Zephyr's Promise

12

"I don't like this." Ira huffs.

"We're almost there." Axel bargains with her.

"Meaning it is time for you to keep your mouth shut. Unless you'd rather them being duct taped." I interject. Without looking at her I can imagine her eyes narrowing at the back of my head.

I don't understand how or why Axel is soft on Ira. From the time she was informed on the plan she complained, pouted, and generally looked more ticked off than usual. It is almost as if she doesn't understand how nice our treatment has been. So far she's gotten a cushy bedroom, help taking down her husband, and a semi set of freedom. Why she felt as if she deserved more than that I will never know.

Opposite of her Nile has yet to say a single word. She didn't vocalize her fear at being in the same room as Erik during his interrogation, if she even had any. Nor did she utter a peep about being blindfolded before moving through the hallways. When tying the blindfold she didn't move an inch, or mention the inconvenience of our plan or if the knots were too tight, too loose, or even itchy. Whereas her partner in crime cried and moaned when the temperature changed from the penthouse into the elevator.

Nile's compliance should not annoy me, but it does. Her silence bugs the hell out of me when all I want to know is every thought running through her head. Did she feel comfortable at being in the same room as Erik? How did she expect this interrogation to go? Is she afraid? Excited? Both? She has me doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out her thoughts, and still I have come up with nothing.

"Remember." Axel begins at the top of the stairs leading to the basement. "When we get in here you are Atlas' prisoners. My presence will be made unaware of until the signal is given. Understand?" The two nod, though I notice a slight shake in Ira's hand. Axel notices it too and a very obvious look of concern glaze in his eyes. "I need to hear you. Your eyes are restrained, not your mouths."

"We understand." The both of them respond.

Whereas I tune out Ira's voice that has me conditioned to glare each time I hear it. I focus on Nile's, the even timber of her voice. There was no shaking in fear or confusion. Instead the opposite seemed to happen, her voice made it clear that she knew exactly what was about to happen and in some sense was completely prepared for it.

Axel opens the door to the basement. He takes Ira's hand gently and leads her down the steps. "Erik will be down in a few minutes. We need to get you two on the floor, hands tied, and me in my own hiding place." Axel mutters more to himself rather than any of us. And thank fuck for that because while he is leading Ira down the steps, my own hands clasp around Nile's waist. Her skin is smooth and soft like butter. I imagine her lathering herself in creams and oils after her showers.

Is she doing that only a few feet away from me at night?

"We're almost at the bottom." I speak directly into her ear.

Softly she mutters a low response. My hands linger even when we reach solid ground.

It is harder than it should be to let her go. Behind her blindfold I imagine her brown eyes peering at me the way they tend to.

"How long do you think this will take?" Ira interrupts my wandering thoughts.

Easily my mind strayed from the task I should be focusing on instead of Nile. The simplicity of her style, her walk, her facial expressions. Nile is a woman who did not need overcomplications, even being as simple as she is she still continues to be striking. The contradiction is confusing but nonetheless intriguing.

Any woman who can make cargo shorts and a graphic tee look seductive couldn't be anything other than fascinating. Her refined pear shape figure has me almost willing to kneel to get a look at. When she stretched her arms this morning the shirt she wore lifted exposing a belly ring. Pleasantly surprised, the fleeting thought of if she had more and where they would be passed.