Page 122 of Bound Lies

Kieran,

Thank you for everything, but it’s time to put us both out of our misery. So, I did us both a favor and left.

Riley

"Fuck."

She wouldn’t… She couldn’t be this reckless.

Not now.

Not with everything going on.

But the panic is already kicking in, and my mind is racing through every possible outcome now that Riley is fair game to Sean if he learns she is unprotected.

What the hell was she thinking, leaving like that?

I pull out my phone and open the tracker app. Thank fuck I had the foresight to install one on Riley’s phone back when we were in Vegas.

Her location blinks on the screen, and I curse under my breath as I see she’s at a hotel on the other side of the city.

I stuff the note in my pocket and head right out, praying I’m not too late to fix this.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

RILEY

I sit in the middle of the hotel bed with my knees tucked to my chest, staring at the blank TV. The room is quiet, save for the low hum of the air conditioning and the occasional siren outside the window.

I was hoping for a sense of relief by being here, but I just feel empty, considering that I can't stop thinking about the way Kieran looked at me once he realized I was a virgin the night we slept together in Vegas.

I had expected him to be a little confused, but what I wasn’t expecting was the way he pulled away from me like I was suddenly made of glass. I could see in his eyes that he was reevaluating everything he thought he knew about me, and that hurt more than I ever thought possible.

I wrap my arms tighter around my knees, my stomach twisting. I should have told him sooner. When it happened, even. But I didn’t know how. And now he’s going to think I didn’t tell him on purpose, which is exactly what I didn’t want to happen.

Kieran’s probably driving around right now, trying to come up with the best way to let me down gently.

“Thanks for the sex, kid. Shame about the emotional baggage.”

The thought of sitting through that conversation with him is too much for me to handle right now, what with everything else going on. So, I did the cowardly thing and left.

I didn’t want him to see me cry again or give him the satisfaction of knowing that I care.

I’m well aware of the risks I’m taking by leaving the safety of the penthouse, but to be honest, I’m past caring. I need some space and time to think, and I can’t do that around Kieran.

I considered turning up on Lucy’s doorstep, but that would compromise her safety, and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her.

A hotel room for the night paid for in cash had the concierge giving me some serious side-eye. But I would rather look like a prostitute than charge it to my card for my brother to see. Other than Kieran, Oscar is the last person I want to see right now.

I glance at the clock. It’s almost four in the afternoon.

There’s no way Kieran hasn’t realized I’m gone by now. Maybe he’s glad that he doesn’t have to deal with me in person and that he finally gets to have the penthouse all to himself again.

The thought has my eyes stinging with tears.

I groan and collapse backward onto the bed, throwing my arms over my eyes as I realize what a mess my life has become.

Before I can truly spiral into a pool of my own self-pity, the hotel room door yanks open so hard it bounces off the wall behind it.