Page 3 of Thorns of Blood

Despite finding out we didn’t share any blood, Mateo Agosti named me his conditional sole heir—until his son was old enough to take the seat—to the Omertà side of the Agosti business in Italy. Honestly, at this point, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that my brothers Romeo and Cristiano and my sister Marissa were illegitimate too, considering the numerous affairs my mother had under her belt.

We made our way across the yard, one guard behind me and one in front, and I could see blinking cameras watching my every move. Once inside the mansion, I was led through the hallways and into an expansive library.

“Ah, Giovanni, you’re here,” Louisa exclaimed, her blonde hair framing her face.

My gaze darted around the beautiful room full of leather-bound books. Kingston sat behind a dark wooden desk, and his woman sat on the leather sofa with their newly adoptive daughter, Lara. Kingston and Lou found her during one of their missions and took her under their wing.

“You called. I’m here,” I answered. “Although, last time we met, you claimed to be Liana.” I raised a brow at the elegant woman.

She laughed uncomfortably. “It’s a long story.”

“I bet,” I muttered, acknowledging Kingston with a nod. When I crossed paths with this woman last November—almost a year ago now—she believed herself to be Liana. I’d heard that since then, she’d discovered that she was in fact Louisa Volkov.

A man I recognized as Alexei Nikolaev emerged from the shadows. The Russian had the same manic, cold ways as Kingston. Those two might as well be brothers; they had more in common with each other than with their blood siblings.

We greeted each other with a nod before I strode over and took a seat across from Kingston.

“You all want to tell me what this is about?”

“Lara, go check in with your instructors and start on your assignment,” Louisa said softly. “Once I’m done here, I’ll be over.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but Kingston chimed in with a firm voice, “This is for grown-up ears only, Lara.”

Her shoulders slumped before she nodded and, without another word, scurried out of the room.

The moment the door clicked shut, I grunted, “I have Omertà business to handle starting tomorrow, so let’s speed this up.”

Louisa jumped to her feet, making her way over to stand behind Kingston. Alexei, the forever silent shadow, stood by the door.

“I…weneed your help,” Louisa said, and Kingston grunted, rolling his shoulders and turning to glance at her. She simply rolled her eyes. “We do. He’s our way into the flesh trade.”

My brows shot up. “Excuse me, what?”

“You’re head of the Tijuana Cartel,” Kingston said as if that explained it all. Yes, with my uncle’s recent death, I’d been thrown into operations, but I had already started making arrangements to end our involvement. In fact, even before his death, I’d begun intercepting some of his shipments and placing the women in safe houses.

“I’ve never dealt in flesh trading,” I grunted. “And I certainly won’t be starting now.”

“Don’t you want to know why we’re interested in it?” Alexei spoke for the first time.

“Honestly, I’d rather not.”

Louisa locked eyes with me. “I need to find my sister, and she’s somehow wrapped up in that world. You’re my only way in.”

My brow furrowed, the brief interaction with the young bride from years ago flashing through my mind. It was truly remarkable how alike the two were. But the sister Louisa was referring to had more gold than hazel in her eyes, and I had yet to ever find someone with such unusual—albeit beautiful—features.

“Your twin is dead,” I said in a somber tone. I’d heard enough graphic stories about it from my uncle to know it was the truth. “It’s been eight years since your twin fell into Santiago’s clutches. Surviving him could have been a possibility, but Perez Cortes…”

No more words were needed. Women didn’t survive Perez Cortes, not unless the cavalry was sent in.

“No, she’s alive,” Louisa claimed with a stubborn tilt to her chin that was far too familiar. “We got the DNA off a severed finger that was delivered to Kingston. It’s my twin’s.”

I shot a look of disbelief at Kingston. Maybe his woman had lost her mind.

“We didn’t expect this news,” Kingston explained “But Sofia shared some information before her?—”

“Untimely death,” I finished for him. “But you’re not seriously suggesting I insert your woman”—or was Louisa his wife now?—“into an auction,again. Because frankly, it was a dumb plan last time too.”

Louisa scoffed. “It was not.”