In Blackwood Heights, no secret stays buried forever.

Jason Cross entered the Heights as an outsider with one goal: uncover the truth.

Now he belongs to them.

Bound to a world of masked elites, blood-soaked traditions, and families who erase problems with favors instead of money, Jason finds himself caught between Elowen Saint and Caspian Blackwood—two heirs raised to survive a town where love is weakness and silence is power.

A scholarship student has vanished.

The Council wants the investigation buried.

Elowen knows more than she admits.

And Jason is hiding a reason for coming to Blackwood Heights that could destroy every fragile alliance he has made.

When a ruthless Blood Oath forces Jason deeper into the Saint family's control, attraction becomes obsession, protection becomes possession, and every answer reveals another lie.

But the missing student is only the beginning.

Someone has been keeping score.

Someone is collecting old debts.

And when the truth finally surfaces, Jason may have to choose between exposing the monsters who rule Blackwood Heights…or becoming one of them.

Debt of the Ruthless is Book Two in the Vicious Little Lies series, a dark, high-tension romance filled with forced proximity, dangerous secrets, elite families, psychological power games, obsession, betrayal, and morally gray characters.