by Nikki Chase
But what I heard through the surveillance system last night, that changed things.
Now I’ve got to have her.
I don't care if it's a complication.
I want to get my hands on that luscious body of hers, plunge my cock deep inside, and make her moan my name again.
Fuck, I’m completely rock hard again, just thinking about it. You’d think I was a horny teenage boy, the way I get when I think about Alice. I can't wait to fuck her for real.
I check the time on my phone. Fuck, I don't have any time to indulge in my dirty fantasies. I jump out of bed, take a quick shower, and head for the kitchen.
I expect to see Alice’s neatly packaged meal with the yellow Post-It of re-heating instructions on the counter. I made Alejandra tell Alice to prepare the food at certain hours. I’d been avoiding the kitchen around those times because I didn’t want to cave into temptation and give in to Alice’s enticing curves.
After what I heard last night, though, I can’t keep a distance from her. She obviously wants me, too.
My eyebrows jump up when I see Alice standing in the kitchen, apparently waiting for me.
“Wasn't expecting to see you this morning,” I say.
“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for you,” she says, holding up the familiar brown paper bag with the yellow Post-It stuck on top.
“You’re even wearing your uniform.” I let my gaze roam all over her body, lingering over her tits—her left one in particular, on which there’s a pocket with my initials. Like I said, she’s mine. There’s even my name on her.
“Yeah,” she says with a shy smile.
“Thank you.” I take the paper bag, purposely grazing her hand.
She takes a sharp breath, then diverts her gaze away and tucks her blonde hair behind her ear. She says, “No problem.”
“So, why were you waiting for me? Miss me?” I step closer until she's only inches away from me.
Her breathing gets heavier, almost imperceptibly. “Uh, I have something to ask you.”
“Ask away.” I reach up and tuck a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.
My lips curl up as I watch her cheeks grow red. I want to slide my hand over her cheek and feel the heat of her skin, then steal a kiss from those full lips, but I restrain myself.
That will have to wait until she's ready. Perhaps when we have more time. Tonight, maybe.
“Uh, I know I’ve only just started to work here,” Alice says as she looks up, meeting my gaze at last, with a mixture of lust and apprehension in her blue eyes. “I have a sister, and we’re really close. Her name’s Emily. She lives in Seattle.”
My smile widens as I watch her. I already know about her sister. I just like watching her blurt out her words all at once when she's nervous, and I like the fact that I’m the one making her lose her composure.
“Go on,” I say.
“Well, Emily got pregnant.”
“Okay.”
“Which is good, by the way. It's not like, ‘Oh no, she got pregnant and now she needs help.’” Alice laughs uncomfortably.
“Uh-huh.” I nod.
“She's married and she wants kids, so this is good news,” she says. “Anyway, I’m wondering if I could take a few days off to visit her to celebrate and help prepare for the baby.”
Damn it.
I know Alice's sister is pregnant, but on the phone last night, she said she wasn't going to visit. Of course this would happen on the day I decide to do something about the strange, crazy, lust-filled attraction between us.
“I don’t know. Like you said, you’ve only just started working here,” I say, hoping that will be enough to deter her.
“I know. I’ve thought of everything. I’ll be gone for a week, so I’ll prepare some sauces in the freezer and leave Ana with the instructions for putting everything together exactly the way I do it. You won’t even know I’m gone.”
I inhale deeply.
“Okay, let me put it this way,” she says. “You don’t even see me most days, so it’ll be exactly the same for you. Tell me what your concerns are so I can think of some solutions. What is it that I can do that Ana can’t do instead? Keep in mind it’s just for one week.”
Shit. I can’t think of any good reason not to let her go. Not when I’m ambushed like this.
There's no way for her not to find out eventually, so maybe it’s time to rip the Band-Aid off.
“Okay, sure,” I say with a practiced smile. I need to buy some time. I can't let her know anything’s wrong for at least a few hours.
“Really?” Alice clasps her hands together and beam at me.
“Yeah, just let Alejandra know your travel dates so she can make the arrangements.”
“You’re the best boss ever.” Alice throws her arms around me.
The scent of vanilla and cinnamon enters my nostrils. I’m surprised by this sudden show of affection, but it’s not like I mind. I breathe her in, letting her essence seep into my bloodstream, pumping a shot of testosterone into my system.
I slide my hand up her back, over her uniform shirt. My fingertips trace her lines, her curves, the back of her bra. My fingers touch the ends of her hair and I fight the urge to grab and pull.
What is wrong with me, that I need to dominate and hurt a woman to get off?
Oh, my angel, you're in trouble and you don't even know it.
With this latest development, I won't be able to take Alice tonight, but it will happen.
“Thank you so much.” Alice slowly pulls away from the hug shyly, looking like she’s surprised by her own reaction. “I’ll talk to Alejandra as soon as I find the tickets.”
She smiles at me with longing in her eyes. It makes me want to bend her over and fuck her right here, right now.
