Debauched: A Dark Reverse Harem Romance (The Devil's Syndicate Book 4)

by Sarah Bailey

  He leant into me a little, swallowing hard as his shoulder brushed against mine.

  “You okay?”

  His face was hard and his mouth set in a thin line.

  “No. Julian’s supposed to have got out of hospital today. I’m sure he expected me there but fuck him. Quinn clearly thinks he’s responsible for this mess. Julian is a psychotic cunt, no doubt about that, but whether he’d go to Russo is up for debate.”

  I was inclined to agree with Xav. Julian had always liked to play mind games with his son before he went to prison. He’d rather be able to lord something over Xav’s head to torture him. Then again, who knew what Julian was like any longer. The only time we’d seen him in twelve years is at the hospital. He still had that same evil smile. Same evil glint in his eye which only people who really knew him like me and Xav could recognise. I couldn’t imagine him ever showing any kind of remorse for what he’d done.

  “I don’t know. It’s all too convenient, you know. Something about all of this really doesn’t add up right to me.”

  “Why haven’t you said anything to Quinn?”

  “We have to deal with the threat at hand. There’s no other choice. We just have to keep our eyes open. And no doubt he already is aware this is fishy as fuck. You act like Quinn isn’t always two steps ahead of the rest of us.”

  Xav scoffed and rolled his eyes.

  “He’s a fucking uptight dickhead, that’s why.”

  “What did he do to piss you off so much this time?”

  “Nothing.”

  I gave him a look. Xav didn’t normally start on about how much of a dickhead Quinn was unless he’d done something.

  “Hmm, and why don’t I believe that for a second?”

  Xav crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. His suit jacket was pulled tight over his biceps and I had a hard time not staring.

  “You’re an annoying bastard who sees through all my bullshit so I can’t get anything by you.”

  I snorted and rubbed his arm.

  “We have known each other for like twenty-five years, Xavi.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “Aww, but you were a cute four-year-old.”

  His scowl deepened.

  “Nah, I was a big beast who terrified all the kids including you, but you soon learnt I’m a giant teddy bear.”

  I laughed at that. He was a bit of a brute when we were kids, not taking anyone’s shit and terrorising the teachers.

  “Teddy bear, my arse.”

  His scowl switched to a smile.

  “I’m a teddy bear for you and Ash. You have to admit I give the best hugs. Rory here would rather eat dirt than touch us and Quinn gets all pissy over it.”

  Rory gave Xav a dark look. He’d clearly been listening to our conversation.

  “I wouldn’t rather eat dirt,” he muttered. “Just don’t want to catch the annoying dickhead virus off you.”

  Xav whipped his head around and stared at Rory for a long minute before throwing back his head and laughing.

  “And here I thought you were too quiet to make mean jokes about us.”

  “Just because I don’t say them, doesn’t mean I’m not thinking them.”

  I jabbed Xav’s arm.

  “You going to tell me why you’re annoyed at Quinn or not.”

  He grabbed his drink off the table in front of us and knocked it back.

  “Other than he’s going around acting like the fucking king of the universe?”

  I hid a smile.

  “Oh, I see what the problem is. You’re jealous.”

  “What? No! Fuck off, E.”

  Rory looked over at me with a knowing smile.

  “He’s jealous about Quinn being Ash’s king.”

  “Right? I think he doesn’t like being relegated to the role of prince, eh?”

  Rory’s smile grew wider.

  “Prince Xavier.”

  “First of his name.”

  I could see Xav looking more and more pissed off by the second.

  “Commander of coding.”

  “Slayer of wannabe hackers.”

  “You two are fucking pricks,” Xav growled, shoving my arm.

  I leant my head against his shoulder and gave him my best puppy dog eyes.

  “Aww, Xavi, would it make you feel better to know you’re my king?”

  I could see the cogs turning in his head at my words and how he was struggling not to soften to me. It took all of two seconds for him to reach up and stroke my hair back from where it’d fallen in my eyes as usual.

