Reign of a Billionaire : A Dark Mafia Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

Chapter 16Kingston

She was in fucking Rossiyskaya Federatsiya. Russia.

It was the one country I’d never gone back to. I’d rather burn in hell for all eternity than step foot in that godforsaken country. Kingston Ashford died in Russia. In his place, Ghost was born.

I’d been beaten, broken, and torn down, only to be turned into a lethal assassin. During my physical combat training under Ivan and Sofia, I was an eager pupil so I’d become invincible. I vowed to myself I’d be the scariest man of them all so I could protect Lou. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone. When Alexei got me out of Russia eight years ago, there was nothing left of me. Nothing but a killer.

I utilized all that I’d learned to reinvent myself. Alexei offered me connections and a hand in kicking off my first business, but then I found my way into the Thorns of Omertà. It turned out I had a real knack for finding people and ending them. So, I became a sought-after assassin for powerful people—in and out of the underworld.

But nobody knew that. I hid it all behind my name. I’d learned to hide my cruelty and obsession with my victim’s teeth from my siblings behind an unmoving mask.

I carried a highly desirable last name, but unlike my brothers, I was only a shadow of the man I was born to be. My brothers constantly asked what happened to me. I couldn’t voice the words to describe those years since my kidnapping. Raised among the bloodshed and violence, fighting to survive, I became violence. It was part of my DNA and every instinct in my body.

So even though I’d been rescued from hell years ago, there were times when it felt like I was still there, in that dungeon, in that fighting ring.

I couldn’t close my eyes without remembering the days, the nights, and most of all, her. Sleep became impossible, the dreams too agonizing to bear. The memories haunted me. I roamed this earth without purpose even when I reconnected with my family.

Until I found her—them—again. So of course it would stand to reason that they were both in damn Russia, out of my fucking reach.

“You okay?” My brother-in-law’s voice yanked me out of my head, and I turned to meet his pale blue gaze. Kostya, my nephew, stood next to him in an identical position, looking like his badass sidekick.

Alexei was the illegitimate son of Nikola Nikolaev and his mistress, Marietta Taylor. Nikola’s wife was a jealous, psychotic bitch who had Alexei kidnapped when he was two years old and handed him over to one of the cruelest men in the Russian mafia. Ivan Petrov. The human trafficker who eventually got his hands on me. And just like that, two lives were ruined.

“Yes.”

The party in Alexei and Aurora’s Portugal home was in full swing, their green lawn sprawling with visitors from every criminal organization that all shared a common goal—ending human trafficking.

Aurora, my sister, stood within earshot, surrounded by her girlfriends and visitors. Holding her full champagne glass aloft, she pretended to sip from it, her eyes constantly seeking out her husband. My own eyes scanned the crowd.

“If you want to disappear, I’ll cover for you.”

He knew I hated crowds. He did too. He tolerated it for his family, but I couldn’t stomach it. The thought of someone accidentally brushing against me made my stomach roil. To this day, I had to be restrained when examined by a nurse or a doctor.

But if I left, what in the fuck would I do? I couldn’t go to Russia, and I didn’t want to relive the horrors of the dungeon in my dreams. So I observed all the guests, laughing happily and marveling at the emotion that had evaded me for the past eight years.

“I’m good,” I deadpanned.

“Uncle Kingston?” Kostya looked up at me. “Is it true you have a house built from human teeth?” My eyebrow shot up in surprise. “Uncle Royce said if I’m bad, you’ll pull my teeth out and add them to your house.”

“It’s true,” I confirmed, letting my eyes wander around the lawn. “But tell Uncle Royce next time he threatens you with it, I’m gonna come for all his teeth. They’re bigger.”

“Promise?” I returned my eyes to my nephew, who was grinning happily. I nodded my confirmation. “When is he coming?”

“Not sure.”

A booming laugh erupted, and all our eyes landed on the group where Luciano stood with his wife. They were with Vasili Nikolaev and his wife, Luca DiMauro, and Raphael Santos. The latter killed Santiago Tijuana Junior.

I stiffened, unable to fight the onslaught of memories from eight years ago. It might as well have been yesterday as fresh as the memories were.

The agonizing screams caused me more pain than all the torture I endured. They continued for seconds, minutes, hours until deathly silence followed.

I forced my eyes wide open and my brain to focus. Dread filled my veins like concrete. My mind was sluggish, and my eyes unable to focus. I blinked blood off my eyelashes, my gaze darting around, looking for the familiar golden strands.

Except she wasn’t here. She was gone. The only thing that was left behind was the bloodstained floor and my hollow heart.

The door opened, but I was too broken to flinch. I knew more pain was coming, but I no longer cared. I’d barely hung on to my consciousness, eager to meet death.

Men entered, moving slowly. I heard whispers but couldn’t make out the words.

“Kingston.” A face with pale blue eyes swept down my mangled body. “We’re getting you out.” My lips opened. They moved. My vocal cords burned. “What?”

“Get—” Her. I prayed he heard me, understood me.

He looked around. “Who?”

Her, my Lou, I tried to say.

“We can’t tend to his wounds here,” someone said. “Grab him and let’s get out of here.”

Voices carried on around me, and my body shifted. The pain was excruciating, making my teeth rattle. I passed out and didn’t wake up until it was too late.

I sought the end from that day forward, but it refused to come.