Too bad I really have to go right now. If it wasn't literally a matter of life and death, I would've cleared my schedule and spent the whole day trying to get Alice into my bed.
“See you later,” I say, melancholy cooling my blood. She's not going to look at me the same way ever again.
I walk out of the front door, get into my car, and drive through of the gate.
Looking around me, I think about how much freedom I have, despite all the bad things I’ve done. And yet, Alice is the one who’s going to lose her freedom tonight, although she hasn't done anything wrong.
I speed-dial Anthony using the buttons on the steering wheel. “Code yellow. Alice. You know what to do.”
“Now?” Anthony asks.
“Yes. ASAP. I’ll be gone until tomorrow because there’s an emergency, but I want this taken care of right away.”
“Yes, Seth. Anything else?”
“Nothing else for now.”
“Okay.” Anthony hangs up. I like how he doesn't waste any time with unnecessary greetings.
I need to move quickly before Alice tells her sister she's coming to Seattle.
After all the work I’ve put into making her quit her job and end her lease herself, it wouldn’t be funny if she just tells her sister over a text that something’s terribly wrong.
Alice is staying, whether she wants to or not.
She's trapped with me now.
11
Alice
“Anthony? What are you doing here?” I fold my arms over my chest and glare at the man. He's crouching by the nightstand.
My nightstand. In my bedroom. Which I never let him into.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
As he stands up, I notice the phone in his hand. My phone. I am completely, entirely sure that's my phone, because there are pink cartoon donuts and cupcakes all over the case. It looks ridiculously tiny in Anthony’s big, hairy hand.
The man has got some explaining to do. He's the biggest, meanest-looking man I know, but I stand in the open doorway to block his path with my relatively puny body.
“Is that my phone?” I ask, even though I already know it is.
Anthony bends down to meet my stare, resting his hands on his thighs
. His brown eyes look sad.
“I’m sorry, Alice. It has to be done.” He puts his hands on my upper arms.
“Hey! Get your hands off me!”
Instead of letting me go, Anthony spins me around until I'm inside my bedroom and he's in the doorway.
“Hey! Give me back my phone!” I struggle, but his hands are like a vice, locking me in place.
As soon as he lets me go, Anthony slams the door shut.
“Hey!” I grab the door handle and try to turn it, but all it does is make metallic rattling sounds. Try as I might, the white wooden door wouldn't budge. I thump on it. “Anthony! What do you think you're doing?”
I hear no answer from outside; only footsteps of a big, heavy man moving further and further away.
“Damn it!” I slam my fist on the door as hard as I can, and immediately regret it. A sharp pain invades my knuckles. “Ouch!”
I pull my hand back and blow on it.
Why did Anthony just do that?
Seth has loads of money and, as far as I can tell, has no problem using it to compensate his staff well. Surely a trusted man like Anthony enjoys good pay. He shouldn't need to steal phones.
Although, who’s to say he has to be in some desperate situation to resort to stealing? Maybe he just wants some extra beer money.
Wait. He said something weird, didn't he?
It has to be done.
What the hell does that even mean?
What has to be done? The theft of my phone? Locking me in my own room?
Why does it have to be done? Because Anthony needs money? Because he needs some time to run away after stealing my phone?
It makes zero sense. Why would he risk his job for a phone that's only worth a few hundred dollars on Craigslist?
What the hell is going on?
I was about to start searching for flights to Seattle on my phone, but I guess that's not happening now.
God, what do I do now?
The house is always quiet. I don't really see anyone other than Seth, Alejandra, Anthony, Ana, and the few women who clean the house, none of whom speak much English. Of course there are also the security guys outside…
Wait, that's it!
Someone's bound to come along, right?
It's not like I’m going to die of starvation and slowly rot in here. It's just a matter of time until someone lets me out, so there's no need to panic.
I scan the room. My eyes land on my notebook full of recipes, lying on the same nightstand my stolen phone was on.
I know!
I cross the room to get the notebook and the pen on top. I tear out two pages. I write the same message on both pieces of paper. I slide one under the door and stick the other one on the window with some sticky tape. I check the window for some way for me to sneak out through it, but it only opens a few inches; there's no way I’d fit.
Oh, well. It's okay. It won't be long until someone walks through the hallway right outside my door or passes my window from the outside. Then, they’ll come let me out after reading the message I’ve written:
HELP!! LET ME OUT!!
“Alice?” Emily leans in until her face is hovering just inches over my face.
I frown at her. What is she doing?
“Are you okay?” She looks concerned.
Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?
“Well, no particular reason. It's just, you don't look okay.”
Why would I not look okay? How do I look?
“You look fine. It's not that.”
Wait. I didn't say those questions out loud, so how did Emily know what I was thinking?
The room starts to spin, and I hear a rhythmic sound, like the beating of a tribal drum. The room spins faster and the beats grow louder and everything whirls together into some kind of psychedelic mess.
Then, silence.
“Alice?”
Who's calling me? Emily?
“Alice?”
No, not Emily. Someone else.