  “You’re fucking lucky I love you so much,” he all but whispered. “You mean that?”

  “Always.”

  “If we were alone, I’d be pushing you up against that wall and kissing the life out of you right now.”

  I grinned before I sat up properly again. We were trying not to be obvious about our relationship, though I was pretty sure anyone watching would know. It wasn’t about being ashamed, we were already about to cause enough of a huge stir as it was. If Ash told them she was our girlfriend, all fucking hell might break loose.

  “And I’d tell you to get a room,” Rory muttered as he turned away.

  “Look, he’s jealous now. I thought you got your rocks off with Ash earlier.”

  “I am not jealous of you two.”

  Xav’s smile widened.

  “Didn’t she let you kiss her? Sheesh, raw deal. Ash’s kisses are like heaven.”

  Rory didn’t say anything but I could see his ears going red. It was then I noticed Quinn standing over us with a scowl.

  “Are you three quite done winding each other up?”

  Xav stuck his finger up at Quinn before getting to his feet along with me and Rory. The four of us filed into the VIP room behind our guests. When they were all seated, I sent a quick text to Ash to let her know we were ready as Quinn cleared his throat.

  “I know you’re wondering why you’re here… Let me apologise for the short notice, but you see, we’re on a little of a deadline. There’s been some noise made over the past few days and I wanted to clear a few things up before chaos comes knocking at our doors.”

  There were a few murmurs but no one interrupted.

  “You all know Russo’s daughter is missing and has been rumoured to have been taken by Il Diavolo. Well… allow me to clear up that little misunderstanding for you.”

  The door opened and in walked Ash with an air of confidence I’m pretty sure she wasn’t feeling inside. It was clear if you looked at her closely enough, her nerves were almost getting the better of her. As much as it pained me to see it, I couldn’t go to her. She had to do this by herself.

  Ash stopped next to Quinn before resting her hand on his arm.

  “I’m neither missing nor captured. I’m right here, as you can see.”

  No one made a sound. I think you could cut the silence in the air with a knife. But before Ash could get another word in, the door opened again and this time I felt a cold chill run down my spine. Gregor Bykov walked in followed by none other than Isabella Russo. I watched the blood drain from Ash’s face as she took in the sight of her mother and her uncle.

  “Ashleigh.”

  Chapter 25

  Of all the people I expected to see, my mother was not one of them. What the hell was she doing here? And with Gregor Bykov of all people? Did Viktor know about this? Why hadn’t he told me? I had so many questions but none of them left my lips. If I asked any of them in front of the families, we’d be fucked beyond belief. As if we weren’t already. I might have given the boys a whole lot of information to blackmail the shit out of these people, but they didn’t take kindly to threats all that often.

  My mother walked further into the room, coming to a standstill next to me with Gregor on her heels. His eyes were intent on her as if he’d been tasked with making sure she didn’t do anything drastic or stupid.

  “My apologies for the inte
rruption,” Isabella said. “I’m a little late. Please continue.”

  A little late? She wasn’t even fucking well invited.

  I plastered a fake smile on my face and looked up at Quinn whose expression was dark as hell. At least I knew he was just as angry at her being here. We couldn’t afford for this to go wrong. So I had to keep going. Had to make sure they knew where my loyalties lay.

  “I’m aware my father…” I felt sick calling him that since he wasn’t. “…has requested your assistance in going against the men who took me. I felt it only right to give you the other side of the story so you have the full picture before making any decisions.”

  My hand shook where I was grasping Quinn, but I had to be strong and keep my voice level. It didn’t help when they were all staring directly at me. Being the centre of attention had never been something I revelled in.

  “I’m no longer aligned with Frank Russo. I do not answer to him. If he wants an heir, he’ll have to find someone else.” I heard collective murmuring amongst my audience. “My loyalties lie here with Quinn.” My fingers trailed down his arm and wrapped around his. “I’m not going to ask you to go against Frank. You may make up your own mind about proceedings, but I’m telling you I’m not going back to him.” I swallowed hard and waved my other hand towards the boys. “I’m remaining with them.”

