Page 5 of Bound Lies

“Don’t. Please, don’t…”

My chest is so tight I can barely take a breath.

Even after all these years without my mom and sister, I can barely even stand to mention them. The pain has never faded. If anything, time has only made their loss hurt even more.

“It’s only the two of us left, Riles. We have to stick together.”

I shake my head. My hands are shaking, and my vision is blurry from my unshed tears.

“No. It’s you and Rion, and then there’s me, your property. I’m so sick of always being expected to just fall in line because I’m a girl.”

“You’re expected to fall in line because it’s what’s best for the family,” Oscar spits, but I don’t flinch.

I’ve made up my mind. “I’m not doing it. No matter what you or Rion say.”

“Riley—”

“If you try to force this, I swear to God, Oscar, you’ll lose me.”

“We’re trying to survive, Riley.”

“No, you’re trying to win. And you’re willing to go as low as sacrificing your own sister to do it.”

Oscar says nothing, but his silence is deafening.

I throw open the door to my bedroom and step aside.

“Get out.”

“Riley—”

“Get. Out.”

Oscar hesitates as if he’s about to say something, but as his gaze scans my face, he thinks better of it. He stalks past me, and I slam the door behind him.

I’ve spent years keeping my head down, working hard and staying out of this world of crime and politics and blood. I thought if I kept myself clean, I could eventually be free. But it’s clear now that I was wrong, and if I don’t take matters into my own hands, my freedom will be gone for good.

Rion isn’t going to let me go easily, but he’s about to find out I’m not as easy to manipulate as he thinks.

Chapter Two

KIERAN

My muscles are on fire, and sweat drips into my eyes, but I only push harder, gritting my teeth and grunting like a wild animal as I finish my set of squats.

Music blares through the speakers in my home gym, though I barely register the lyrics.

I’m too busy focusing on the weight resting on my back. It’s more than I would normally lift, but I’m not about to give up now.

I can’t afford to become complacent in any area of my life and give my older brother another reason to doubt me.

After finishing my set and racking the bar, I lift up the hem of my shirt and rub it over my face to soak up some of the sweat. My chest is burning, and my quads might as well be a pair of tree trunks, but the pain only makes me smile.

Maybe that makes me a masochist, but I don’t care.

I don’t bother stretching. Instead, I shut off the music, grab my phone, and head down the hall toward the main living area of my penthouse.

The coffee pot is already empty, considering I’ve been awake since four A.M., and I could just beat myself to a pulp for not putting on a fresh pot before I did my workout. Sleep is something of a luxury these days, considering the fact that someone put a bright red target on my back.