by Ella Miles
She’s covered in dirt, sweat, and mosquito bites. Finally, she falls back to the ground, exhausted.
“You win, again.”
I stand and flick a lighter into the woodpile. It starts up immediately.
“That’s cheating,” she looks at the fire, still lying on her back, her breasts pushed up in her bra, revealing more of her stomach.
I could stare at her all night. She’s beautiful even though she’s covered in mud and dirt. Her body calls to me—begging me to show her how to truly fuck. That little show she put on for me with her boyfriend wasn’t fucking. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word.
I could show her.
My mind spins with thoughts of how I could take her here on the dirt, against the tree, or in the ocean.
“Are you okay? You look like you’re about to go murder an innocent rabbit for our food,” she says.
I reach into my backpack, pull out two Snickers bars. I toss her one and keep the other for myself.
“I won’t be hunting for rabbits tonight. I’d rather hunt for something else.”
She’s halfway opening the wrapper, when my words catch her by surprise. She freezes and looks at me, searching for answers behind my words. I’m not going to make this easy for her.
I had to kidnap her. And I’ll have to go much further to get the info I need from her.
“You have no need to hunt me, you already got me. Or do you think I’ll run off in the night?”
I take a bite of my bar. “You can run, but we both know no matter where you go on this island, I’ll find you. You can’t hide from me. And if I don’t find you, dehydration or exhaustion will.”
She continues to lie on her back as she nibbles on the corner of her bar, savoring every bite. She doesn’t know I have a dozen more in my backpack. She thinks this might be her only meal I give her.
Torturing her by withholding food or water isn’t really the best method to get her to talk to me. No, what I have planned is more sinister and won’t require me to watch her wither away into bones.
I like her curves. I want her curves. I’m a selfish asshole in that way. I won’t mark her body in any permanent way. I can’t say the same about her soul.
I wait until she’s finished with her bar before I speak again.
And wait.
And wait.
And wait.
I’m not a patient man, but I’m becoming one with her. The more patient I am, the more I mess with her head, the higher the chance she will start talking.
The sky has turned to dusk. The moon has started peeking out behind the trees, shining down on us. The fire illuminates her silhouette casting shadows over her face.
“Why did Fitz write you a threatening letter? Why did he want to kill you?” I ask.
I already know the answer.
Liesel knows the answer too.
This is a test of trust and truth. Will she answer me honestly? Or will she lie?
“I don’t know. I’m as bewildered as you are. I would guess Waylon’s first political run put a target on us. Fitz wanted our money, and he thought we’d pay to avoid a scandal,” Liesel says, pulling her sweatshirt over her chest as she shivers. The wind has picked up, and the fire alone won’t be enough to keep her warm tonight. She stares up at the scattered stars through the trees, not looking at me.
Lies it is.
She didn’t tell me the truth. She knows why Fitz came after her. It’s the same reason I came after her—to figure out her secret and find the treasure she’s hiding.
My heart thumps hard like the beat of a war drum picking up steam. I used to like the lies we shared. Not anymore. There is too much at stake.
Liesel looks over at me, either because she can hear the heavy beat of my heart or because she wants to see my reaction to her lie.
Her lips thin as she tries to hide her emotions, but I can tell I’ve lit a spark of fear in her. I look like a deranged madman and the possibilities of what I will do scare her.
“No more lies, Liesel.”
She sits up, tucking her knees to her chest as she tries to stay warm on the opposite side of the fire from me.
“We don’t know how to do anything else, Langston. Don’t pretend like you’ve told me the truth either. I’m not here because of some silly promise when we were five. I’m not here because I owe you for killing Fitz. I’m here because of that damn letter you ripped in two.
“Nothing has changed, though. I won’t tell you what my half said, and you won’t tell me what your half said. So why try to get answers now? Why am I here?”
She hasn’t earned the truth. She hasn’t earned an answer. But I’m about to give her more truth than she’ll get from me the rest of her time here.
“I want the truth. And I will get the truth—no matter what it takes. The sooner you tell me everything you know, the better for you.
“Let’s start with one. One truth you’ve never told another soul. One piece of yourself that has only ever belonged to you.”
The wind stops. The leaves stop rustling. It’s eerily quiet as my words are the only sound on the island.
“I tell you a truth, and I go free?” she asks, her voice pained. She’d rather be raped, tortured; her body pulled apart limb by limb than offer me a truth. She will never admit that to me, but it’s true.
I shake my head. “One truth buys you more time on this planet. A lie shortens my patience, resulting in less time.”
“That gives me no incentive to tell you anything!”
I gave her a path to freedom. Death is freedom, right?
For most people, one honest truth would be easy. Not for Liesel. Not for me. Not when your whole life has been a lie.
She takes a deep, exhausting breath—one that consumes her whole body, and then as she exhales a breath so strong it persuades the winds to pick up again. And then she looks to me like a scared little girl.
I try to squeeze out the thoughts of the girl I used to know. The one wearing pigtails and pretty pink dresses, who would run through the forest and chase after me and our boy crew. She was the princess we all protected. We all failed.
