Page 140 of Forbidden Fate

My mouth goes dry.

I should lie. Sixteen and a virgin? It’s embarrassing.

“No.”

“Then let me give you something honest before you go.”

Then her lips are on mine.

Her kiss is different from what I’ve experienced. I’ve kissed only girls. Adriana is a woman.

She guides my hands to her waist. She murmurs approval when I touch her. She laughs softly when I tremble.

“See?” she whispers against my mouth. “You’re not a boy.”

She brings me to her desk.

Papers scatter. A glass falls somewhere and breaks, but she doesn’t stop. She touches me, undresses me, makes me forget why I came to see her in the first place.

For the next few minutes, I forget the guilt. There’s only Adriana, her hands on my body, making me feel things.

And when she spreads her legs and nods, I plunge into her, letting her swallow me whole.

It doesn’t take long. Three, maybe four, thrusts, until I climax with both pleasure and shame tearing through me.

Adriana strokes my hair afterward.

She lets me rest my forehead against her shoulder while my body shakes. She lets me feel held. Safe.

Then she lifts my chin. “If you enjoyed that,” she says, “there’s more where it came from. But you’ll have to stay.”

It’s time to leave. I look again at my bloodstained hands. I’m wearing the sweatpants Robin found for me in the dryer, but my shoes and shirt are disgusting. At least my shirt is black, which hides the blood.

I stop in the kitchen and turn on the faucet. I soap up my hands and rub them together while pink spirals down the drain. I scrub until my skin burns.

Robin left ten minutes ago.

Maybe more now.

I’m wasting precious time.

Every second I stay here is another second Vega’s men draw closer. If Zabala checked in before arriving, Vega may already know. If he didn’t, they’ll know soon enough when he fails to report.

I need to get out. Figure out where to hide. How to survive without Robin Bellamy’s help.

I could still go to the US and ask for asylum.

And I have a passport.

Zabala got it for me a few years ago as a favor, and I’ve kept it on me ever since.

I step outside the back way.

I can’t do anything for Señora V. I can’t do anything for Robin.

So I walk toward the car I stole and hotwired. The street is quiet for now. Too quiet. Neighbors no doubt hear the shots. They’re staying inside.

Smart.