Cover Copy
The ties that bind, the vengeance that severs…
Cass Turner, promising UCLA student, is gone. All that remains now is Cass the rogue assassin. Her target: all those who’ve sworn their loyalty to Isaiah, a man so ruthless Cass won’t find peace until he’s destroyed. Yet Cass’s brazen killing spree has driven a wedge between her and the man she loves. As a lieutenant in LA’s largest crime family, Nick Kosta has his own reasons for wanting Isaiah dead. But if Cass continues to play by her own rules, she'll have to choose between Nick and getting even.
When her one chance at the ultimate revenge is snatched away, Cass's world begins to fall apart. Now they’re going to play by Nick’s rules—even if it means betraying her trust. Because the danger to their lives, and their future, is far from over. But with the body count rising, and a target on Nick’s back, Cass will have to find a way to unearth the lies that surround the Kostas and find the killer in their midst...before it’s too late.
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Books by Amanda K. Byrne
Game of Shadows
Game of Vengeance
Game of Lies
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
Game of Lies
Amanda K. Byrne
LYRICAL PRESS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
Copyright
Lyrical Press books are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2016 by Amanda K. Byrne
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First Electronic Edition: January 2017
eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-650-2
eISBN-10: 1-60183-650-31
First Print Edition: January 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1-60183-653-3
ISBN-10: 1-60183-653-8
Printed in the United States of America
Dedication
To my parents. Because I don’t say I love you often enough.
Acknowledgements
A huge thank you to my editor, Corinne DeMaagd. This whole trilogy wouldn’t be as amazing as it is without your guidance.
I’m convinced my critique partner, Liv Rancourt, has an unending store of patience. Liv, you always listen to me, and give me a well-timed smack upside the head when necessary. Thank you so much for everything.
And as always, the BF, Aaron, for putting up with me when I was a giant ball of stress. I love you!
Chapter 1
This place is a prison.
I drop my keys on the kitchen counter and don’t bother with any of the lights. It would only illuminate the chaos. Cleaning the apartment after the mess Josef and I made is pointless. Once I’ve finished what I’ve set out to do, I’ll be leaving it.
For now, it’s my prison. One of my own making. I don’t have to be here. I could have stuck with the plan. A single day, multiple hits, crippling Isaiah’s little uprising where it would hurt the most.
Then he decided to balance the scales by killing my father right in front of me. So. Here I am. Carving away little pieces of his infrastructure every day, and every night I come back here because it’s familiar. I know every creak, every whisper of sound. If I have to be constantly on guard, I want to do it in a place where there are no surprises.
I pull open the fridge for the pitcher of water and see my dinner sitting on the middle shelf. Nothing fancy, just a sandwich and a salad from the deli a few blocks over. Last night it was Chinese. There were leftovers when I went to bed last night, so Nick must have eaten them when he brought the sandwich by.
I snag the food and bump the door shut with my hip, then set everything on the counter before pulling out my phone. It powers on in silent mode, vibrating once in my hand as the screen flashes to life. One new text and several voicemails. I ignore them and call my mother.
The answering machine picks up, same as it has for the last thirteen calls. “Hi, Mom. It’s Cass. Can you pick up today? Please?” I asked the same thing on my previous calls; she never does. I stifle a sigh and give her another few seconds of silence. “I’ll be by tomorrow. You can tell me if you need anything when I see you.” I swallow hard. “I love you,” I whisper. “I miss you.”
I hang up before I break and bite into the sandwich. Turkey with avocado. The man’s a quick study. Tell him once that turkey sandwiches are always better with avocado, and he makes sure it’s on every one I eat.
I dial in for my voicemails and listen to them on speaker while I work my way through the salad.
“Cass, it’s Denise. Um. I hope everything’s okay. Nick called me the other day and said you were, but I still want to hear it from you. I wish there was something I could do. Just…call me, okay?”
Maybe someday when I feel more like a person than a machine, I can talk to her again. But I have to use this numbness while I can. I’m not ready to let it go yet. I delete her message and fork up more lettuce. I’ll text her in the morning. That I can do, and I owe her that much.
There’s a message from Lia, her voice timid in a way I’ve never heard from her, asking if there was anything she can do. Another from Con, telling me to come back, the guest room isn’t the same without me.
But nothing from Nick.
In a life full of ghosts, he’s become the newest one. The food is one way I know he’s been in my apartment. Sandwiches, soup, a new box of cereal, a small carton of milk. Have to keep my strength up.
I wonder if I’ll see him before I fall asleep.
I ball up my trash and toss it into the garbage can, then wander to the couch and switch on the lamp. Another sign Nick’s been here—the box holding my cleaning materials