Taken by Lies (Truth or Lies 1)

The room heaves.

What the hell?

We keep rocking, and it takes me a minute to realize I’m on a boat. The water—my favorite thing in the world, and also my enemy.

I hear men’s voices outside of my room, and I remember.

I was kidnapped.

I was sold.

And now a man owns me.

I don’t have to be told why a man would buy a woman. I know the purpose they have for me.

The door opens, with a loud thud as it slams against the wall. A toothy man steps inside. He doesn’t look particularly strong. He doesn’t have defined muscles, but he’s a heavy-set man, that could throw his weight around and hurt me.

“It’s time to break in the new whore.”

No.

My shivering changes to uncontrollable trembles. My body is not prepared to be raped. I can’t. I don’t want to become a shell of a woman who can’t function after this, if I ever get free.

The man comes into the room, and I inch backward, looking for a weapon, for anything I can use to hurt him. I find nothing.

He smirks, like he knows what I’m doing.

I can’t hurt him, but I can run.

That’s what I do as he moves forward. I’m faster than him, so I run around his body. I dart out of the room, not sure what my next step is. I just won’t let them take me easily. I won’t let them hurt or violate me.

I make it to the hallway, and I see another man with arms crossed smiling at me. “I win the bet. I told you she would try to run.”

“Fine, fine,” the man from the room says as he closes in from behind me.

My heart races, and my body continues to shake violently like that is going to help. I’m more scared than I realized.

No, don’t let them have my fear. I will fight, and they might still claim my body, but that’s it. I will keep everything else. I will not be a broken, scared girl when I leave here.

I force my body to still, which only makes the toothy man smile brighter.

“You’re a fighter. Good, it’s been a while since we had a fighter. It will be more fun when you finally break. I give you a month.”

“Nah, I give her three. She’s more determined than you think,” the man behind me says.

Each man walks closer, and I don’t know what to do. Which man is weaker? Which do I attack and hope I can break free of?

I don’t get to make a decision. Both of them grab an arm at the same time.

I fight—viciously. My legs start kicking, my arms flail, my nails dig into their skin, and I try to bite their skin with my teeth.

I can do this all day.

Until the fist makes contact with my jaw.

Black dots surround my vision as a pain in my head overwhelms me. I’ve never felt anything like this before. And I know I can’t keep fighting. Not when the fight is so unfair.

They can do whatever they want to me. I’m weak. I have no strength.