She lowered her lashes. “Visha.”
“That’s a beautiful name,” I said, flicking a glance to the other girls with a soft smile. “What about yours?” I asked curiously.
“Delilah. Mae. Adira.” I waited for the last girl to say her name, but she simply stared at the wall.
“Louisa. She’s the youngest,” Visha answered for her. “She’s… they… hurt her.”
My hands froze on Visha’s collar, my pulse quickening. It’s a coincidence.
“Liana.” Kingston’s voice frightened the girls, sending them scattering into the corner. But it was what I needed to get my wits about me.
I turned my head, glancing at him over my shoulder and giving him a look that said, It’s okay, I’m okay. “Stay there.”
I couldn’t battle my demons now. These girls mattered more.
“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 a jacket. 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 46Kingston
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 was raised 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.
“So you brought an army,” I snickered. “Sofia’s not here.”
“It appears your intel was all wrong, DiLustros and Murphys,” Liana snapped, clutching her weapon in one hand and holding the shivering girl protectively with the other. “Now get lost.”
Basilio chuckled. “You must have some balls on you. How about you start with introducing yourself?”
“Fuck. You.”
“It’s only fair,” Dante chimed in. “Since you seem to know who we are.”
“I’m Kingston,” I answered. “And this is Alexei.”
Priest scoffed. “We know who you two are. Who is she? And what’s with the girl hanging off her like she’s Mother Teresa?”
I was just about to tell him to fuck off when Liana beat me to it. “I’m Lilith,” she answered. “And I’m going to kill you all if you don’t move out of our fucking way. We have somewhere we need to be.”
Not a single muscle flexed on Alexei’s face, and my own remained an impassive mask. The world knew that Sofia Volkov had daughters, but not too many knew the details. It was best to keep it that way.
“Badass,” Juliette commented. “I’m impressed.”
Liana’s jaw clenched, her eyes flashing with fury.
“Sofia Volkov killed my father,” Ivy Murphy chimed in, but Liana didn’t spare her a glance. It was as if she purposely avoided it. Not that I blamed her. Liana only ever considered her twin a sister. Ivy and her brothers were Liana’s half-siblings, but her paternal bloodline was where their connection began and ended.
Liana’s eyes locked on Juliette DiLustro. I knew exactly what was coming.
“No, she didn’t. The person who killed Edward Murphy is standing right there next to you.”
“What—”
“How—”
The commotion broke out instantaneously, and Liana smiled ferally, never losing sight of the girls behind her. Protecting them.
“Didn’t you know?” It was at that moment I realized I would never want Liana for an enemy. Her face could fool you into forgetting she was an untamed killer, but she spared no mercy when going for the kill.
“What do you mean?” Ivy’s voice shook.
“Juliette DiLustro killed your father, Ivy.” Liana dropped the bomb, going straight for the jugular. “Now, if you’ll excuse us…”
Alexei shook his head. “Listen, we have to get these girls to safety. It’s our priority. You guys figure this shit out.”
Liana, Alexei, and I started moving, keeping the rescued girls surrounded, when Liana glanced over her shoulder.
“By the way, Sofia’s not yours to kill. She’s Kingston’s.” Her gaze met mine, and I pretended not to feel the squeeze in my chest. “So back the fuck off, or you’ll answer to me.”
There was heartbreak on her face, but also fierce determination. It was what made it impossible to resist her.
Liana
In all the years that I’d known about my half-siblings, I’d never hated them. Yes, there was always an underlying tinge of resentment, but at this moment, I fucking hated them.