Page 75 of Unhinged

My heart skips a beat. Taren remembered.

Luna and Kali look confused. “A professor?” Luna asks.

“Professor Lovell.”

Kali shakes her head. “What? Why would you kill Alice’s English professor.”

Taren turns to look at me. “You haven’t told them?”

I bite the inside of my cheek, shaking my head.

“I apologize for speaking out of turn, little bird.”

I sigh heavily. “It’s fine.” I glance at my friends, who look confused. “Two years ago, Professor Lovell raped me,” I admit.

The following silence is deafening, only broken by the soft hum of the jet’s engines. Luna and Kali stare at me, their faces a mixture of shock and confusion. Finally, Luna breaks the silence. “Why the hell didn’t you tell us?” she demands, her voice choked.

I glance at her, my heart aching at her teary eyes. “I don’t know,” I confess, my voice quiet. “I was scared and ashamed.”

Luna moves closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “You should never be ashamed of anything around us. We’re your best friends.”

Kali nods. “You should have told us. And to think, we gave you all that shit about dating...”

I swallow hard, tears prickling my eyes. “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I wanted to forget about it...”

Taren growls. “Well, that bastard Michael probably did, too, but he won’t touch another woman again. Not once, I’m through with him.”

Luna’s brow furrows. “You’re going to kill him?”

Taren’s attention moves to her. “It’s best not to ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”

We all know that means yes. And while both my friends look horrified, I’m ashamed to admit I’m thankful. I want him dead for the trust that he broke because, deep down, I’m as dark as Taren. And I’m not sure I want to admit that to my friends. It’s crazy that despite knowing them far longer than Taren, I feel more comfortable bearing my soul to him than anyone.

Kali sighs. “He deserves whatever’s coming to him. A professor is supposed to be someone you can trust. If he’s done it to Alice, God knows how many other girls he’s violated.”

As the conversation lulls, I glance out of the aircraft’s window, Mexico shrinking as we climb higher into the sky. The silence in the cabin echoes my inner turmoil. The revelation has taken a toll on us all.

“What about Blake?” I say, shaking my head. “We should be rescuing her first. She’s more important.”

Taren’s jaw clenches. “That’s a more delicate task. The man she was sold to is one of the most powerful men in Mexico. Certainly the richest.”

My stomach churns. “Then we should be heading to wherever Gaston is and save Blake. We shouldn’t be going to Boston.”

Taren’s eyes meet mine, carrying a sincerity that sends a shiver down my spine. “We will, Alice, I promise. But first, there’s some important business I need to deal with in Boston, not just Michael.” It looks like a heavy weight is on his shoulders. “I must secure my position as leader of the Navarro Cartel. And our stateside operations are stationed in Boston.”

I bite the inside of my cheek as I wonder what that means for us. How do we have a future? A Brown university student and a cartel leader.

“Why are Matias and Thiago coming?” I ask, noticing they both disappeared through a door to the back of the plane when we got on.

“Because they’re the only two I trust to station in the stateside operation and report back to me.”

“So you’ll be living in Mexico?” I confirm.

A flash of something passes through his eyes. “Yes, we will be.”

I shake my head. “I’ve got to finish my senior year at Brown.”

Darkness crosses his eyes. “I can’t be away from you, baby.”

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