HOUSE OF FORBIDDEN DESIRE
I left cash on the table, didn’t wait for change.
The alley smelled like spilled beer and fried dough even at midday. The Blue Parrot’s door was propped open with a brick. Inside, it was cooler, darker with wood panelling, low lights, and slow reggae playing from hidden speakers. A handful of people at the bar. No one looked up.
Alex sat in the far back booth in a black T-shirt, baseball cap pulled low, shoulders hunched like he was trying to disappear into the vinyl seat. When he saw me, he straightened, eyes tracking every step I took.