  A solitary person stood up and I recognised it as Vincenzo. His sly smile as his eyes roamed over me made my skin crawl.

  “Who took you? We all know you disappeared from your father’s party without a trace.”

  “I did,” came Quinn’s voice, “with her help.” He pointed at Isabella who stiffened next to me. I realised then and there, Quinn was throwing her under the bus with us and I couldn’t bring myself to care.

  That made Vincenzo’s eyes widen.

  “We were told it was Il Diavolo.”

  I watched Quinn’s mouth turn up at the sides and he put his hand out as if to shrug.

  “He and I are one and the same.”

  That made the room shut up pretty quickly. I knew the Syndicate was neutral ground and the fact the man whose reputation was brutal and unforgiving owned it had shaken them.

  “Well, fuck me,” murmured Vincenzo.

  Then there was a slow clap coming from another person I couldn’t see until he spoke up.

  “Mac is going to have a fuckin’ field day with this,” came the very distinctive sound of Colm Moran, a notorious Irish gangster. I knew his leader was Mac McCarthy although I’d never met the man.

  Then another man I didn’t recognise spoke, “This is meant to be neutral ground.”

  “And it still is, Bennett. No one has ever been in danger here,” Quinn replied. “This isn’t where I conduct business with the families, as you well know.”

  Bennett Jerome Michaelson.

  I knew that name. Frank hated him with a passion. He ran a gang in Hackney, which is where the boys grew up. No wonder Quinn knew who he was.

  The collective group of people in here made me wonder if they ever had any intention of siding with Frank. I knew most of them by face if not name and they were all on his death list. All of them. Frank didn’t like to play nice with other people who he saw as a threat. He wasn’t stupid enough to rock the boat unnecessarily, but he wanted to rule the whole city. That’d always been his ultimate goal.

  Vincenzo walked towards us, his eyes roaming over me yet again. I’d known he had a thing for me but I’d never been interested in his advances. Besides Frank would’ve never let me marry into the Italian mafia, no matter our roots.

  “You took her and then you turned her?” he asked in a low voice meant only for us.

  Quinn eyed him for a long moment.

  “No, there was no turning involved.”

  “So, this is a thing then? You two?”

  He waved a hand between us. I leant forward.

  “I think you’ll find it’s a thing between all five of us.”

  I didn’t give a shit what he thought about it, but the way his eyebrows shot up was comical and so worth it. Vincenzo’s eyes roamed across our group and then he shook his head and smiled.

  “You’ve got balls, Ash.”

  I shrugged as Quinn’s eyes narrowed. I didn’t think he liked the way Vincenzo had addressed me so casually, but he was just another person I’d grown up with. Not that it meant I liked him.

  “I’ve been told they’re made of steel.”

  “Don’t encourage him, little girl,” Quinn gritted out.

  That made Vincenzo laugh, throwing back his head.

  “I’ve always thought you were a little firecracker under that ice-queen exterior you perfected along with your mother here.”

  I glanced at Isabella who was staring at me with no small amount of shock in her features. I hadn’t forgotten she was there. And I’d just dropped a bombshell about my relationship with the boys.

  Oh well, fuck it.

  I’d go down with this sinking ship if I had to. And I’d go down fighting.

  “It is a wonder why you’re here, Isabella,” Vincenzo continued. “Have you run away from Frank too?”

  All of us turned to her. I was definitely interested in the answer to this since she’d told me she was leaving him. Whether she’d admit it to anyone else was still up in the air.

  “I’ve left him, actually.”

  I didn’t react to the news, nor did the boys, but Vincenzo’s mouth hardened into a firm line, all amusement gone.

  “I see.”

  “I’m here to support Ashleigh. And to confirm Frank has known she’s not coming home for well over a month. He knew she’d turned her back on him because she told him herself when he saw her here with Quinn and the others.”

