Lured by Lies (Truth or Lies 0.50)

“You aren’t cleaning another yacht tonight until you help me.”

I roll my eyes at his bossiness. “I might, if I think this man will be on it. The other yacht is on the other side of the harbor. If I think we will have better luck finding him there, then it will be more inconspicuous to be cleaning then going in guns blazing like I’m sure you plan on doing.”

“You think I’ll just take out my gun and starting shooting to get people to talk?”

“I don’t think, I know.” I eye the back of his shirt where I know a gun is hidden. I also do not doubt he has more weapons on him. He has a knife stashed in his boot or another gun hidden in his pant’s leg.

“What world were you brought up in, Jocelyn, where you can tell if a man is carrying a gun or not?”

“The kind where I have to know if a man is carrying a gun or not for my own survival.”

A calmness passes between us. An understanding of each other. He may be rich, and I may be poor, but we aren’t so different, the two of us. We are more alike than we are different.

I continue mopping while Enzo scrutinizes me, studying me like I’m an alien from another planet he’s just now recognizing as one of his own. When I finish, I dump the water

overboard and stow the mop and bucket in the cleaning closet. Enzo follows as we both hop off the expensive yacht and onto the pier.

I can feel him smiling at how effortlessly I made the same jump he did, instead of using the ramp.

“So, who are we looking for?” I ask.

Enzo pulls out a napkin and hands it to me.

I take it hesitantly. I feel a sense of doom come over me, and I swear a dark cloud descends overhead just to cover the spot where I stand.

I unfold the napkin and read the name written on it. My name. Kai Miller.

Shit. Fuck. Shit.

I should have pressed harder about what Enzo wanted with the man he thinks he’s hunting for. I try not to react at the name, but I feel Enzo studying my reaction. Is he testing me? Did he know this was me all along? What does he want with me anyway, other than to give him back the watch?

“Jocelyn? Do you know this man?”

“Yes,” I breathe.

“Who is he? Where can I find him?”

I close my eyes trying to find a way out, but I don’t have a way out.

I don’t know for sure that what Enzo wants to do with me is bad. Liar, yes I do. This man oozes evil. Is he here because my father owes his family a lot of money? What else could it be?

Shit.

Enzo’s going to kidnap me and force my father to repay the debt. Enzo likes me. He won’t really hurt me. I might even be able to make a deal on my father’s behalf. Promise to steal something for Enzo that he wants more than the money my father borrowed from him. He’s seen how good of a thief I am.

“Jocelyn? Where is he?”

I grin. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it with my pride intact. “This man you are looking for. He did something to you, didn’t he? Stole from you, hurt you, outsmarted you maybe?”

Enzo sighs, getting annoyed with my games. “Yes.”

“So he’s smarter than you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No, but you can’t find him on your own, so he must be.”

“Sure, but when I do find him, and I will, with or without your help, I will have outsmarted him. And if I do it without your help, you will still owe me your debt.”