Prisoner of Your Love

Adele sat in silence as she stared at the three of them, seemingly towering over her with looks of hatred and wickedness. She needed to get out of here and it needed to be fast, that much she knew. But the question was how was she going to be able to pull such a move off. Why do the guards here give these evil criminals so much freedom? Adele wondered.

Shadows cracked his knuckles as he sat down next to her on one of the foldable chairs.

“How about a little television?” he asked, pulling her chair across the floor, creating a loud screeching noise.

He reached over before she could scoot away and pulled her stumbling down onto his lap. If she hadn’t felt uncomfortable before, boy was Adele feeling it now. She shifted every couple of seconds, each time probably because his erection was poking her in some way.

“Baby, why don’t you just sit still,” he commanded in a sugar-coated tone, pushing down roughly on her shoulders, allowing his hand to “slip” onto her chest every now and then.

“Gates, pass the remote.”

~*~

Mindy stared at the new diamond bracelet that adorned her frail wrist. It was funny. Her physical form alone could never possibly be capable of committing murder. That’s what mental capacity and sharp instruments were for.

Things have been different around the office, to say the least, what with the two biggest names in the industry missing – CJ in the grave and Adele in the slammer. Mindy grinned as she glanced up at the man approaching her table. He held a strange resemblance of her former boss, only this man wasn’t the one paying her bills.

“How did the interview go?” he asked as he placed his Starbucks cup on the table before sliding into the booth.

She shrugged, examining her chipped fingernail. “It was fine, perfectly executed, if I say so myself.”

“Yeah, well, just keep in mind…what you think is fine and what we need to keep this going may be two different things,” he mumbled.

She groaned as her eyes rolled up to look at the caramel colored ceiling. “You should be happy. I don’t see why you always have to be a Debbie Downer.”

He chose not to respond as he sipped his scalding hot latte. Sure, things were going according to plan for now, but that’s always how these kinds of things went…until something goes wrong, a simple error that could cost a lifetime.

He really didn’t see how Mindy couldn’t understand where he was coming from. Then again, it was Mindy he was dealing with. It’s the least he should expect.

~*~

Static crackled every minute or so as Shadows clicked through all ten of the prison’s extensive cable networks. Adele felt her fingers curl tightly into a fist of aggravation. “Boring. Lame. Generic. Fucking stupid. Too predictable. Nowhere near scary. Ugh, there is nothing on except the god damn news!” Shadows narrated his journeys through TV land.

“Then keep it on the news. Maybe your small brain will be able to learn something,” Adele muttered.

“Yes your majesty,” Shadows whispered in her ear, running his tongue along her cartilage before chomping down on her ear lobe, causing Adele to gasp in shock/sudden pain. Oli and Gates snickered on the opposite side of her and Shadows, enjoying the entertainment.

Adele pulled her head away from Shadows, refusing to be as close away from him as he would allow. Unfortunately, he wanted just the opposite. He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her back so that she was leaning on his chest. Despite her attempts to wiggle free of his grasp, Adele realized that she was going to be stuck in this position whether she liked it or not.

A story had just finished up regarding a series of stolen cars and the fact that the police were having a very difficult time trying to find the culprit(s) responsible. As Adele listened to the reporter give the details, she wondered what the chances are that the people who took those cars knew Shadows or Gates. The probability was probably quite high.

“And now moving onto a recap of a scandalous murder in Hollywood. Just last week, CJ Morris was found dead in his office. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was an intake of a poisonous substance found in his coffee thermos. Forensics detectives worked hard to determine who the killer was. Much to everyone’s surprise, they didn’t take much time at all,” a female reporter announced in a stern voice, staring into the camera lens.

“Obviously whoever the killer was...he wasn’t talented,” Oli laughed.

“But he was pretty sneaky,” Gates added.

