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

Chapter 26Kingston

The church was brimming with people who came to mourn—or celebrate—the death of Santiago Tijuana Sr. The man was a piece of scum who had it coming, but that didn’t stop people from putting on a whole dog and pony show.

There were slimy politicians, leaders of various criminal organizations, and any other gutless criminal with ties to the underworld. Human hypocrisy always amazed me.

But then, I was here too, along with Enrico Marchetti, Kian Cortes, Giovanni Agosti, Lykos Costello, and the Callahans. Of course, Perez Cortes wasn’t here—not that anyone expected him to be.

“Are you ready to take over the Tijuana cartel?” Enrico asked Giovanni, the latter in a piss-poor mood since he stepped foot into this church. Nobody wanted to be here, but he seemed particularly eager for an out.

“You weren’t the one who killed him, right?” Aiden was the more reasonable Callahan. His brothers—reckless twins—apparently had a bet going that Giovanni had been the one to finally end his uncle.

“No.”

“What’s the problem, then?” demanded Enrico.

Giovanni’s jaw clenched and his green eyes flashed angrily. “No problem at all.”

“Do we have any other information on Sofia Volkov’s daughter?” Marchetti’s words had my full attention.

“I do.” My eyes narrowed on Aiden. He better not be stalking my target, or I’d pull out all his fucking teeth and make him look like a ninety-year-old man. My darkness was tempted by hers, and while a sane person would reason it was a recipe for disaster, I wouldn’t argue. “I haven’t validated the source yet.” Awkward silence surrounded our pew. Most men here wanted to end Sofia Volkov and anything she represented, including her kin.

I, on the other hand, had an entirely different revenge plan in place—one that needed Liana alive.

“Well, don’t keep us in suspense, dear brother,” one of the Callahan twins muttered.

“There was an explosion a few days ago in D.C., a car bomb apparently. A setup by Perez Cortes targeted at Sofia Volkov.”

The news hit me like a sledgehammer, my chest twisting painfully while I kept my expression blank.

“We need to get our hands on her daughter,” Marchetti gritted. He’d had a chip on his shoulder—much like the rest of us—ever since Sofia tortured his wife. “And I don’t want my wife knowing about it.”

“It would give us leverage,” Aiden agreed. “Except she’s dead.” When everyone’s eyes snapped to him, he explained, “A burnt body was found in the explosion, identified as Liana Volkov.”

Tense silence followed, but it had nothing to do with the holy establishment we were in.

“Why would Perez want her dead? He had a business relationship with her mother.” Kian voiced the question everyone was thinking. Except I knew the answer: Liana tampered with Perez’s business. Sofia might have refused to admit it, but Perez clearly saw the truth.

Guilt squeezed my chest, tightening my throat. I should have grabbed Liana the minute I saw her alive and breathing, careful planning be damned.

Aiden shrugged. “No idea.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Kian’s brow creased. “Just twenty-four hours ago, he announced a flesh auction with Liana Volkov being presented for sale. If the fetched price isn’t adequate, he’ll use the Marabella Mobster arrangements.” My eyes sharpened and a red alert shot through me. Perez wouldn’t be so stupid. “Why would he rally buyers if she was dead?”

“If she’s alive, we need to get our hands on her,” Marchetti hissed. “I want leverage on her bitch mother.”

I jumped to my feet and left the church without another word, then typed out a message to my brother Winston.

He promised me his jet months ago. I was about to take him up on it and disappear again.

The moment I entered my flat, I really wished I hadn’t.

My brothers stood around my space like judges, juries, and executioners. And they wasted no time descending on me like goddamned flies. The only one who stood casually, taking no part in this, was Alessio, my eldest, illegitimate brother. In fact, he looked like he’d rather not be here at all.

“I hear you have a girl,” Royce blurted out, grinning like a fool. “An actual girl, not a blow-up doll.”

I side-eyed him. He might have some freaky tendencies, but I didn’t. “I don’t,” I deadpanned, flicking a glance at Winston.

“I didn’t tell him a thing,” he grumbled.

“It’s true,” Royce agreed. “It was Aurora.” I would need to have a conversation with my sister about details that should never be shared with my brothers, especially Royce. “And I saw the warning you made public, saying a certain woman is off-limits.”

Because I made a promise, I thought silently. There was nothing more to it. That little moment of shared passion was insignificant. Liar! The devil and angel on my shoulder called bullshit.

