Trapped by Lies (Truth or Lies 3)

I nod. “Where is Zeke?” I ask. I need his body. I need to bury him properly.

“He’s gone. Went overboard in the storm,” Langston adds.

“Let’s go,” I say, even though I want to dive back into the ocean and pull Zeke’s body from the depths myself.

We all board the boat that will take us back to our yacht and stand on the edge, looking out into the dark ocean. The moon and stars twinkle overhead as we mourn a man we all loved.

Langston loved Zeke as a brother.

I loved Zeke as a friend.

And Kai loved Zeke as her protector.

“He deserved better than to be shot by a man like Milo,” I say, refusing to cry as I lean over the railing looking down into the water.

“He would have been honored to die protecting someone he loves,” Langston says, and a tear drips from each of our eyes.

“And he’ll rest in the sea he loved,” Kai finishes. She removes the scrunchie from her hair and places it on her wrist. A scrunchie I recognize as Zeke’s.

His hair wasn’t always long. He’d go through periods of it being long and short. But when it was long, he always carried a scrunchie for when his hair got in the way. We used to make fun of him, calling him a girl. Now I want him back just so I can tease his giant ass. I want him back so he can tease me back. So he can tell me how stupid I’m being. I want him by my side when we fight, when we drink, when we sail. But he won’t be, ever again.

Kai kisses the scrunchie. “We will miss you big guy. You have no idea how much you were loved.”

I meet her eyes; you have no idea how much you are loved, stingray.

28

ENZO

WE SAILED BACK TO MIAMI.

There is no reason to keep running on the ocean now that Milo is gone. All that is left is to keep my promise to Kai to set her free.

Kai has used her own room since we got back on the yacht. She hasn’t been in my bed since before I went after Milo. At first, I thought it was because we were all mourning Zeke’s death and needed our space, but then I realized the truth, she’s distancing herself from me to make the next step easier.

We made port in Miami yesterday. There is nothing keeping her here anymore, except the truth.

The truth could keep her here, trapped forever. But I realized something the second that Zeke died. I realized just how capable of love I am. And I love Kai Miller.

I love her more than I could ever love Zeke or Langston. The love is different. It’s all consuming, unhealthy in some ways, and like breathing air in other ways. My love for Kai is greater than anything I’ve ever felt before. It’s greater than the pain my father made me endure.

It’s greater than losing my mother.

It’s greater than losing Zeke.

Losing Kai would top everything I’ve ever felt. But I can’t keep her trapped here any longer. If I love her, she deserves to be free. She deserves the chance to choose her own life and future. I won’t take that from her any longer. Even to keep her safe. There are other ways to protect her.

I take out my phone and scroll to Kai’s contact. I change it until it reads, My Love. And then I text her.

* * *

ME: Meet me in the lounge.

* * *

MY LOVE: Five minutes.