“Alice?”
She speaks with a thick accent… Ana!
I will myself awake.
More knocking on the door. My bedroom door. In Seth’s mansion.
I remember where I am now, and what’s happening. I need to get out of here.
“Alice?”
“Ana!” I sit bolt upright and call out. “Ana, are you there?”
“Yes,” she says softly from outside the door. “Are you okay?”
“Yes! Ana, could you let me out?” I crouch on the carpet by the door. I can see the shadows of Ana’s feet.
“No.”
“What?” I must've heard wrong. It must be the old language barrier. “Ana, you have to open the door for me. I’m trapped in here!”
“Sorry, Alice. I have to go now.” I hear her get up and take a step back.
“Wait, Ana!”
“I can't stay,” she says under her breath. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Ana, listen. Anthony stole my phone, and then he locked me in here. Can you open the door for me, please? I need to get out.”
“Sorry,” Ana says. Her footsteps are light as she walks away.
What the hell? Can people stop apologizing to me and just tell me what's going on?
Why am I being locked up? Who is locking me up, and why? If Anthony is acting alone, then why wouldn't Ana help me get out? If they're both in it, then… But… But that doesn't make any sense! Why would they work together to lock me up here? What's in it for them? A crappy used phone?
I sit my butt down on the floor and massage my temples. My head hurts from all the questions swimming in my mind.
I might also be feeling faint from having missed dinner. It's dark outside the window but, without my phone, I can't tell what time it is.
My stomach rumbles. I thought I was never going to go hungry ever again, especially after taking this job. But for the first time in a long time, I’m actually worried about starvation.
I chuckle to myself. Serves me right for going home with the handsome stranger. I totally violated the rules of stranger danger.
On the bright side, I won't be dying any time soon. Thanks to the ensuite bathroom, at least I have drinking water.
I decide it's probably still too early to throw furniture at the window to shatter the glass. No, I’ll reserve that for later, if things get any worse.
Maybe Anthony threatened poor Ana, and someone else will let me out in the morning.
12
Seth
Turns out it’s quite hard to unlock and open a door with one hand. With some difficulty, I finally manage to swing the door open, balancing the plate on one hand.
Alice stirs in her bed because of the noises I’m making. I stand by the door, staring at her. She looks so beautiful and vulnerable. Her blonde hair is a tangled mess, and her eyes don't focus. She hasn't had a chance to put her guard up yet.
She blinks a few times as she comes back to reality.
I wonder how she feels when she realizes where she is and what's happening. Is she in denial, or is she realistic? Is she regretful? Or angry, maybe? Does she hate me?
“Finally!” She exclaims when she sees me. “It's about time someone opened the door.”
I guess she hasn't quite figured out what's really going on. I take a seat on the edge of her bed, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. This friendliness is not going to last long.
“You’re not going to believe what happened yesterday,” she says.
I bet I’m going to, actually.
“You must be hungry,” I say, handing her the bowl. “Eat something first.”
I look out the window. It’s already starting to get dark outside. From what Anthony told me, I’m guessing Alice hasn’t eaten for twenty-four hours.
Alice sits up cross-legged on the bed and takes the bowl. She frowns as she studies the spaghetti carbonara.
“This looks really familiar,” she says as she sniffs the pasta.
“It shou
ld be. It's one of your recipes.” I pause when she gives me a confused look and quickly add, “Found it online.”
“Strange. I could've sworn I never gave this recipe to the food bloggers.”
I shrug.
What am I supposed to say? That she taught me the recipe herself in person at a workshop in prison?
She's going to be freaking out in a few minutes. It's probably best to keep the scary details to a minimum.
Alice twirls the fork and lifts it to her mouth. She pauses to chew and says, “It’s actually really good.”
“Good.”
“Who made this? Ana?” Alice takes another mouthful and actually moans a little, making my cock stir in my pants.
“I did, actually.” I watch as she widens her eyes and stares at me incredulously.
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not pulling my leg right now, are you?”
“No. I don’t joke about food.” I smirk.
“Yeah, me neither.” She giggles and continues to attack the pasta. “This is serious. It’s seriously good stuff, Seth.”
“Thanks. It’s your recipe. Really, you’re complimenting yourself right now.”
She laughs. “The secret to my recipe is the bits of bacon. But you took it to another level by substituting bacon with pancetta. This is gourmet now.”
“I can afford good ingredients.” I shrug. It’s hardly revolutionary. The dish tasted just as good with bacon, back when I had no money to splurge on food.
Alice’s recipes have helped me get through many difficult days. She gave real, practical tips for whipping up good meals with cheap ingredients, knowing many inmates were going to find themselves in financial trouble when they got out.
This carbonara is one of my go-to recipes, especially when I was struggling—it reminded me there were still good things in the world to enjoy, no matter how bleak things seemed.
“Okay, I’m full now. And I really enjoyed learning about your cooking prowess,” she says as she puts the bowl on the nightstand. “But we need to talk about Anthony and Ana.”
