Page 255 of Depraved Boys

Ashley nodded. “I’ve had time to think. Bones’ girlfriend disappeared on the first day. I thought it was because she was jealous, but I think she stole my money.”

Sebastian turned to me and grimaced. I gave him an apologetic grimace back. All those funds he had put into her was squandered, and she would probably want more.

“Just as we were about to board the ferry to Bilbao, Geraldine called.”

Our gazes snapped back to Ashley, who still sat by the sink with her knees to her chest.

“When?” asked Sebastian.

“About two weeks ago,” Ashley replied.

I leaned against the wall. “What did she want?”

“She said the kings had brought you to London to pig you at a house party. The queens and knights would be there, and she said I could restore my reputation if I came to help.”

The drop of sympathy I might have had for Ashley evaporated, and I folded my arms across my chest. “What happened next?”

“She gave me the address. Bones and the others wanted to continue to Ibiza, but they didn’t understand how badly I needed to set the record straight.”

A hard knot formed in my stomach. Even if Geraldine had directed her into a trap, it still hurt to hear Ashley callously describe wanting to participate in an event set up for my pain and humiliation. Leopold placed an arm around my middle, and Sebastian wrapped an arm around my shoulder. The warmth of their touch filled me with the strength I needed to continue.

“Who was at the house?” I asked.

“Mr. Byrd answered the door and let me in.”

“You know him?”

Ashley stared at her knees and shook her head. “Not at that time, no.”

“What did he want?”

“He told me you’d blackmailed him, pushed Bianca off a building, broken up his marriage, and gotten his youngest daughter taken into care.”

“And you believed him?” I asked.

She shrugged. “It sounded far fetched, but I was prepared to listen.”

I shook my head. Was she so blinded by hatred for me that she hadn’t noticed Geraldine had tricked her into being alone with a bitter man with a grudge against me? “Did he kidnap you?”

“We made a deal that I would play hostage and get you to retract your statement and refund his twenty-five-thousand pounds.”

“But you took that from my room before setting my things alight,” I said.

Her head snapped up, and she twisted her misshapen face into a scowl. “See? Accusations like that are the reason why people hate you.”

“Of course,” I said, not meaning a single word. “Go on.”

“Mr. Byrd let me stay with him for a few days.” She swallowed. “But when he called, and you hung up on him, he turned weird.”

My eyes squeezed shut. “How?”

“There’s something wrong with him. He locked me in his bedroom all day and only gave me food and water if I wore Bianca’s clothes and did things for him.”

Leopold shook his head, and Sebastian blew out a breath.

Ashley continued a hair-raising tale that detailed her time with the erratic Mr. Byrd. Throughout her story, she continued to blame me for not responding to the madman’s demands. When Leopold pointed out that Geraldine had lured her into a trap, she brushed that aside to ask why I hadn’t taken the time to listen to Mr. Byrd.

She hiccuped. “I should have gone to Ibiza, but after everything you’ve done to me, I had to see you punished.”