Page 16 of Liars

His lack of concern made me suspicious. Could he not want me to have access to my contacts? Did he want to isolate me and cut me off from my friends? Was that the real reason he was forcing me to transfer schools?

I didn’t have the answers, but I knew I didn’t trust Donovan Corvo. Godfather or not, I wasn’t convinced my best interest was his top priority or a priority at all.

Donovan’s tone softened just slightly, but his expression remained firm. “I understand this is frustrating, but there’s nothing to be done. Consider this a clean slate.”

“A clean slate?” I barked. “My friends, my life—everything is gone. And now you’re just erasing the rest of it too?”

“This is an adjustment. You’ve already learned how cruel the world is. I will not coddle you, and I will not entertain defiance. Is that clear?”

Holy shit. What an asshole.

My breath hitched as I stared at him, tears stinging my eyes. I hated him at that moment—his detachment, his unyielding authority, the way he made me feel small and powerless. “Fine,” I spat, a tremor shaking in my voice. “Whatever.”

I shot to my feet, my chair scraping loudly against the floor as anger overrode the pain in my shoulder. My coffee remained untouched as I gripped the phone in my hand and turned to leave. I was done discussing all the fucked-up ways my godfather planned to ruin me.

“Before you go, Kaylor. I only have one simple rule.”

My feet paused, but I kept my back to him, refusing to look him in the eye. I was afraid of what I might do.

“Stay away from my sons. Romantically, that is. We don’t need any further complications with this…arrangement.”

Did he think I was a whore? “Gladly. I have no interest in your sons.”

5

KREED

“It’s a little early, isn’t it, cutie?” The blonde behind the bar tapped a long red nail on the wooden tabletop. Camilla, I think her name was. Not that it mattered. I wasn’t interested in her name. Or anything else she had to offer except the wall of liquor bottles behind her.

And no one called me cutie. Not to my face. And certainly not behind my back. I didn’t exactly give off cute vibes. Scary, perhaps, but not cute.

Despite the tight, tiny skirt that definitely didn’t have any shorts underneath and the suggestive twinkling in her eyes, I wasn’t in the mood. I’d wandered in with one goal. To get hammered. To forget the big, light-blue eyes of the girl my father brought into our home.

I knew she’d be arriving. I just hadn’t expected her to look like…that, a petite little thing with a fiery spirit, but as someone who was a master at hiding my feelings, I could see through the spitting fire. She hurt inside. Deeply. After what she’d been through, I couldn’t blame her.

But sympathizing with her wouldn’t do me any good.

I didn’t want her in my house. And I sure as shit didn’t want to get to know her. She meant nothing to me, and I planned to keep it that way, regardless of her looks.

“Just pour me a drink. Save the show for some other sorry asshole,” I said, flipping the quarter someone left on the bar top.

“Tough day?” she asked, overlooking my surly tone.

After the party Maddox dragged me to last night, I probably shouldn’t be here. I hadn’t drunk much, not like he had. Someone had to drive him home, and I’d understood his need to get wasted. When you were expected to live up to Donovan Corvo’s expectations, it would drive the soberest of people straight to the bottle.

Was that why I was here? To get away from my father? I figured it washerI was avoiding, Kaylor Steele. God, even her name sounded prissy and stuck-up.

I swirled the ice in my glass. “Something like that,” I admitted, not much in the mood for conversation. I’d hoped the bartender would get the hint from my lack of enthusiasm.

My dad owned the club, one of his many ventures, but this place was a personal favorite. It was one of the only times that being Donovan Corvo’s son came with advantages.

Other than me, only a handful of other patrons were enjoying the club’s benefits. including the gambling rooms. Not surprising considering the hour. By ten tonight, this place would be packed, and that was when I tended to avoid the club the most. Crowds weren’t my thing. I preferred to be alone. I was someone who enjoyed my own company.

Despite the sparse room, a body dropped into the seat next to mine. I didn’t look up—didn’t care to engage in any friendly chatter. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one in need of day drinking.

“What are you doing here, Kreed?”

My fingers tightened on my glass as I closed my eyes for a brief second, recognizing the voice. I angled my head to the side at Raine, my older brother by two years. “I should be asking you the same question. Aren’t you supposed to be at college or something?”

---