Locked Away (Living With Lies Book 2) by Riann C. Miller

I’m going to be stuck here, I need a few more things to get me by.
    ****
    By the time I make it down to the kitchen, the four of them are already sitting at the table eating. “Belle, you made it,” Callie cheerfully greets me. Since Callie moved past my name, she’s been nothing but sweet to me.
    “Yep,” I add with probably the first smile they’ve seen on my face since I’ve arrived. I take a slice of French toast and sit down at the end of the table across from Gavin, leaving an open spot between Kiran and me.
    “You seem to be in a better mood today,” Kate carefully says. I should be in a horrible mood knowing there’s a good chance my father is dead, but after my call with Manuel, I’ve decided I’m no longer putting my life on hold. I might be stuck in Denver, but I’m not going to live in this house like a prisoner of war.
    “I spoke to a friend back home. I think I might be here longer than I initially figured. If that’s a problem—”
    “No,” Kate says, cutting me off with a huge smile on her face.
    “Good.” I nod my head before going back to eating. Everyone is quiet, and I think it’s because I’m out of my room and no one quite knows how to act around me.
    I clear my throat, gaining everyone’s attention. “I plan to go out today and take care of a few things. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone, but I don’t want you to worry like you did last time.” I was looking at Kate but I could feel Kiran’s eyes on me the whole time I spoke.
    “Where are you going?” Kiran asks before Kate has the chance.
    “Out. I have a few things I want to do. Nothing important.” I would leave her my cell number but I plan to get a new one today. Calling Manuel was a risk, one I don’t want to backfire on either of us.
    “I can drive you,” Kiran says, causing all of our heads to turn toward him. “I don’t have anything going on today, anyway, and you don’t have a car,” he adds as though this makes complete sense.
    “That’s okay. I don’t want to bother you,” I tell him.
    “It’s no bother,” he immediately says. “It’s my day off and everyone I know in this town is sitting at this table, so you’ll be doing me a favor, letting me tag along.”
    My eyes thin, I can’t tell if he’s being friendly or if this is his way of keeping an eye on me. “Well, it’s settled. Kiran will drive you wherever you want to go,” Gavin adds as he reaches over and squeezes Kate’s hand.
    I nervously swallow and look over to Kiran to find him watching me. I’m still unclear what his motives are, but I don’t think it’s worth fighting about.
    “Okay. We’ll go together.”
    ****
    Kiran
    “Wow. Cool car,” Belle says as we get into my cherry red Nissan 370Z. I look over at her as she takes in my car. “I have to say I’m surprised a car like this could impress you.” The second the words are out of my mouth, I regret them.
    Belle shrugs. “Damian likes nice things but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate something when I see it,” she says with a small smile. Every time I think I have this girl figured out, she says or does something that surprises me. She grew up around money—a lot of money—but she doesn’t act like the rich girls I’ve met in the past.
    Once we both get in the car, I ask her something I’ve been thinking about. “You call your dad by his first name?”
    Belle exhales through a sigh and shrugs again. “There’s no pleasing you, is there?”
    My brow scrunches and I start shaking my head. “No, I didn’t mean anything by asking, I swear.”
    “I was kidnapped and raised in a drug cartel. Of course I grew up surrounded by money, but I’m not some high-class, uppity bitch who believes others are beneath me,” she casually says as if we’re talking about the weather and not a seriously fucked up situation.
    I’m not sure what I should say, and truthfully, around Belle, I tend to say the wrong thing when I open my mouth. Therefore, I remain