Page 35 of Reign of a Billionaire

“And here I thought there might be a damsel in distress in here.” A deep, taunting voice startled me, and I whipped around,the man I was pummeling forgotten. Swallowing, I looked into the dark eyes of none other than Kingston Ashford. The image of the boy from the photo in Ivan’s file flashed in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder what hell he’d gone through.

His hard, unrelenting gaze was in stark contrast to his casual pose. He was leaning against the wall, his arms folded and his eyes ice cold. My heart thundered in my chest but I ignored it, refusing to show fear.

“Clearly, I’m not a damsel. Now get lost, or I’ll be cutting off two sets of balls today.” I narrowed my eyes on him.

“Nice to see you again,” he said, ignoring my dismissal. God, there was something about his guttural tone that was almost… seductive.

A whimper of my victim pulled my attention and I struck him in the temple, knocking him out, then turned back to the unexpected visitor.

“Are you stalking me?”

One meeting was a coincidence. Two, no fucking way.

“Now why would I stalk you?” Emotion played across his face and his eyes—blazing, almost like he’d seen a ghost. Just as quickly as it appeared, his expression shuttered into one of polite interest.

“You tell me.” I licked my lips nervously. There was something about this man that was unsettling. I didn’t like it. “What do you want with me, Kingston Ashford?”

Surprise flared in his eyes, his scruffy jaw hiding some of his hard face. “So you know who I am.”

“I did my homework,” I breathed.

“So you did.”

A beat of silence followed, something about the tone of his voice not sitting well with me. His eyes lingered on my injured cheek, darkening. His jaw tightened, and he looked away. Ashadow of something dangerous passed his expression, making my heart shudder and then speed up. For him.

“Why are you here?” I rasped. The darkness in his eyes unleashed something within me, chasing my rapid heartbeats and frying my nerves. I raised my eyebrows, tilting my head to the side and hiding this unusual reaction behind my stony facade.

“Morbid curiosity.”

“That can get you killed.”

Something flared sharply in his eyes before it was completely gone.

“Go for the jugular next time,” he drawled, giving me pause, but then I remembered the grotesque scene I’d created around me. Clearly, he wasn’t disturbed by it. “Slice him right here.” He demonstrated on himself, a spot right under his jaw. “He’ll bleed out like a pig. Then take his tooth. Didn’t your mama teach you that?”

I blinked at him. Kingston Ashford was a nut job—there was no other explanation. But then his words sunk in and realization dawned.

“You know her?” Mother partook in Ivan’s torture. Of course he would know her.

My breath caught in my throat as he pulled out a pistol and attached a silencer to its barrel. Before I could even blink, he pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger.

My eyes closed, my mind silent for the first time in years.

Chapter 18

Kingston

The body slumped to the floor with a satisfying thud.

Blood roared between my ears, muffling the noise of everything else.

The silencer still on, I shoved the pistol back in my holster and closed the distance to the dead body. I stared down at the unmoving corpse and blinked away the red fog that’d descended when I fired the bullet, then leaned over and pulled out a tooth with my pliers.

“What’re you doing?” Liana’s voice was distant, and I found her watching me with a blank mask.

The party was held for distinguished politicians, with its annual tradition of serving trafficked minors and women on a silver platter—one that went blissfully ignored. It was their way of gathering the evidence to hold against the honorable governors, senators, and others when they needed a favor.

The corruption was a wheel that never stopped turning.