She was the one that got away.
Not anymore.
Now, she’s mine. I have her trapped physically, but I need more.
“So what will it be? Ready to tell the truth and earn more time? Or lie and be punished?” My voice is deep and haunting. She has no idea why I’m pissed—what she did that makes me so willing to hurt her, kill her. She never will. But she knows that I’m serious when I say that I will hurt her if she doesn’t tell the truth.
She nods as she shakes out her hands, but I can see them trembling. She’s trying to psych herself up to speak—to tell the truth.
“I’ll tell you a truth, and for every truth I tell you, I’ll be the one hurting you. I’ll kill you with truths.”
Liesel means every word she says. I have no doubt that she will choose whatever vicious truths she can come up with to hurt me. To cut me down until I beg her to stop.
However, the only things that could hurt me are her lies.
15
Liesel
Langston wants a truth.
There are so many truths to choose from. So many from my past that frighten me, including one that I’m afraid will change the course of my life forever.
I’d rather him rape or torture me than make me tell the truth. I’d do anything to avoid my past.
Langston knows that better than anyone.
As much as I’m all talk, telling him to rape me and get it over with, I don’t want him to hurt me. I’ll do anything to avoid being hurt by Langston, because I remember the boy I used to care about, buried beneath his brawny exterior. Knowing that boy grew up to be a true killer is more than I can stand.
So I’ll try to tell the truth. I’ll try to gain more time. I’ll try to hunt for my freedom and hope that Langston doesn’t kill me.
An idea forms as I sit across the fire. I tremble from a combination of
the cold and my fear. If it keeps me safe from Langston, then I’ll do almost anything to make that happen.
Langston is being relatively nice at the moment, but there is nothing he isn’t capable of. The darkness in his heart rivals my own. Everyone may think I got out, that I’m no longer mixed up in the underworld, but they don’t know all the horrible things I’ve done since.
Langston is the same. And right now, I’m his prey.
I won’t let him hurt me.
He’s sitting on a log across from me. He thinks he’s more powerful sitting higher than me, but he just gave me the ammunition to fire back and win.
“The first night I was raped…” I start.
“Telling me about your rapes won’t earn you your freedom, but if you want a free counseling session, be my guest. I’ll enjoy listening to all the ways you were abused. It will give me lots of ideas on how to break you.”
His words are harsh and villainous. I just wish I knew if they were true or not. His words are meant to strike fear into me, but there is nothing physical he could do to me that would make me tremble quite as much as I am now.
“Will you shut up? You want a truth, then let me tell the story.”
“One more thing,” he says.
“You don’t get to add addendums to our deal now.”
He leans forward, closer to the fire, and the flames reflect in his eyes as if the fire is coming from his eyes, not the pit.
I gasp at the evil I see reflected back at me.
“You aren’t in control, huntress. You never were. You are lucky I’m giving you a way out at all. I could just torture the truth out of you and then kill you. That would be easier.”
“You would never kill me,” I call out his lie.
“Things have changed. You aren’t someone I care about anymore. The Liesel I once knew is gone.”
“That she is,” I agree, my voice stronger than I feel.
“If you lie, instead of telling me the truth, if you tell a truth you’ve already told before, I will punish you.”
“You’ll punish me if I’m silent.”
His eyes disappear back into the darkness, but I know my words are true. It doesn’t matter. He’ll hurt me, drive fear into me, all so that he can get power over me. He may say he’s only hurting me to get info, but he’ll enjoy every second of it.
“Continue with your story if you dare, but know what awaits you if you lie.”
I want to move closer before I open my mouth. I want to be able to read all of his expressions. But I dare not move closer. If I move at all, I’ll lose my resolve and won’t tell my story.
No, I won’t let the fear win. I haven’t been afraid of anything in years. I won’t start now.
I stand up. I won’t move closer to Langston, but I’ll stand taller as I speak. I have power. I have strength. And this story is the start of that.
“The night I was raped should have been the worst night of my life,” I start again, wishing the wind would pick up again to drown out my voice. Instead, it’s stopped, ushering in an eerie silence, as if the entire forest is listening to my story, ready to call me a liar if I slip one time.
The quiet pushes my thoughts back to the beginning, back to the moment fear became normal in my life—the moment when I learned how evil men could truly be.
It’s not the story I intended to tell. This part of the story Langston already knows, but it’s what spills. I become consumed, and I can’t do anything but speak what happened…
I finally bought my first bikini, even though I’d asked my mother for one every year for the last three years. I finally saved up enough money to buy one from hours working at the ice cream shop.
I could have just asked Enzo for the money, and he would have gladly given it to me. Enzo doesn’t need to worry about something as simple as money. He doesn’t have to save and scrap. He just has it, an overabundance of it.
He’s not in the pool yet, but I know he normally swims around this time, so I start doing laps myself. I hear a splash and look up to find Enzo swimming towards me.
I watch Enzo’s arms stretch over his head and dip into the water. His muscles lengthen and contract as his legs propel him forward. He could swim laps for hours without stopping to rest. He’s a machine.
