Page 44 of Alexei (Belles & Mobsters 4)

“Thank God we didn’t go with you,” Sailor muttered. I nodded, a lump in my throat. It was only on the way home that it sunk in how much Gabriel looked like Santos. His dark hair, dark blue eyes, his olive skin tone.

“Is it smart that Gabriel is roaming the city with Byron?” Willow questioned.

“None of those men strike me as men that would take ghost tours,” I justified. “If they happen to see him with Byron, they’ll assume Gabriel is his. They look similar enough.”

It wasn’t far-fetched. Just like Gabriel, Byron had olive skin tone.

Anya’s pleas for the old Santos to stop still shattered the three of us. As we huddled in the corner, Anya paid for it. At that time we didn’t know that the two of them hooked up in one of the nightclubs we snuck into a few days earlier.

The taste of freedom that week wasn’t worth the end result.

ChapterThirteen

ALEXEI

Iread the report Nico emailed me.

It was no wonder Byron Ashford knew Santos and Morrelli. He often worked with them, but Byron and his brothers kept to legal businesses, which was smart. Real estate tycoons, technology tycoons, hotels. You name it; they had it. It seemed the Ashford family had the Midas touch. Their empire stretched over every inch of this earth and touched almost everything, if you included their illegitimate brother and sister.

Though there was one little piece that surprised me. The three brothers had a small exclusive security company that extracted the kidnapped. And they did it pro-bono.

And then there was the information on their mother. It was what shocked everyone else the most. She was the sister of Gio DiLustro who ran the New York Kingpins of the Syndicate. Gio’s brother ran the Syndicate in Chicago and Philadelphia. Gio DiLustro worked different illegal businesses and avenues from Cassio King so the two had no quarrels. Gio’s son, Basilio DiLustro, expanded their empire to legal dealings.

Either way, her mother was killed by one of the other syndicate gangs. The culprit was never identified. It could have been the Irish. Or the Russians. The sister of the Irish head Liam Brennan got shot around the same time. The coincidence was suspect.

I continued through the report, though there were no other surprises. The three brothers fussed over their youngest sibling and often checked on her. Frequent calls and texts, no matter where they were in the world. They ran billion dollar global empires, yet Aurora opted for a low-paying, government job despite her connections and wealth.

And then there was the youngest brother.

Kingston Ashford. Aged ten. Kidnapped during a visit to the Washington Zoo. The only witness, his five-year-old sister. Twenty years ago. But then, I knew that as well.

“That prissy prick has messed with me for the last time,” Ivan hissed, pissed off he didn’t get his way. He was always like that when someone stood up to him. Unfortunately for Ashford, he took Ivan’s money and then backed out of their deal.

The local governor refused to approve the purchase of two hundred acres in Virginia to Ivan, along with a permit. Instead he sold it to the Cassidy Enterprise and got himself a kickback. Turned out Morrelli offered him a better kickback than stingy Ivan Petrov.

I watched the fifty-something-year old nanny walk out of the million-dollar mansion along with two kids. A little girl with dark curls skipped from one foot to another, her curls bouncing with each movement. Even from here, I could see she brimmed with energy and her smile lit up her whole face. Despite her fancy red coat with black bows for buttons, she acted wild, with no regard for her fancy clothes.

Fearless, she came up to the gate where I lurked. I caught a whiff of chocolate and my stomach rumbled. I hadn’t eaten in over twenty-four hours.

If I didn’t see this one through, I wouldn’t live long enough to turn eighteen, despite being just a few months shy from turning the legal age. I was so close to getting out, Ivan promised he’d tell me who my family was… and let me go. Though Ivan had told plenty of lies over the years and deep down I already sensed the truth.

He never let anyone out.

“Hurry, hurry,” she giggled, her light voice traveling through the breeze. The girl couldn’t have been more than five. Six tops.

“Rora, stop.” The boy who had to be her brother yelled after her. They resembled each other. “You’re going to get run over,” he warned her.

She giggled, twirling around on the immaculate lawn. “I’m invi-ci-ble,” she sounded out the word, her small voice beaming with pride.

In my entire life, I couldn’t ever remember feeling that much pride. Or happiness. Her brother ran towards his sister and grabbed her hand, gently tugging it.

“Stay with me, Rora,” he reprimanded her.

She lifted her face, trustingly, to her big brother, offering him a big smile. “Always.”

Her big brother fondly tugged on her pigtail and a giggle bubbled on her lips.

I followed them for five blocks, until they strode into the zoo. It was then that little Rora got wild. She tugged her little hand free and ran circles around her brother and nanny.

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