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

It was just the two of us in the safety of her bedroom as I inked the tattoo on the nape of her head—one to match the design on my forearm. It was the only spot that nobody here would notice, with the way she usually kept her hair down.

“I wish those tattoo stickers were permanent.”

Unlike her sister, Louisa didn’t handle pain well. It was the reason I gave her a strong painkiller and cream to numb her skin.

“Maybe I’ll invent them if we get out of here,” I mused as I picked the gun back up and started working on the shading.

“When.”

My sunshine—always an optimist. “When,” I mimicked, teasing.

After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again. “Kingston?”

“Yes, sunshine?”

“If you ran alone, I could keep Mother and Ivan off your scent.”

I stopped and turned her chin so I could see the left side of her face. “Freedom without you is meaningless.” Her lip trembled and I leaned over, brushing my lips over hers. “I’d rather have a few seconds beyond these walls with you than have to suffer a lifetime without you.”

“Will you love me forever?” she questioned, her insecurity wrapping around my throat. “Maybe when we’re free, you’ll see that I’m… nothing.”

I let out a sardonic breath. “Sunshine, you are everything.” I smiled hearing her exhale. “I’ll love you when the sun stops rising. When the planets stop spinning. And when death comes for you, I will hold your hand and follow right along.”

A soft sniffle filled the space between us. “I love you, Kingston.”

“I love you more, sunshine.” I continued with her tattoo, lost in thought. We’d make things right in this life, we’d be free to live our truth together.

“Don’t let them take me,” she whispered over the whirring of the tattoo gun. Gripping it between my fingers, I lifted it off her skin. She was staring, eyes half-lidded, at the wall opposite us.

“They won’t take you,” I promised. The Tijuana cartel was our biggest threat. There was no way to defeat them if Sofia and Ivan were willing to sell her, but I’d make sure we got out. “We’ll be gone before they ever arrive. I’ll keep you safe.”

“Liana too, right?”

“Yes, your sister too,” I agreed reluctantly. Liana was a wild card. She wasn’t exactly eager to leave the underworld behind.

I quickly quashed the memory, but it was too late. Everything came crashing down. The control I exercised at all costs. The ghosts that haunted me. Those few stolen kisses. We never made it out of the compound together. I left Lou behind, and she wasn’t something I thought I could ever leave behind. Dead or alive.

My fingers clenched around the whiskey glass, bitterness coursing through my veins.