Soon, he’ll be mine.
“Enzo,” I shout, excited to see him.
He stops mid-stroke and turns in my direction.
It takes everything in me to not drool or let my mouth hang open at the sight of him shirtless. I’ve watched him swim countless times, and each time I’m shocked by how sculpted he is. How his muscles look like they’ve been chiseled by an artist into his chest—they are too perfect to have been gained from just regular working out. And that happy trail that leads down into his black swim trunks—yummy.
“Do you need something, Liesel?”
I walk up the shallow stairs, so he can see my body, and put my hand on my hip. When I shift my weight, he notices. His eyes heat, wanting to touch my hip.
I’m elated, but I try to keep my face sultry and indifferent.
“Want to join me for a swim?” I try to let my voice drop, to show how mature I am.
I’ve been infatuated with Enzo since my mom got a job here when I was ten. My interest in him has only grown as we’ve both grown older. Enzo is the boy for me. He’s the strongest boy I know. He would never hurt me. He is powerful enough to protect me. Someday he’ll own the Black empire—the money, the houses, the yachts—all his. And he’s smoking hot. I could fall in love with him.
I want him to be my first.
I’ve already given away my first kiss, but he could be the one to take my virginity.
Enzo grins smugly as he swims closer to me. I think for a moment that he might be getting out.
I don’t really want to swim—I just want an excuse to be half-naked with Enzo.
He walks into the shallow end, towards me. Then I feel him grab my hips.
“Enzo!” I squeal as he pulls me deeper into the pool. I fall headfirst on top of him. He doesn’t let go once we are in the water. His grip on my body tightens as if promising to protect me no matter what happens.
We both surface at the same time—gasping for air and laughing as I splash Enzo for pulling me under like that.
“Hold still,” Enzo suddenly says as he looks at my face with concern.
I still, except for my heart—it thumps and thumps and thumps, beating in anticipation of what Enzo is going to do.
He’s holding me by the waist to keep me afloat in the water, where he’s just tall enough to stand.
Enzo’s face turns serious. His lips part. He’s going to kiss me.
His hands inch up my body painfully slowly. I want him to take his time. I want this moment to last forever, but I’m not sure my heart can survive this slow pace. I need his lips on me like I need air.
His lips against mine might send my heart pounding at the speed of light. I’m not sure I’d survive his kiss, but I’ll gladly chance it to taste him.
Finally, his hands are gripping my face.
This is it.
The moment he’s finally going to kiss me.
Then, his thumb brushes across my cheek.
“There, you had mascara under your eye.” He smiles down at me.
I bite my lip in frustration. How could he not kiss me? We are so close.
He’s still gripping my face even though my mascara is fixed. We are still inches from each other. My hands are gripping his biceps to keep myself afloat.
I’m not going to miss my shot.
Without thinking, I pull Enzo to me and steal a kiss.
This could ruin everything if Enzo doesn’t feel the same way as I do. He could turn me down. He could stay away from me for fear that I will kiss him again.
The second our lips touch, though, I know I have nothing to worry about. A burning desire sparks deep in my belly. Enzo pulls me tighter to him, deepening the kiss instead of pushing me away. I feel how hard he i
s as his tongue explores my mouth. He’s a good kisser, real good.
I feel myself flying high on adrenaline and lust, the longer the kiss lasts.
I want Enzo.
I want his kisses.
I want his body.
I want his heart.
I want him to be mine.
Suddenly, Enzo pulls away. His ears perk up, and he presses a finger to my lips to keep me from talking.
I listen carefully, not sure what we are listening to. Even through my blissful haze, I can make out the car horn as Mr. Black’s Bentley locks.
Enzo’s father is a horrible man. I know to stay clear of him. He’s cruel and vicious and rules every room he enters. I don’t fully understand Enzo and his father’s relationship, but I do know that Enzo has no choice but to follow his father’s orders.
“Run,” Enzo says with intensity in his voice, along with what must be fear.
I don’t know why he wants me to run. My only guess is that he doesn’t want us to get caught together. His father wouldn’t approve of his son, who is about to gain an evil empire, ruling it with a poor maid’s daughter.
He boosts me out of the pool and then jumps out next. I start running toward the guest house I share with my mother at the back of the property, even though it kills me to be running from Enzo. But before I take two steps in that direction, Enzo grabs me and yanks me to him, stealing one last hungry kiss.
A kiss that will be my downfall.
“Enzo!” Mr. Black yells from the deck above us.
Goosebumps form and the hairs on my arms rise at the single word.
“Coming, Father.” Enzo grabs my arms around my biceps and motions to the basement door nearby.
“Go hide in my bedroom. I’ll come find you when I’m done with my father,” he whispers.
I nod, speechless. Enzo isn’t done with me. He wants more. A tiny thrill shoots through me.
He winks at me before he runs up the stairs to meet his father.
I wait until they’ve both headed inside before I slip through the sliding glass door. I’ve done this hundreds of times before, but usually to hang out with Enzo, Zeke, and Langston. Never just Enzo alone.