Lexi Never fall for monsters. I want to be set free from this unholy marriage, this hellish life where dreams are paid for in blood. Just when I come to the realization that I’ll never escape without a bullet, the prodigal son returns home. Eyes that glitter with vengeance and coveted desire watch me like I’m all he wants. Gio Thou shalt not covet. I left home four years ago as a broken and bleeding kid, but I returned as a man with scars. Used to think I had mommy issues, but I don’t. I have daddy’s pretty wife issues. My stepmother is the only payment I will accept for the sins of my father; her and his blood. \\\*This duet is a dark step romance, and there are themes that may be triggering for some readers. Ugly Truths is book one in The Lies Duet. The theme of this book is a stepmother/stepson relationship. If you have any triggers, I do not recommend reading this duet. 18++

I fell for two. I had just one taste of real freedom; of a life outside of the horrors my abusive husband thrived in. I put miles between us, feeling safe in his silence as I moved on and found love with a makeshift family built by his son. Gio was once the boy with broken hope, but now he’s a man with a hunger for me. He’s surrounded himself with friends who lead in the mafia world, including his best friend, Luce. Luce is the man with a sharp smile and a broken soul, and just as it does with Gio, my heart sings for him. Safe in our bubble, it felt like no man could touch what we had just begun to build. But we became overconfident, slacked in our security and the monster I thought I left behind when I escaped came back with a plan. As I was rebuilding myself, finding happiness and a life of peace, Alan was biding his time to enact his revenge on me. He has blindsided us with heartache, loss and uncovered secrets we wish we had never learned. I don’t know if I can survive this, but one thing I do know for sure…I will not be taking my last breath without taking my husband to the grave with me.