Taken by Lies (Truth or Lies 1)

“I could never hate my father for not being strong enough to rescue me.”

I nod.

“I don’t even hate you…” her voice cracks. “Hatred requires me to feel anything toward you, and I don’t believe you are human enough for me to hate. You’re a beast who broke every promise and then sold me to a bigger monster.”

Her bottom lip trembles. “I hate the ocean because it took everything from me, and instead of letting me die and be free, it sent me back here to you.”

I should be kinder. I should feel empathy and let her go. I won’t, but I should.

“I lost,” she whispers while she holds her head high. Her lips purse and her icy cheeks pale.

“And now, you’re mine.”

15

Kai

I lost.

I won’t get my answers.

This was a one time deal; no way will Enzo give me this chance again to get the answers I seek. And now, because I was blinded by the need to understand why I endured punishment and pain for years, I’m his.

I traded one unknown master for this man.

I should be scared, terrified.

He could take me and sell me again. He could beat me, rape me, kill me. He could do whatever unthinkable things he wants with me, and I couldn’t stop him. Enzo could have taken those things anyway, whether I won the game or not. But he didn’t have to resort to that. I offered myself up willingly, all so I could win a bet. And now I’ve lost everything.

No, I didn’t have anything left to lose. That’s why I could offer up everything.

Enzo devours me with his hungry glare. My stomach aches, but not from the lack of food, but because of the lust that stirs inside me every time I’m around Enzo. It shouldn’t be there. I should hate him with every fiber of my being. Instead, my body longs to feel something, anything, even an ache for a monster.

Maybe it’s because he spared my life that I don’t feel the hatred I should feel towards him? Maybe deep down, despite how devastatingly difficult life was on that yacht, some part of me preferred to live rather than die. I just need to find that piece of myself again.

“Come,” Enzo says.

I consider fighting him, but as he stands and inches toward me, I know if I don’t follow his directions, he will grab me and force me to obey his orders. Something I’m used to. But not something I will allow anymore.

I stand up.

Enzo raises an eyebrow in surprise and then starts walking toward the back of the room. I follow slowly, wincing as my broken toes swell with each step. He pushes on the back wall, and a hidden door opens.

He steps through the door.

Then I do. And then we are back in the darkness.

Enzo knows his way as we weave down unlit hallways, much the same as when I made my way to his room. He doesn’t stumble or bring up a light on his phone to see the way. It appears he can see in the shadows as easily as I can.

He turns his head back toward me once, but not to see if I’m still following, we both can sense each other more than we’d like. There is an attraction, a pull. Like magnets that pull as much as they push. His fire and my ice begging to be brought together, while knowing the second we touch we will explode. Cold and heat aren’t meant to mix, just exist close to each other.

And then the light is burning my retinas as we step into the light. He was warning me with his gaze, I realize, now that the sun is burning down on me.

Enzo studies my every movement as I recoil into my sweater. I hate the fucking sun. Ridiculous thought, after spending so many years begging to feel its warmth. Now it’s too hot, too bright, too much.

“Get in,” Enzo says.

That’s when I notice the car. The very fancy, blacked out car. It’s a two-seater, shiny, and very fast looking.