Betrayed by Truths (Truth or Lies 2)

“Please what?”

“Just let me die.”

I crack my neck. This is the best part—when you’ve finally broken them. They no longer wish for life, just death. Because not existing is better than living.

“Do you remember the last thing you did, Billy?”

“No,” he moans.

“Then let me remind you. After you shot him multiple times, you beat him. But I don’t have time for that, and you are too weak to survive. You tied his hands behind his back so he couldn’t fight back. You had men holding him so he couldn’t fight instead of facing him one on one like a man. Then you tried to castrate him.”

He shakes in my grasp. “Please.”

“You missed; I won’t.”

I stab him in the groin as he cries like the biggest pussy alive. I release him and let him crumple to the floor, but his screams don’t stop. Every man aboard the ship hears his cries. And if they weren’t terrified before, they are now.

The blood spills out of Billy quickly as I stand over him. He got off easy if you ask me. Because within a few seconds, he’s dead.

I pick up the gun and head to the door to kill the rest of his men. Once I’m done, word will spread of what happened here. The Black name will be restored.

Then all I have left to do is deal with Kai for risking Zeke’s life in the first place. I’ve never been so happy about punishing someone before. It will cement her hatred for me, but it’s necessary.

No one goes unpunished—least of all Kai. I’ve been thinking of her as a weakling who I needed to treat with careful movements because of the pain she’s been through.

But the second she signed the papers, wanting to become Black, the game started. And I can no longer treat her like a princess. She wants to be in this world; then she gets to live with the consequences of her decisions. And I don’t regret that I’m going to enjoy punishing her.

13

Kai

I’ve lost the right to see how Zeke is, so I don’t enter the room when the doctor talks to Langston about Zeke’s condition. Langston may respect me, but he hasn’t forgiven me. I might have a chance at forgiveness now that Zeke has survived, but that won’t come for a long time.

The doctor tells Langston that if Zeke survives the night, he will have an excellent chance at living.

I listen as Langston goes to his friend and cries gently at the possibility that his friend could die.

The doctors and nurses that treated Zeke file out of the room. The lead doctor stops when he sees me. “I’ll make sure a nurse is always awake monitoring Zeke through the worse of it. I’ll send most of my team home, but I’d like to stay in case something happens I can take him back into surgery quickly. Is there a place I can freshen up and get some rest?”

He talks to me like I own this house—like I could make such a decision. I will never make a decision again after what happened to Zeke.

The doctor sees the pain in my eyes. “I don’t make assurances I can’t keep. But Zeke is a fighter. I’ve stopped the bleeding and gave him a blood transfusion. I mended the broken bones. He has a real shot at surviving.”

I shake my head. “It’s not that…”

He sighs. “I never ask questions or get involved in my high profile client’s lives. But I can tell you, this isn’t your fault.”

“It is,” I say sternly. I will feel this pain for the rest of my life because I almost caused him to die. “Westcott will see you to a room,” I say, hoping the man is behind me as usual.

“Follow me this way, Dr. Patten,” Westcott says.

I sit on the floor outside of Zeke’s room, knowing I can’t enter, but also that I can’t leave. I need to know Zeke is okay. I need to apologize to him, but I won’t as long as Langston is there.

I listen to Langston talk to Zeke even though he’s still out. “I’m so sorry. It should have been me. I wish I could trade places with you.” He really does love him like a brother.

I smile. I wish someone loved me like that. But I don’t have anyone. My father lied to me my whole life. I have no siblings. Mason likes me, but we didn’t have this kind of connection. Not one where we’d give our lives to save the other.

I have no one.