Chapter Forty
Then…
So I guess I’m in a cell again.
A new one, not even vaguely similar to the last.
As I regain consciousness, I immediately recognize where I am. Not that I’ve been inside this cell before, but I’ve definitely seen it before while snooping around the mansion. It’d be near impossible to miss, honestly.
It’s technically hidden away, behind the conservatory garden, on the way toward those strange passageways. Still, the cell itself sticks out like a sore thumb.
I mean, how could you not notice a giant birdcage?
Not kidding. This floor-to-ceiling cell of brushed brass, and maybe gold, bars, built directly into the framework of the house, was obviously designed with a very distinct look, very different from the cells in the prison.
This is an honest to God cage, more specifically like one of those old, antique bird cages. Only big enough for a human pet.
Several, actually. It’s the size of a room.
Coming to, I’m groggy at first. But it wears off quickly enough and, like an instinct, I scramble up and rush to the door. Unsurprisingly, it’s locked, but I had to try, right?
Expelling a breath, I rub my eyes hard, locating my last memory before lights out.
Hijo de fucking puta…
That’s me. I’m talking about myself, because I’m a fucking moron.
I had my chance, and I lost it again.
I can’t believe I did this…
After months of stalking, years of self-destruction following my last blunder, I actually fucking blew it for a second time. I let The Ivory pull the wool over my eyes. Again.
What is really wrong with me?? How can I be so easily bested by him??
I know he’s el diablo and everything… It’s what he does.
But still, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into this time!
Four years ago, it was my first time seeing him in real life since he left me cowering in that closet as a child. I was sure that was what tripped me up. I just wasn’t used to dealing with him face to face, and he used his top tier manipulation tactics on me.
But what’s my excuse this time??
I’ve been watching him for weeks upon weeks, preparing for my second and final attempt at killing him. And I was so close…
No. Even closer this time!
I had my father’s knife in my grip. I was in control.
The way he reacted to my presence, to seeing me again, wasn’t what I expected… What the hell was that, anyway??
He was begging me, pleading on his hands and knees like a dog. It threw me the hell off. How hard he was coming at me, as if he… missed me. More than anyone’s ever missed anything.
“Dios, baby, you’re making me so hard… Give me another taste, sweet thing, and then you can kill me, I promise…”
A shiver runs over my flesh. My jaw sets and I growl at myself and this goddamn reaction I can’t stop myself from having any time he’s close. I don’t fucking understand it.
It’s like every time we’re alone in a confined space, everything else in the world melts away.
I’m not me… And he sure as shit isn’t him.
We’re like two completely different people, separate from the history between us and what he’s done. When I’m near him, my body completely forgets who he is, and I get this hot, hungry ache from somewhere deep inside. A place no one else has ever been able to reach. Not even me.
I’ve always known The Ivory has a hold on me. I’ve spent my entire life in search of some peace, closure from him stealing my family. And because of that, he’s become the focal point of everything.
But I always thought it was driven by anger, and hatred.
Now I’ve encountered him twice, and both times I’ve succumbed to this other stuff, that feels just as potent. Even more, in fact. The need for revenge mixes with this different hunger, and I become physically desperate for more than just vengeance.…
Obviously I know what’s going on. I’m not stupid. But it absolutely is stupid as fuck that I’m feeling anything at all for this man, let alone this sort of ravenous yearning.
Not only is he an evil fucking monster, but I don’t even technically know him. Not conventionally, anyway. We’ve only met twice before last night. Twice, in twenty-two years. And one of those times, I was a damn infant.
We’ve barely even had an actual conversation. And yet he was falling the hell apart last night, on his knees, begging me for…
Dios. Ayúdame.
And clearly, it’s not just him. I’ve behaved just as slutty and insatiable without having ever spent more than maybe one collective hour face to face with the guy.
The hard truth that I’ve spent my entire adult life thinking about pretty much nothing but him is as depressing as it is infuriating.
At least I can take heed in the fact that he’s evidently spent equally excessive amounts of time thinking about me.
But regardless of whether his little show of longing last night was an act to get me to drop my guard again, or he is truly as affected by my physical presence as I seem to be by his, it still makes no sense. For either of us.
I’m beginning to worry that I’ll never be able to kill him… Not if my body keeps betraying me like this. I’ve fumbled two attempts now. And you know what they say about fool me twice…
Shame shame shame on you, pajarito.
