Page 95 of Reign of a Billionaire

“How long have you been here?” I asked, brushing my fingers over the collar.

“Two days.”

“Where are the others?” I rasped, hoping beyond hope that these girls weren’t being used as bait.

Those anguished eyes gazed up at me. “They left two, maybe three days ago.”

My adrenaline surged at the realization that they’d been collared and then abandoned like animals. My eyes darted around. No food. No water. Nothing.

I turned to look at Alexei, who seemed to pale underneath all his tattoos. “Think you can find some cutters in this mess?” He disappeared up the stairs, and I turned back to my girls. “We’ll try to cut these and get you out of here.”

“I want to go home,” the girl with brown eyes cried. “I miss my mom.”

My eyes burned, and I smoothed my hands over my pants. “Let’s get you out,” I rasped. “Then we’ll find your mom and get you home.”

“You… you won’t sell us?” The green-eyed girl assessed me suspiciously, her lip swollen.

“No. I will find who did this to you and kill them,” I vowed.

“Then it’s Sofia Volkov you have to kill.” And there it was. Not that I didn’t suspect it already, but hearing it spoken aloud, from the mouth of a bruised and battered girl no less, put a nail in my mother’s coffin.

Alexei returned with cutters and… clothes. But before I could question him, he approached us with Kingston.

“It’s okay,” I soothed. “I’ll hold it away from your neck.”

The girls didn’t move, their breathing stilled as Kingston snapped the metal, one by one, and Alexei handed them each ajacket. I recognized them as the ones his men had been wearing, and I lifted my head, mouthing my thanks.

“Ready to go?” The girls stood up, their frail bodies trembling. The girl with brown eyes, who’d been quiet and staring out absently, stumbled on her feet. My hands shot out to steady her. When I managed to get her standing, I saw the whip marks on the backs of her legs. Fury welled in my chest, but I kept it out of my voice as I offered my hand. “We’ll get out of here together.”

Her trembling fingers met mine and we started our climb out of the basement.

Straight into the DiLustro gang, the Kingpins of the Syndicate, and the Irish pricks—my half-siblings.

Chapter 46

Kingston

This wasn’t going to plan. Not at all.

We’d anticipated a trap, but never the Kingpins of the Syndicate. Even less Murphy’s Irish mafia.

My mother came from the DiLustro line, so they certainly weren’t strangers to me. Dante DiLustro stood with his wife, Juliette, both armed to the teeth. Basilio, his sister, Emory, and cousin Priest had combat gear that wasn’t any less impressive. The only one who stood out was Ivy Murphy, who didn’t have a single weapon on her. It was probably good she wasn’t on this job alone because the girl would get herself killed.

And then there were the Murphy brothers, who ran a section of the Irish mafia, armed with weapons of mass destruction. They would happily level a whole continent without ever losing sleep. Someone had to get them under control, and fast.

They eyed our rescued girls, with the exception of the one clinging to Liana.

I flicked a glance at Liana to find her frozen, her eyes locked on Ivy and her bottom lip wobbling ominously. My chest tightened as realization dawned on me. It was probably the first time she’d seen her in person. Ivy was her half sister who wasraised in a protective home while Liana and her twin had to survive Sofia and Ivan.

It was what we had in common. I was the youngest Ashford brother, but surviving the shit I had, it aged me tenfold. Maybe not to the naked eye, but my soul sure as hell was old as fuck.

It was the reason I reached out and gently squeezed her forearm, bringing her focus back to me. Her eyes met mine for a brief second. A terse nod, and she turned back to the group she probably considered her enemies.

“You better have a good reason for being here.” Alexei broke the silence.

“The Kingpins and Murphys together,” I stated coldly, my eyes roving over them. “Something’s afoot.”

“My intel indicated Sofia Volkov would be here,” Priest responded.