“I’m really worried about you,” Byron interjected, always the protective big brother. “You shouldn’t go after Sofia Volkov alone. She’s dangerous, and we don’t want anything to happen to you. At least let us help.”

“I work better alone.” It was the truth. Besides, I’d done unimaginable things while my brothers killed for our country. Well, except for Alessio. He’d endured some shit too, but I didn’t know him well enough to accept his offer of help.

“You think you could figure out who this belongs to?” Royce asked, ignoring my non-answer and pulling a bloody bag with a body part from his pocket.

“What the fuck?” Winston growled. “Is that a finger?”

Alessio shook his head. “You’re a sick motherfucker, Royce.”

Byron looked at his watch. “Well, Royce. You started this shit, getting us all to come here. Now say your piece, and do something with that bloody finger so we can all get back to our lives.”

“I was in Venezuela for a business trip.” My eyebrows shot up, but I didn’t say anything. “On my last day there, I found this in my hotel fridge.”

“Jesus,” Byron muttered. “Why didn’t you call the local police?”

That would make sense for my brothers who were, for the most part, law-abiding citizens, but nothing Royce did made sense. “And the local police is corrupt as fuck there.”

Without a look in Royce’s direction, I asked, “And you thought you should bring it to me, why?”

“Because it was addressed to the Ghost. Or Kingston Ashford.”

The tension amplified, something shifting in the air. I reached for it and made my way to the freezer. Once I threw it in an empty spot, I turned around and faced them all.

“Next time, write an email. And don’t bring me body parts,” I snapped. “Unless they’re teeth.”

“Jesus, here we go,” Winston grumbled. “Just don’t do it in front of Billie. She’s still scared to be around you.” Byron leaned against the wall, not in any hurry to shut Royce up. “But if you want to end our crazy brother,” Winston continued, giving a pointed look at Royce, “I’ll help you bury the body.”

“I won’t need help,” I said, my words reverberating off the walls.

Royce grinned. “You wish you were that good.”

“I am.” There was no boasting in my voice. In order to survive under Sofia’s and Ivan’s thumbs, I had to become the best in everything. I had to become a living nightmare.

Strained silence reigned for a moment, then Royce’s booming laughter filled the space. He was the only one who saw humor in everything. It was enough to drive anyone insane.

“Body part aside, what are you all really doing here?” I asked.

“Why is there a bullet in the headboard of your bed?” Byron changed subjects.

“Why were you in my bedroom?”

“Royce was convinced you were hiding from us,” he deadpanned.

Disbelief had me angling my head and crossing my arms. “In the bedroom?”

Sometimes having brothers sucked. They were so fucking nosy. I didn’t even know how they’d gathered this latest information. It was the reason I rarely stayed in D.C. and had properties around the world that nobody knew about.

My expression blank, I let my eyes roam over each of my siblings. “Want to check out my bathrooms too?”

Winston folded his arms and declared, “Too late, Royce has already been there and done that.”

“Privacy must be an unfamiliar concept,” I deadpanned, narrowing my eyes on my brother. “When I agreed to getting this place, you all promised me my privacy,” I reminded them. “The keys I made for you are for emergencies only.”

“Most of us didn’t go snooping around your penthouse.” Alessio regarded me with a dry expression. Then he narrowed his eyes on Royce. “Only the guy with the finger in his pocket did.”

“Nobody was snooping,” Royce corrected him. “We wanted to clean it for you.”

“Would you shut the fuck up about the snooping and cleaning?” Winston drawled, rolling a cigarette between his fingers.

“If Kingston has a girl, we have to vet her.” Royce made no fucking sense sometimes. “And if she’s shooting at you—” He slid his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Yeah, we can’t have that.”

“I. Don’t. Have. A. Girl.” My teeth were clenched so hard, my molars were about to crack.

“Ohhh… okaaaay,” Royce appeased with a drawl, rolling his eyes.

My gaze flicked to Winston, who shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in surrender. “Don’t look at me.”

“Who’s this girl?” Byron stared at me, nothing but genuine interest and concern in his eyes. “We just want to meet her.”

I headed past them, making my way to the bar. If my siblings were planning on lingering, I’d need a stiff one.

I poured myself a glass of whiskey, then glanced over my shoulder. “Help yourselves.”

