Kylie Bray (Love, Hate and Billions)

Chapter 34 (Kylie)

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 ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

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,

“Sorry, I wanted to tell you but I don't want you worrying when you got enough shit going on.”

“Hey, it's okay, I get it,” Jace says.

“You need to drop that smackdown Jace, it's not your fault, if you didn't tell them they would've figured it

out.”

His silence just pisses me off, I make another turn and head down toward the supermarket.

“You were kidnapped, it's not your fault okay, Diamond is doing this for you, don't be ungrateful and

squander your life away. You dropping out of a private school to go to public is one thing. Riding

yourself with guilt is something completely different.”

I take a right at the four-way and carry on straight.

“Can we just drop it? What do you need from me.”

I sigh, “Beggar has a mark on her stomach and brand, guess from who.”

“Biker or Outlaw.”

“Worse, it's from good ole Vincent's clan.”

“What. The. fuck.”

“My thoughts exactly, it's their mark, the one they brand on the soldiers and their possessions.”

I don't tell him that where they put the mark makes a difference.

“whatcha need Ky.”

“I need to find out who the fuck is Beggar but without drawing attention, so no P. I's, can you pull it off.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, how?”

“One word, golf.”

“Golf?” I park the car in front of the only hotel in this small dead town.

“Yup, Sabastian has recently become a fully pledged member, got his inheritance and full rights to the

company.”

“Okaaay.” I drag out the word.

“Remember the Kent’s.”

I groan, “How can I forget.”

He chuckles through the speaker, so not funny.

“Yeah well, Dexter’s dad died last year, so he’s taken over all of Kent’s holdings including…”

“Being Delroy's bitch.” I finish for him with a smirk on my face.

“Yup, if anyone can get it done, it’ll be him. I’ll talk to Sabs and get back to you by tomorrow.”

“I knew I loved you for a reason.” I end the call and hop out of the car.

I get into the four-star dump of a hotel to go feed my friend while she creates another mass destruction

weapon for the USA government while losing a part of herself in the process with one thought in my

mind.

How the fuck am I going to get close to Vincent Stone.

Since our kiss a couple of months ago I haven't seen him. Sometimes the kiss we shared feels like

something I conjured up in my crazy mind.

That day after he kissed me he didn't walk away, we stayed outside for a while in deep silence. He told

me that he would never harm a woman, that he would never traffic anyone, and like a foolish nineteen-

year old I believed him, because of my love for him.

But now I see the error of my ways. It is crystal clear, I saw it with my own eyes on the body of that girl

in Zero's bed, the body of a girl named Beggar.