Kylie Bray (Love, Hate and Billions) novel Chapter 34

Beggar lays writhing, her back bending into a deep arch as her legs splayed open.

Her hands wrap around her long neck choking herself, until her face is blue, as she screams, and screams her tortured soul out with one word, Padrone, owner.

Zero is not here, he left sometime while I was in my mind.

Her top rides up as she writhes but still choking herself. And I stand here until I see the redness on her torso. A step or two I take until I'm right there, my knees touching the shaking bed.

I snap out of whatever it is, and the first thing I see clearly is that her skin is changing color, she's going to choke herself into unconsciousness. I spin into action jumping on the bed and go to grab her arms pulling them off her neck. Her high pitch scream wrings in my ears as she fights me. Pulling it back, as I pull her hands to me.

“Zero,”

I scream,

“Zero.”

The door bolts open seconds later, but it's those seconds I take my eyes off her and those seconds that spin my world on its axis.

Beggar opens her mouth like something is getting shoved inside and it doesn't take a college graduate to guess what she's picturing, what she must be reliving.

Zero pulls her hands easily into one of his, her wild movement lifts her top up and the branded burn I see almost makes my knees buckle.

I can't believe what I'm seeing but after I see it again my eyes widen, there's no doubt what it is.

Zero lifts her up and crushes her to his chest. “Sssshhh, Beauty, I got you, it's me Zero, you need to wake up now, okay, wake up Beauty. Sssshhh.”

He is so strong, his words soothing, his voice firm, but I see the horror on his paled skin, I see it as I feel mine.

I rush out of the room and barely make it to the bathroom before I spill my guts out in the toilet.

My mind boggles. He said they didn't do it, he said his people never took women.

They would never traffic, never enslave.

He lied, I know this, I know this as I know that the mark burned into that girl's stomach is the mark of his kind, the mark of possession, the mark of a slave. The mark of the Famiglia.

I don't waste time looking at the couple, I don't waste time doing anything. I don't even rinse out my bile-tasting mouth.

I take the steps three at a time and rush to my gold Mercedes. My keys in my hand clicking buttons before I slide in, turn the ignition and get the hell out of there.

My foot hits the gas and I speed to the hotel. I get my phone from the compartment in the center of the car and dial my baby brother.

It rings three times,

“Don't tell me you miss my ass,” His way of greeting.

“You alone,” I ask through the car speakers.

He’s quiet for a minute,

“Yeah, hit me.”

My eyes on the road, I push the cruise control, and sit back,

“I heard Kevin talking about a girl yesterday, came to Kanla with Diamond a day early to see her for myself, her name Beggar by the way.”

“Yeah, heard D asking Michael to do some digging. Some homeless girl they picked up in Washington.”

“Yup, but when I get there she's unconscious in Zero's arms. A few minutes after he put her on the bed she starts having some sort of seizure or nightmare I'm not sure what the hell was that. I've never seen that fucked up shit Jace.”

My hand hits the hooter in frustration, this is my brother I don’t hide from my family,

“Fuck, I can't even talk to Diamond about this because she’s having her benders again.”

He’s silent and I sigh, shit, me and my big mouth,