  She’d said that loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. My hand in Quinn’s tightened. I hadn’t been expecting that. For her to throw her lot in with me despite the fact I’d shown her yet again I wasn’t going to leave my boys. I was in this with them for the long haul. And yet here she was, backing me up.

  There were loud murmurs from the rest of the people in the room. For Isabella to reveal that little piece of information was huge. It proved she really had left Frank. I hadn’t even thought to talk about that day because it hurt me. The reminder of the way the four of them hadn’t supported me. How they’d let Nate drag me out of the room. I didn’t care it was a ruse, it still cut me deeply. And I’d forgiven them because I loved them.

  Quinn squeezed my hand and leant towards me. “Stay with the boys, little girl, I should go speak to the rest of them, okay?”

  I nodded knowing whilst he wanted to stand by me right now, he still had to do things to protect us. As he left my side, he was replaced by all three of the others crowding around me and almost pushing my mother out of the way. Eric had his hand on my shoulder as he stood behind me, Xav wrapped one around my waist and Rory was in front of me staring at Vincenzo with narrowed eyes.

  They were making a statement.

  I was theirs.

  My mother’s blue eyes were wide and Vincenzo had that sly smile on his face. I leant further into Xav and Eric, feeling proud to be theirs. Proud that we were showing the fucking world we were together. That this wasn’t just a short term fling, a direct result of us being forced together in close quarters. We were real.

  “I should leave you to it,” Vincenzo said, giving me a wink before strolling away.

  “I don’t like that guy,” Xav growled low when he was out of earshot.

  “He’s harmless,” I said quietly.

  Vincenzo might be a bit of a dick, but he was never a danger to me other than wanting to get between my legs. He wouldn’t dare try anything now.

  “He wants you and I don’t fucking like it.”

  I looked up at my overprotective beast of a man, his expression almost murderous.

  “You know I’m yours, tesoro.”

  His hand around my waist tightened.<
br />
  “I just hope he fucking knows that. Dickhead needs to keep his eyes off you and his dick in his pants.”

  I refrained from saying that was the pot calling the kettle black considering how much Xav didn’t keep his dick in his pants around me and Eric, but I decided not to poke the bear when he was in a bad mood.

  “Don’t mind him, hellcat, he’s grumpy,” Eric whispered in my ear. “Rory and I were giving him shit.”

  I raised an eyebrow and looked back at him. He was smiling, his green eyes twinkling and his chestnut hair falling in his eyes.

  “Don’t tell her that.”

  “What? It’s true. You keep telling Quinn to chill out. Well… so do you.”

  “Fuck off, E.”

  “Boys, quit it,” I hissed not wanting them to be fighting in front of Isabella who was still staring at us, disbelief written all over her features.

  I turned to her whilst still keeping close to my boys. They noticed I was looking at her.

  “Mrs Russo,” Xav said with a nod.

  “I would say it’s nice to see you three again, but I would be lying,” she said in a low voice. “Especially when you’ve clearly dragged my daughter into this… debauchery.”

  I would’ve been annoyed at her giving them shit, but in all honesty, I found her disapproval amusing.

  “It wasn’t them, Mother, it was me. I asked for a relationship with each of them.”

  Her eyes flicked to me and she looked incredulous.

  “You?”

  “Yes. Me.”

  Her mouth thinned and she stared at me, almost dumfounded my assertion.

  “What are you doing here, anyway? Did you come to check up on me? Does Viktor know you’re here?”

  She looked over at Gregor for a moment who watched us silently. If he even dared say a word to Eric, I would be in his face in an instant. No one would threaten my men and get away with it ever again. They were mine to protect.

  “Yes, he does. And I came to support you, just like I told Vincenzo.”

  “Why would he let you come here?”

  “He was there when I spoke to your f… Frank on the phone and told him I was leaving him.”

  “You did what?”

  I couldn’t believe it. She’d told me she’d left without telling Frank when I saw her.