small of my back urged me forward. “Let’s go.”

I shared a glance with him, picking up on his warning to stay quiet, and we continued forward. The moment we were out of earshot, I asked under my breath, “What was that?”

“Nothing we want to get involved in.” My steps tripped over the smooth surface, but Kingston caught me by my elbow. “Let’s focus on what we came for,” he warned.

When we reached the last door, we found the women, and my eyes traveled over each of them. They looked like different people. Their faces were clean, they wore new clothes, and color had bloomed on their cheeks. They lookedhealthy. Until you looked at their eyes.

You could always tell by one’s eyes how much they’d suffered.

My throat felt thick with unshed tears as I said to Kingston, “They’ll open up easier if you’re not here.”

He nodded. “Keep the door ajar.”

I knocked on the doorframe, and five sets of eyes turned to look at me when I entered.

“Hello,” I greeted them softly. “Is it okay if I come in?”

Four of them offered soft smiles, while one set of eyes remained staring out the window.

“Hello, Liana,” the girls greeted me in unison, causing me to wince at the name. How in the hell would I ever explain?

“There’s one empty seat,” Visha said.

I perched down at the little table where the girls were gathered around.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked, regretting that I couldn’t take them with me to the island. Alexei had assured me that they’d be safe here, but it wasn’t the same as having them tucked in our territory.

“Yes,” Delilah answered. “We’ve been well taken care of here.”

I nodded, feeling Kingston’s presence even though he wasn’t in the room.

“I have to tell you something,” I said, bringing both my hands to the table and twisting my left wrist. “And then I’m going to ask you for help, but I want you to know, if it’s too… hard or painful or anything like that, you don’t have to tell me anything.”