The story continued, showing older snap shots of CJ when he first came to the office. “It’s a tremendous tragedy to lose such a talented man!” Mindy wept on the screen. Adele immediately perked up in her position against the Shadows-chair. Since when did Mindy ever think CJ was talented?

Adele recalled all the times her and Mindy would make fun of CJ during their nights at the bar, always striving to protect their impressions of him. Now she’s mourning his death? Adele would’ve thought that Mindy would’ve been ecstatic. “Adele, you’re so lucky,” Mindy once said.

“And why’s that?”

“You get to work for yourself! You’re not a slave for someone,” she groaned.

Adele laughed, “Hate to break it to you, Mindy, but that is slightly the description of a secretary.”

“I’m supposed to look attractive outside his office so that potential clients will be even remotely interested. After all, something has to make up for his lack of talent!”

Something about this newsreel was really bothering Adele, namely Mindy’s dramatic interview. Either she was playing both sides of the fence, or she would simply benefit from supporting him in some way. The story, seeming endless at this point, was about to draw to a close as the news anchor returned her stare to the camera, bracing the audience for the revelation of the murderer, in case anyone didn’t already know.

“Much to everyone’s horror, the person responsible for this death was none other than the very respected, gifted, and beautiful Miss Adele Luis.”

Oli, Gates, and Shadows – each of which had been literally on the edges of their seats to hear the answer – seemed to be frozen in that same position, even after hearing the conclusion to the story. Shadows was the first one to finally fall back to reality. He stood up, lifting Adele off of his lap and turning her to face him. He was grinning down at her like a proud father who had just witnessed his son’s first goal in a soccer game.

And for the first time, Adele didn’t feel fear when she saw this man smile. No, this time all he was doing was majorly creeping her out. “Why are you smiling at me?” she demanded.

She glanced over her shoulder to see that Gates had a similar expression. Hell, even Oli had a fragment of a smile on his face.

“You’re even better than we ever imagined, baby,” Shadows said. All three of them crowded around Adele almost excitedly.

“Why did you do it?” Gates asked curiously.

“Even though I’m surprise you even tried, obviously you’re not experienced with the sport just yet,” Oli observed.

“W-what are you all talking about?” she asked, honestly confused.

Oli rolled his eyes, “Clearly, the fact that someone like you could try and attempt something like murder.”

Now Adele was finally able to connect the dots. “I didn’t commit that murder, though,” she defended.

“It’s ok,” Gates said, walking over to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “we’re always in denial for a little while after committing our first major crimes.”

She pulled out of the sideways hug and turned so that she was facing the three of them all at once. “No, I really mean it. I didn’t kill CJ,” she protested.

“Baby, you’re already in prison. You don’t need to pretend to be innocent anymore,” Shadows laughed…kindly.

Adele felt her mind throb in confusion. She didn’t like the fact that they thought of her as a cold-blooded murderer, but at the same time, she noticed a considerably beneficial change in their behaviors. Shadows wasn’t holding her down anymore, Gates wasn’t looking at her with lust in his eyes, and Oli wasn’t scowling in the dark corners of the room. Maybe, just maybe if she kept this little act up…maybe she wouldn’t have to fear being around these men. Maybe…she could use them to her advantage somehow.

Adele glanced up to see that they still held excited, approving expressions. She drew in a deep breath, already feeling the distaste on her tongue as the words slipped out of her mouth. “I guess you’re right,” she sighed, “I’m in such a habit of trying to avoid ending up here that it’s hard for me to admit doing it with…pride.”

The guys cheered and offered to show her a special location that only Shadows had the password to. It was a magical place, or so they said, where guards and prisoners alike shared alcohol during Saturday nights. It was a tight group, never really welcoming newcomers. Shadows was apparently one of the top dogs in the group, so he assured Oli and Adele that they would get in.

Honestly, Adele wasn’t sure how to react…they were treating her like one of the guys, not one of the only females in the building of sex-deprived males. The only problem was…Adele tended to get a little frisky and out of hand when she had the right amount of alcohol.