Page 15 of Unhinged

I pull my briefs off and step under the spray of the water, running my hands down my stomach to my solid cock. I’m aching for release. It’s been like this since I met Alice, but I refuse to masturbate like a teenager. Instead, I ignore it and focus on washing the rest of my body.

Once I’m washed, I shut off the faucet and step out, grabbing my thick white towel and wrapping it around my waist. My walk-in closet is stocked with hundreds of designer suits. I pick a black pair of pants and a white shirt, but opt for a burgundy dress jacket and my solid gold rabbit cuff-links.

Ileana would disapprove of my mismatched attire, but she knows I don’t conform to social norms. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn a matching suit jacket and pants.

I glance at the ties. The idea of wearing one is suffocating. Even so, I pick a black bow tie and throw it into my luggage and a purple handkerchief to fold into my jacket pocket. Once I’m sure I’ve finished packing, I shut the suitcase and place it outside the door for the chauffeur to collect.

And then I turn my mind to my obsession.What is an obsession? An unhealthy fixation or a passionate pursuit that fuels our existence? I don’t know, but I’m sure my obsession with my little bird is a danger to everything I’ve worked for.

I walk down the stairs and descend into the basement, finding the darkness easier again today. Perhaps because I know of the light that awaits me below.

My Alice.

My little bird.

My queen.

It’s eerily quiet in the basement. Quieter than normal. The two girls who arrived with Alice are in the cell next door, fast asleep, clutching each other tightly.Only true bonds can survive the kind of peril and darkness these girls are to be subjected to. It’ll test them and break them.

As I move past that cell and to Alice’s, my heart pounds harder.

She’s also asleep on the makeshift bed of hay in the corner. Her friend is sleeping next to her. I watch her for a while, her chest rising and falling evenly. She’s so beautiful and peaceful as she sleeps easy, unaware of what might await her in the coming days. I wonder what her dreams are made of.

As I watch her, I can’t help but think back to the day I kissed her skin. So small and fragile, like a delicate bird that could break easily beneath me. But a fire in her eyes captured my attention when she turned round. A fire that told me she feels this as keenly as I do.

“Alice,” I say softly, hoping not to wake her friends.

Her eyes shoot open, meeting mine. “Taren?”

My name from her lips is exquisite. “Yes, little bird. It’s me. Come here.”

She carefully climbs off the bed, ensuring she doesn’t wake her friend. Her hips sway temptingly as she walks toward the bars, willingly walking toward the devil. Alice places her hands around the bars, staring at me. “What is it?”

“You’re coming with me.”

Her expression turns cautious, and she takes a step back. “Where?”

“The where isn’t important.”

“I can’t leave my friends,” she says, gazing back at her dark-haired friend sleeping deeply.

“You’ll return to them soon enough. I just have a task for you.”

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and then nods. “Okay.”

I smile because I don’t need her permission but want her to come by choice. I unlock her cell and usher her out.

As we walk together through the dark corridors, I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement. Alice will be beside me when I face my demons in Mexico City. With her close, I feel I can accomplish anything.

First, I need to get my little bird ready to face the corruption of Mexican politics. Alice has to blend in seamlessly, but the good thing about birds is they’re good at hiding in plain sight.

Alice is about to tread into this serpent’s nest with me, unaware of the venom that courses through its veins. The shadows of Mexico City are long and deep, waiting to swallow us whole.

7

ALICE

Taren drags me into a bedroom, making my stomach roll.

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