Winston shook his head. He gave up alcohol for his wife. Alessio and Byron poured themselves drinks, and Royce went for a beer.

“You know, baby brother, if she’s trying to kill you, you might need to let her free,” Royce stated, circling back to the previous topic. Unfortunately. “This girl might not be the right one.”

“I don’t have a girl,” I pointed out again. Clearly, he was slow to grasp. “You’ve made a wrong assumption. Again.”

“It’s not what I’m hearing,” Royce muttered. “That bullet in your headboard says star-crossed lovers heading for tragedy.”

“It worked for Romeo and Juliet,” I deadpanned.

“They ended up dead,” Byron pointed out.

I shrugged. “We all die one day.”

“Morbid, but true,” Alessio agreed. “Is there a reason your girl would want you dead?”

I didn’t answer. There was no easy way to explain it. Or maybe there was, but I wouldn’t give it to them.

“Do you want us to take care of her?” Royce’s words barely left his mouth before I was in his face.

“You get anywhere near her, I’ll fucking kill you.” The threat slipped through my lips effortlessly. It was a big fucking slipup. “She’s mine to take care of.”

Over my dead body would I let anyone—including my own brothers—touch Liana. If my promise to Lou ended up broken, it would be because I did it.

Someone in the room let out a low whistle, but I kept my eyes on Royce. My brother stared at me for a heartbeat before breaking out into a full-blown grin.

“You really like her.” After a long moment of silence, he slapped my shoulder. “I guess we’re gonna have two mad killers in our family.”

“How do you know she’s a killer?” Winston questioned.

“Nico Morrelli,” Alessio answered.

“Word is that Sofia Volkov’s daughter has been working behind her mother’s back,” Royce supplied.

It was the single topic that had been avoided like bullets in our family since I resurfaced. The name hovered in the air, stained with filth. Yet today, it was thrown around like candy.

“Was the finger the reason for your sudden interest?” I demanded, watching Royce like a hawk.

“Yes,” he admitted. “I wanted to spare you.”

“And you thought you’d learn who that body part belonged to… How?” Winston asked incredulously.

Royce just shrugged. “People talk.”

“What does she have against you?” Byron asked, ignoring Royce, who was obviously full of shit. “Why is she shooting at you?”

I shrugged, unwilling to admit her sister’s name slipped through my lips after I’d come into my hand like a teenage boy. It would require more explanation, and I wasn’t willing to go there with them.

“Maybe if you show her the old you…” Winston watched me as I stilled. My brothers still looked for that Kingston—unwilling to come to terms with his metaphorical death.

My life had become tightly intertwined with the underworld. I could cut all ties, but even then, I’d forever be the ghost. The killer. The boy who fought to survive.

“Do you want to kill her?” Royce joked, sipping his beer with a smirk. “Or want us to give you pointers on how to win her over?”

“Jesus, don’t take any advice from Royce,” Winston muttered. “You’re gonna lose your woman before you even get her.”

“Just tell us what help you need from us,” Byron offered, picking up on my silence.

I downed my drink in one go and locked eyes with Winston. “I’m gonna need that jet, big brother,” I reminded him. It was something I’d lined up with him almost a year ago. Of course, I never thought it’d take this long to get my hands on her.

He nodded.

“Are you sure it’s smart to fuck with anything related to Sofia Volkov? Anyone with a will to live would keep the fuck away.” Alessio’s question was warranted, but I wasn’t just anyone, and my will to live was extinguished eight years ago.

“Except she isn’t with Sofia,” I said. Once she was in Cortes’s clutches, it’d be harder to get her back. If she was about to be put up for auction, he’d be damn sure to make her life hell. “Perez plans to use her for a flesh auction, or the Marabella arrangements if he doesn’t fetch the right price.”

My brothers’ eyes on me, I suddenly knew without a doubt that—with them on my side—nothing could stop me.

“I don’t follow.” Alessio cleared his throat. “Are you going to participate in the auction?”

It was my last resort. “I made a promise a while back. Sofia’s daughter is part of that promise. Besides, it’ll be killing two birds with one stone. Sofia will go nuts, and I get to keep my promise.”

Understanding washed over their expressions.

“What do you need us to do?” Royce asked.

“It’s best you don’t know where I go, and don’t look for me while I’m gone,” I said seriously. “Once I have her, I’m going to disappear for a while.”

And the Omertà wouldn’t find us.