Stolen by Truths (Truth or Lies 4)

Prologue

Kai

Enzo promised to protect me.

He promised to save me at all costs.

To risk his life to keep me alive.

To sacrifice everything to keep me safe.

Enzo promised.

And when Enzo Black promises, he keeps his promise. He never breaks a vow. Never breaks his word.

But sometimes, you don’t have a choice.

Sometimes, you can’t help but break a promise. No matter how great the promise is—you break it. Not through any fault of your own, but because the world is working against you. Or in this case, the person you are trying to save won’t let you save them.

That’s what happens when you set someone free. You can no longer control them. No longer protect them. The cage Enzo created for me was safe, but he let me out. And now I’m free to make my own choices even if it risks my life.

I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be sacrificing everything to keep Enzo safe. But love will do that. I love him. I can’t let him get hurt. I can’t let him sacrifice himself to protect me.

Enzo made his decision.

I made mine.

And Milo chose.

But Enzo is safe, and to me, that is all that matters.

So that is why I walk willingly into another cage. This cage is beautiful, expensive, grand. Milo’s mansion is dripping with wealth. Gold coats the banisters and chandeliers. Valuable and exotic paintings hang on the walls and ceilings like this is the Sistine Chapel or something. And servants stand at attention ready to brush a crumb off Milo’s jacket or jump up to lay their life down for him if a bullet were to head his way.

“Come,” Milo says.

I stand motionless in the entryway, not believing my eyes. Enzo’s home was grand but modern and simple at the same time. Milo’s home is a castle in every sense of the word. I'm surprised I didn't have to cross a moat, drawbridge, and dragon to get here.

I force my legs to move again—a difficult task since I don’t want to go anywhere Milo Wallace is, and my leg is fractured. The amount of suffering it takes to move is intense. My blood boils with fever with each step, my muscles quiver with weakness, and my bones crunch, further amplifying each break.

But I walk.

I walk to protect Enzo.

Everything I do is for Enzo.

The man I love. A man who is worthy. A man who deserves to be Black.

My arm burns as it falls out of the sling I’m wearing. My shoulder is out of its socket.

I should regret falling in love. Most people at one point in their life or another do. Because the only way you end up with a broken heart is if you fall in love in the first place.

I’ve had a broken heart. But following Milo now, my heart has healed. Because Enzo isn’t the one here suffering. I am. And I can’t handle the man I love being in pain.

Maybe I’m stupid for falling in love—especially with a monster.

But I don’t care. Because even if I only had a second to enjoy that love, it was worth it. Enzo will always be worth it—always.