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

My voice betrayed none of the anxiety I felt inside. I’d gotten good at hiding my emotions. From the looks of it, Giovanni was an expert too. I could practically see his mask slide into place, his face all harsh lines and hard angles.

“Once you end him, take the servants’ stairs. There’s a door underneath that will lead you to the side street. Wait for me there.”

I rolled my eyes again. “You’ve got to learn to say please.”

Without answering, he exited the car, slammed the door, then came around. I bit the inside of my cheek, my heart reeling with so many emotions. Santiago Tijuana was the last man to see my sister alive. He owed me an answer and a life.

Today, we’d settle the score. I only wished I could take my time and make him wail like a pig for days on end.

The passenger door opened, Giovanni’s body hiding me, and I opened my mouth so he could gag me. There’s a first, I thought drily. He was lucky I was desperate to get my hands on his uncle.

“This better work,” he muttered under his breath, barely moving his lips while securing the gag.

I blinked, communicating to him that it would. It had to.

Giovanni threw me over his shoulder—the man had some serious caveman energy—then made his way to the gate that surrounded a charming little mansion with a monster inside.

There had been guards all around, but nobody reacted to seeing me manhandled. It would seem this was a regular occurrence.

Showtime.

I started kicking, my muffled protest barely audible as I fought against the man who was delivering me to the cartel that killed my sister. God knew my mother played the video enough times while torturing me.

As my phony captor made his way into the manor, my half-assed attempt to struggle against Giovanni convinced the guards that I wasn’t here of my own free will.

This plan would work.

“Boss’s nephew is here,” one of the guards spoke into his earpiece. “Alert him.”

Yes, alert him, I thought smugly while adrenaline pumped through my veins. We needed the fucker present and accounted for.

Giovanni strolled inside, up the staircase, and through the hallway until a voice shattered through my erratic heartbeat. A set of doors opened with a loud bang, and I twisted around, seeing my target at the threshold of his bedroom suite.

He looked like a twisted ’70s porn star, wearing a robe and slippers with a gold chain around his neck. I decided, right there and then, I’d strangle him with it.

“You brought her to me.” Fuck, even his voice was putrid. “I thought you might still be mad at me. That you’d want to keep her for⁠—”

Giovanni cut him off. “I told you that was water under the bridge, Uncle.”

My eyebrows hit my hairline. What was Giovanni mad at his uncle about? Aside from human trafficking, obviously. But before I could ponder it further, Giovanni was inside the ridiculously gaudy suite of Santiago Tijuana, throwing me on the mattress. For the second time in one night.

Motherfucker.

He turned his back to me and stood there, blocking me from his uncle’s view and giving me a chance to grab my knife. I hid it between my bound wrists and let the rope glide over the blade. Once. Twice. I left the third one for my final act.

“You can go,” the old fucker dismissed him. “I have to teach this one a lesson.”

I sensed more than saw Giovanni stiffen. Then, he strode out of there without a single objection. The door closed behind him, his footsteps fading with each second.

Dreadful silence, eerie and disturbing, filled the space like poison.

“You’re pretty.” His voice slid over me, but I remained still. “We’re going to play now,” Santiago purred, tracing his hand down my spine. I fought disgust at being touched, forcing myself not to react too soon. “You know why you’re here?”

I shook my head, my fingers closing around the knife and gripping it hard. The old Santiago ground against me, his blunt bulge rubbing against the curve of my ass. Bile rose in my throat, feeling his hands on my body. Anticipation wrapped around my throat like a vise, cutting off my air.

But my mind remained clear. It was amazing what years of training could do.

“Fuck, how is it that you’re prettier than your sister?” Lead settled in my gut. I wanted to lash out. Slice him into tiny pieces while he was still alive, so he could feel the pain. Instead, I waited. “She fought like a wild cat. Bled like a pig.”

Blinding fury roared to life, causing my chest to heave and blood to rush in my ears. No more waiting. It was time to avenge my twin. It was time to make this bastard pay.

I shifted around, and with the last glide of the blade against the ropes that bound me, I was free. In one swift move, I twisted myself up to straddle him and brought my blade to his throat.

“Scream and I’ll bleed you like a pig.” Gripping a fistful of his hair, I shoved his face against the mattress. “Now let’s play, old man.”

“You stupid bitch,” he spat. “You’ll never get out of this alive.”