Page 50 of Reign of a Billionaire

He looked like a twisted ’70s porn star, wearing a robe and slippers with a gold chain around his neck. I decided, right there and then, I’d strangle him with it.

“You brought her to me.” Fuck, even his voice was putrid. “I thought you might still be mad at me. That you’d want to keep her for?—”

Giovanni cut him off. “I told you that was water under the bridge, Uncle.”

My eyebrows hit my hairline. What was Giovanni mad at his uncle about? Aside from human trafficking, obviously. But before I could ponder it further, Giovanni was inside the ridiculously gaudy suite of Santiago Tijuana, throwing me on the mattress. For the second time in one night.

Motherfucker.

He turned his back to me and stood there, blocking me from his uncle’s view and giving me a chance to grab my knife. I hid it between my bound wrists and let the rope glide over the blade. Once. Twice. I left the third one for my final act.

“You can go,” the old fucker dismissed him. “I have to teach this one a lesson.”

I sensed more than saw Giovanni stiffen. Then, he strode out of there without a single objection. The door closed behind him, his footsteps fading with each second.

Dreadful silence, eerie and disturbing, filled the space like poison.

“You’re pretty.” His voice slid over me, but I remained still. “We’re going to play now,” Santiago purred, tracing his hand down my spine. I fought disgust at being touched, forcing myself not to react too soon. “You know why you’re here?”

I shook my head, my fingers closing around the knife and gripping it hard. The old Santiago ground against me, his blunt bulge rubbing against the curve of my ass. Bile rose in my throat, feeling his hands on my body. Anticipation wrapped around my throat like a vise, cutting off my air.

But my mind remained clear. It was amazing what years of training could do.

“Fuck, how is it that you’re prettier than your sister?” Lead settled in my gut. I wanted to lash out. Slice him into tiny pieces while he was still alive, so he could feel the pain. Instead, I waited. “She fought like a wild cat. Bled like a pig.”

Blinding fury roared to life, causing my chest to heave and blood to rush in my ears. No more waiting. It was time to avenge my twin. It was time to make this bastard pay.

I shifted around, and with the last glide of the blade against the ropes that bound me, I was free. In one swift move, I twisted myself up to straddle him and brought my blade to his throat.

“Scream and I’ll bleed you like a pig.” Gripping a fistful of his hair, I shoved his face against the mattress. “Now let’s play, old man.”

“You stupid bitch,” he spat. “You’ll never get out of this alive.”

“Oh, but I will,” I drawled. “You though, old fucker, you’re going to die.” I dragged the tip of my blade, cutting the skin on his neck enough to bleed but not enough to slice into his artery.

The bastard didn’t know how far I was willing to go.

“Even if you escape me, you won’t escape him.” He attempted to fight me, gasping for air. “Perez will end you. Just like he ended your sister.”

I froze, my heart stopping before jumpstarting into turbo mode. Santiago shifted his bulky form, but I tightened my grip on him. First, I needed answers. His death would come soon enough.

“You ended my sister,” I hissed. “I’ve seen the video.”

He attempted to fight me off, but the fucker was too out of shape and too old to stand a chance. “It wasn’t me.”

Blood dripped against his crisp white sheets. He bucked against me, and I moved the blade to the base of his neck. “Utter one more lie,” I gritted, “and I’ll make you bleed, nice and slow, so you can feel every drop of blood as it leaves your body.”

He stilled, fear clouding around him like a disease.

“It’s true. She didn’t die while under my care. Perez took her, then sold her using one of his Marabella Mobster arrangements.”

Images flashed through my mind. The video of her screaming while her body dissolved in a tub.

“Liar!” Fury surged through me, the room suddenly enveloped in a red haze. “I saw her body disintegrate with my own eyes. The video originated from your compound.”

The man laughed. “Stupid bitch.” I shivered from the fear and hope invading my entire being. Should I wish my twin alive or dead, I didn’t know. “It was doctored.”

My eyes welled up with confusion, but also hope.