Taken by Lies (Truth or Lies 1)

Why?

“You’ll tell me why?” I ask, not including all the questions, knowing his answer would encompass all the questions.

“Yes, I’ll tell you why.”

Enzo may be evil, but he’ll tell me the truth if I win. He wants answers too. He’s itching to ask me endless questions. To tie me down, beat me, and force me to answer. I don’t know why he doesn’t go with that method. It wouldn’t work; I know how to endure the worst torture imaginable. Maybe Enzo senses that. I have nothing to hide. Losing and having to answer his questions isn’t really a loss.

“And if I lose, I’ll answer your questions,” I say.

“No.”

I wait with bated breath for him to speak his next words. His wolfish eyes and growl of his throat already giving way to what he wants. Me.

“No, if you lose, I win you,” he says.

14

Enzo

I thought Kai was a ghost.

I thought I was dreaming, imagining her standing in the doorway to my lair.

But then she spoke, and I knew Kai was real.

She’s been gone so long. I made sure she would never appear in Miami, in Surrender, in my life. Yet, here she is…

Skinny.

Beaten.

On the edge of death.

Kai shouldn’t be alive. I don’t even understand how she’s standing.

I remember how tiny she was before, but this is on a different level. The years that have passed since the last time I saw her have turned me into a hard machine of muscle. No one would ever mistake me for a boy. Kai should have filled out the curves of her body; instead, she’s thinned into almost nothing. A strong breeze could blow her over. I could snap her frail neck between my thumb and fingertips.

Her clothes hang baggy; her bones poke out beneath long sleeves and pants that I’m sure hide the unconceivable—bruises, scars, pain. Her midnight dark hair has grown in length but is uneven and frazzled. The swelling around her eye is what has me entranced the most. Black and blue coloring around her now pale skin, lightened from lack of sunlight and nourishment.

For years, I’ve done my best to forget what happened. Forget her beautiful pouty lips, her gorgeous wavy black hair, her silky skin. I tried to erase her snark and tenacity from my head. I pretended that night was all a dream. That I never put my hands on her and threatened to kill her. That I didn’t force her out of Miami and into a world of pain.

As much as I tried to forget, it was impossible. Not because she was the only girl I’ve ever wanted and couldn’t have. A girl who intrigued me and sparked a stirring inside me I didn’t know could exist. But because getting rid of Kai gained me power.

I’m no longer a prisoner to my father, but a ruthless, free man.

I decide my destiny now. And I have men who will fight to the death to ensure I get my way. And I’ve never forgotten what it cost me to gain that authority—Kai.

She was the sacrifice for my freedom. She was never supposed to return. I was never supposed to deal with the consequences of my sin. But here she is.

Kai was stupid to come back. She was free. She could have gone anywhere, and saved herself. Rebuilt her life. It would have taken time, but she had that choice. She chose to come back here, to me.

It’s clear from the look in her defiant eyes she wants to destroy me, but she wants more than that. She wants answers.

I sigh.

I understand her need for truth, to make sense of what happened to her, but it’s a stupid reason to give up her life. When the answer is simple—I sacrificed her to save myself.

But I’m not going to enlighten her. Not unless she wins.