You’re an embarrassment to the Alvarez name…
Tu padre estaría muy defraudado.
Sighing out loud, I distract myself from my ardent thoughts by glancing around the inside of the cage. My lashes flutter in observation of the setup, as it were. I’m just now noticing how elaborate it is in here…
Again, very different from the tomb of despair I was in for weeks before the storm that broke Alabaster Penitentiary in half.
Damn, last night was crazy, in so many ways…
The storm became another entity on this island, thriving on chaos and its own greedy agenda.
I hope Felix found his fiancé. I hope Luthor and Ren made it out okay.
I hope Velle is still fighting…
Sniffing, I peer through the bars, though I know it’s no use. You can’t see into the conservatory from over here. The cage is tucked away in this little alcove, basically at the very back of the mansion. Far enough away that I wouldn’t be able to hear anything happening inside.
Still, I listen for any sign that the storm is still raging. I believe it stopped. No thunder, rapid winds, or pelting rainfall on the skylight above my head.
What I do hear is gunfire, and I wonder what that means… For the prison, and the state of the island.
Giving the bars a good shake yields nothing but slight clanging, and I turn with a breath and a shake of my head.
Diablo… Eres loco, tu sabes?
I mean, look at this place, for fuck’s sake!
Inside the cage is bigger than any bedroom I’ve had in years, and decorated with actual furniture. The bed I woke up in—a queen, I think—is remarkably comfy and draped in some of the most luxurious linens I’ve ever touched.
There’s a table with a lamp, one of those big, squishy Love Sac-type seats, and a dresser, which seems odd.
I’m about to go snooping when something shiny catches my eye across the cage.
The bars at the back are part of a stone wall, literally built into the rest of the house.
But there’s some shiny metal in the middle that looks like a doorknob.
Rushing over, I grab it, eyes widening when it turns.
Holy shit… A door!
Pushing it open too fast, I tumble through into darkness.
“Shit…” I mumble. I can’t see anything…
Feeling around, I locate a light switch, and as soon as I flick it, I gasp out loud.
I’m standing inside a bathroom. The birdcage has a goddamn en suite.
Unbelievable.
It’s also super fancy. Like the bathroom you’d expect to find in a Victorian castle, with just the right amount of modern renovation.
There’s a toilet in here—thank God, because I really have to pee and with no bucket, I was beginning to wonder—an elaborate shower enclosure and separate bathtub, surrounded by soft tile and stone, more bronze and gold fixtures, and flowers.
Of course the flowers… We’re basically inside a giant garden.
This has to be one of the most lavishly designed bathrooms I’ve ever seen. It’s completely crazy that something so ornate is hidden inside what’s essentially a hole in the wall, adjacent to a birdcage prison cell. But then this is the Ivory Mansion, after all…
All of the rooms in this place are elegantly designed, just on the brink of being gaudy. Though I have to say, the guards’ quarters feel a bit toned down compared to the rest. It leaves me to wonder why he would want something so luxurious in here.
The one area I’ve never been able to explore in all my time here is his floor. I’ve never made it up the stairs to his lair. It was always too dangerous. But now I’m even more curious…
If this is the type of decor he uses for his own floor. And if so, why incorporate it into a holding cell?
I could very well be hallucinating all of this, but whatever.
I’m in desperate need of everything this bathroom has to offer right now.
Seriously, the ancient shower in the staff house was all well and good, but I’m physically giddy at the idea of getting into this shower and just standing under hot running water for like forty-minutes.
I go about utilizing the amenities of my captivity, all the while scoffing every time I uncover something that has clearly been purposefully stocked in anticipation of someone being in here.
The longer I’m here, the clearer it becomes that The Ivory planned all of this out, and I just have to wonder if he wanted me in this cage, or if he’d settle for whomever was gullible and foolish enough to be lured inside.
I sincerely hope it’s the latter, because the former is beyond infuriating. Flattering… but enraging, nonetheless. Although part of me feels like that’s exactly what this is…
He put all of this together knowing with full certainty that I’d be back, and he’d throw me into this cell. Intricately designed down to the last detail to distract from the fact that this is one hundred percent kidnapping.
I mean, come on. It’s a birdcage.