“Did you hear about Sofia Volkov?” Dante Leone’s voice penetrated my memories, capturing my attention. The unhinged bastard looked like he was ready to go on a killing spree. “She has a daughter. Marchetti sent the news. We need to get that kid⁠—”

“You won’t fucking touch her.” The threat escaped me, calm and deadly. Dante’s eyes narrowed. “Or I swear to whatever God you believe in, I’ll end you.”

The air stilled around me. A thick tension filled it, too many criminals with weapons in one spot. My sister appeared out of thin air, stepping between me and Dante, while Alexei attempted to yank her back from the crossfire. Aurora, being who she was, refused to budge.

“You want to tell me why you’re defending that bitch’s daughter?” Dante scoffed. Aurora shifted on her heels, and I nudged her gently in her husband’s direction and out of the line of fire.

“You knew she had a daughter?” Alexei asked, amplifying the tension involuntarily. It was probably what everyone had been wondering.

Shrugging my shoulders, I let the anxiety roll off me and taint the sunny afternoon. It was so quiet, the nearby waves the only sound breaking the silence.

Without a flicker of emotion, I looked at my watch before making my announcement loud and clear.

“Anyone touches Sofia Volkov’s daughter and I’ll have their teeth decorating my mantel.”

“You know we’re on your side?” my brother-in-law stated in an even monotone.

My sister and brother-in-law must have decided a conversation was needed after the incident at their party. They’d changed, probably expecting a long night discussing something that was none of their business. Alexei was in his signature black cargo pants and black dress T-shirt while Aurora wore a modest quarter-sleeved dress that came down to her knees.

I pulled the door open to let them enter.

“Did you lose your kid?” I asked as they walked in.

“He’s with Vasili and Isabella,” Alexei answered as he sized up my latest real estate acquisition. Aside from his wife, there was nobody he trusted more than his half brother and half sister.

Aurora’s radiant face and dark brown eyes studied me, the questions floating at the surface. There was no going back to the person I was before I was kidnapped. That part of me wasn’t just repressed. It was extinguished.

My sister might keep searching for it, but she’d never find it.

“What is it, Rora?”

I rarely used her nickname anymore and her smile faltered for a second, probably reminding her of that fateful day when I was kidnapped. She still blamed herself.

She opened her mouth but remained silent, then shook her head. “Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay after… You rushed out of there so fast.”

My attention darted to Alexei, who stood emotionless, his hands tucked in his pockets. He was going to let his wife handle this on her own. He was just here for moral support—hers or mine, I wasn’t sure.

I shut the door and walked toward the kitchen to get a drink. Both followed, taking a seat at the table while I poured myself and Alexei a glass of cognac and a glass of wine for my sister.

“You want to talk about it?” I raised a brow at my sister’s question. “About her daughter.”

I leaned against the counter, sipping my drink. “If I did, I’d go see a shrink.”

Alexei rubbed his jaw tiredly while Aurora bit her bottom lip, peeking up at me from underneath her thick lashes. My sister was a badass, but the whole incident of my kidnapping had scarred her. Well, both of us—just in different ways.

I wanted to tell her that I’d blow the whole fucking world to ashes to keep her protected, but I wasn’t the same person anymore. I wasn’t as articulate. I had to hope she knew.

“How long have you known she has a daughter?” Alexei ended up asking.

I rubbed my jaw tiredly, debating how to answer that question as truthfully as I could without going too deep into the years of my imprisonment.

“I saw them recently in a restaurant.” It was a half-truth. I’d known for a long time that Sofia had twin daughters. It was only a few months ago that I learned one of them was still alive. He nodded, choosing not to push.

“Is she involved in her mother’s operations?” My gaze snapped to my sister, and her shoulders went rigid while her husband growled at me. I internally cursed myself for my sharp movement, and Aurora stared up at me with a wretched expression filled with guilt.

I forced a smile on.

“I’ll deal with Sofia Volkov and her daughter,” I stated calmly.

“Will you be able to kill her daughter if it comes to that?”

“Yes.” No. Maybe.

My sister hesitated. “I don’t like it, Kingston.” My sister had been working at the FBI, her determination in finding my kidnappers and killing Ivan Petrov having led her there. Our brothers encouraged her career, knowing she needed closure, but lately, she’d been focusing her talents on ending human trafficking.

Unfortunately, they were like Hydra. You cut off the head of one, two more emerged from the shadows. Those fuckers had to be burned from within with a torch and gasoline.

“Don’t worry, Rora,” I said while checking my phone and plotting a war. A message from Nico Morrelli waited for me. I opened it and scanned the invite list. Tension rolled through me as I realized Liana Volkov was hard at work, getting herself added on the guest list as “Princess Leia,” and those idiots in the Tijuana cartel hadn’t even picked up on it. Slightly impressed, I let dry amusement fill me.

Why in the fuck would she want to attend one of Santiago Tijuana Senior’s parties? They were sick and twisted. There was a reason Raphael Santos pushed him. Thank fuck I’d tasked Nico with keeping anything related to the Volkov family on his radar.

“Kingston, you know I’d do anything and everything for you,” my sister said, her brows bunching together with worry. “But I don’t have a good feeling about whatever it is that you’re planning.”

My smart little sister. Anything related to those cretins was bound to end in catastrophe. But I couldn’t stop it any more than the moon could stop its rise in the sky every night.

“I got it all under control.”

Aurora and Alexei shared a look.

Neither one of them believed me.