Page 35 of Unhinged

Her throat bobs as she looks at me. “For how long? I doubt the same man will buy all four of us. We might all end up in separate corners of the country. Hell, maybe different countries. Who knows?”

“My mom will lose her shit since she hasn’t heard from me,” I say.

Luna shrugs. “At least I don’t have anyone that gives enough of a shit to lose it.”

I sigh. “That’s not true. I’m sure if you were in contact with your parents, they would lose their shit not hearing from you.”

Luna frowns. “Doubt it.”

Luna and her parents had a huge falling out when they caught here hacking at home. Not to mention, they were already pissed she was going to Brown to study computer engineering instead of following in the family’s footsteps of becoming a lawyer. Her mom, her dad, and her sister are lawyers. But it’s not what she wanted. Finding out she was hacking illegally for cash was the last straw and they lost their shit and kicked her out. So she hasn’t spoken to them since.

It’s sad, really. Luna is so successful. I don’t get why her parents are so against computer engineering. After all, computers are the future.

“We’ve got to remain positive,” I tell her. “If we let them break us before they even start, we’re screwed.”

Luna nods. “I know.” Her eyes flash with fire. “I won’t let them break me.” Her voice lowers as she says, “But, Kali…” She trails off. “I’m not sure she can hold it together. I think they’ve already broken her.”

I nod. “Out of all of us, Kali is the most fragile.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how she’s going to handle it,” Luna says, slumping back so she’s lying on the haystack. It’s scratchy and horrible to sleep on, and I miss the comfort of the hotel already. And the comfort of Taren’s warm body against mine.

“He didn’t touch you, did he?” Luna asks, breaking me out of my train of thought.

“What?”

“Taren? He didn’t you know…” She looks uncomfortable.

“Rape me?” I ask.

She nods.

“No, he didn’t.”

“Thank God. I was worried he might have done something inappropriate. The way he looked at you that first day was…” She trails off, her brow furrowed. “Intense and possessive is the only way I can describe it.”

“Yeah, it was a little weird,” I admit.

But I don’t share the full truth with them. That Taren did cross some boundaries. That there were inappropriate things he did, things which, against my better judgment, I found myself craving. It’s a dangerous secret I keep, made even more menacing because I want it to happen again.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Luna places a hand on her forehead. “We’re going to die here.”

I shake my head. “No, we’re not.”

“Since when are you the pinnacle of optimism?” Luna asks, as ordinarily I’m the skeptic. On this occasion, I’ve got a reason to be hopeful.

Taren promises to find a way to get me and my friends out. And for some crazy reason, I trust him. I trust a man I barely know. Maybe I’m the one that’s mad and not him. Only time will tell if my trust is misplaced.

14

TAREN

The tension in the air is almost tangible. I lean against the stone pillar in the training room of the basement, watching Thiago circle the four prisoners like a predator. He lets his eyes linger on each girl for a few seconds. Whenever he looks at Alice, I feel a dark possessiveness claw at my throat.

Matias glares at me from the other side of the room. They’re pissed that I’m here. After all, this is their territory. They’re used to running this show, but I outrank them both.

Alice tries to make eye contact with me, but I’ve avoided looking at her as much as possible.

“You’re now the property of the Navarro Cartel,” Thiago announces.

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