Fucking with me is not wise. So here’s how this is going to go. You’re going to give
me the name of the traitorous fuck who gave you the location of that warehouse,
and in return, I might only chop off one of your thieving hands.”
Edmund’s eyes went wide with fear as he slowly began to hyperventilate.
“Breathe, Edmund. All I want is a name. If it’s a full name, I might just forgive
you altogether.”
“I … I … I don’t,” he started, licking his dry lips as he attempted to think. “I
think …”
“Think carefully before you lie to me, Edmund,” I warned. “We can do this the
easy way or the hard way. It’s up to you.”
“I … I don’t r-remember,” he stuttered again.
I shook my head. “Hard way, it is.”
I nodded at Scott, who knelt down, took Edmund’s loose arm, and snapped it
behind his back in an extremely awkward and painful angle. Edmund screamed and
struggled against Scott. He was such a baby. This was nothing compared to what I
was really going to do.
“Give me a name, Edmund,” I ordered.
“He … he didn’t give me a name. He just called me from a blocked line and gave
me the info. Ah! Said one of his guys would meet me there to grab their cut. I never
saw his face.” Scott twisted his arm further when he went silent. “Ah! No names!
That’s it, I swear!”
I sighed in disappointment and shook my head. My snitch was smarter than I
was hoping.
“Okay, Edmund, I believe you. Now, listen carefully because this next part is
very important.”
He nodded quickly. Taking several deep breaths, he thought he was in the clear.
I almost started to laugh.
“In the next twenty-four hours, you’re going to return everything you stole from
my warehouse, plus the extra one hundred thousand dollars you cost me for the
inconvenience of having to come out here and deal with you myself. And as a
reminder of your newfound loyalty, your clubs will now be turning over twenty
percent of its profits to my company, effective tomorrow morning.”
The little fucker just gaped at me, too fear stricken to reply.
“Questions?” I asked, raising my brows in enthusiasm.
Wide-eyed and shivering, he shook his head.
“Good. Now, if none of which I just told you is accomplished within the specified
time, you and your little gang of toddlers will find yourselves in pieces at the
bottom of the ocean. Understand?”
He nodded.
“Say you understand.” I growled at him.
“I-I understand,” he whimpered.
I relaxed, my smirk returning to my face. We still weren’t done.
“Good. Now to seal the deal.”
Reaching down, I grabbed the little shit by his scrawny neck and dragged him
over to the gas fireplace. Scott turned it on and placed the ash shovel inside while I
pulled out my hunting knife, and pushed Edmund down to the floor. Pressing my
knee into his spine so that he remained flat on his belly, I splayed his right arm out
in front of him so he would have a good view of his hand.
“Oh, God, man, please don’t!” he cried as he struggled underneath me. “Please!
I’m sorry!”
“Remember what I said by ‘pieces’?” I sneered into his ear.
“Fuck! NO! Come on, man! Please!”
And then, one by one, I cut off each one of his fingers, his blood-curdling
screams only encouraging me as I sawed away through the fragile bones.
“Stop! Oh, fuck, please! Please! Stop!” he screamed.
Edmund writhed and cried, his body flailing under me in an attempt to get away,
but there was nowhere for him to go. When I was finished, and the only remaining
digit was his thumb, I nodded for Scott to grab the now bright orange metal shovel
from the fire. Blood pooled all over the floor while Edmund cried and shook with
fear as Scott brought the shovel over to his bleeding hand. As I held his wrist down,
Scott placed the flat part of the metal shovel against Edmund’s bleeding nubs. The
room immediately filled with Edmund’s screams as the hot metal seared into his
flesh, cauterizing the wounds. By the time Scott was done, the smell of burning
on me, and I certainly didn’t want to leave him with the option to potentially
reattach his fingers.
“Sorry, you’ll have to jack off with the left hand from now on.” I snickered into
his ear. “Now, if I ever have any more trouble from you or any of your little shit-
head friends, I’ll come back here and finish what I started.” I flicked his injured
hand for emphasis, and he howled. “Got it?”
“Yes!” he nearly screamed.
“Good,” I said enthused as I stood up. “Then we’re done here.”
Heading for the door, we left Edmund in a bloodied mess as he curled his now
mutilated hand into himself. But the moment I reached the door, I remembered
something important.
“Oh, and Edmund,” I said, turning on a smile. He looked over at me with more
fear than I thought possible. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
16
THANKFUL
I woke up feeling like total shit. After Darren had left, I twisted myself back into
the silk sheets, but the sound of his ownership kept ringing in my ears.
Even in death, you will always belong to me.
At least if he were dead, I could finally enjoy a life of celibacy.
After twisting and turning for several hours, wondering where he was and who
he was killing, I finally gave up and went for a shower. As I washed, I contemplated
the idea of escape if Darren were ever killed. I knew he lived a dangerous life, one
where death was constantly knocking at his door, but he probably had that bitch in
his pocket, too. I’d really only had a glimpse of what Darren was capable of, how
cruel he could be, and I knew eventually the rest of that veil would fall, and I’d see
the demon I knew he was. Yet I wanted to cling to the man—the one who could be
tender and caring, and the one who could make my body erupt with volcanic sexual
bliss. I’d rather deal with him than the demanding bloodthirsty crime lord any day.
Listening to him mention that his brother was about to have a baby with his wife
weirded me out. The idea of bringing a child into this life sickened me. This was no
place for something so innocent. But what was even more unsettling was the fact
that Darren was going to be an uncle. To think of him as any kind of family man felt
out of place and unrealistic. I didn’t exactly see him as the nurturing loving type,
but hey, Darren was full of surprises.
After my shower and breakfast, Holly and I went jogging on the beach in our
bare feet. The water felt nice as it splashed against my legs, keeping me cool as I
ran. I was quiet, trapped in my thoughts, while we kept a good, even pace, and even
gave Hank and Blondie some good exercise as they kept up behind us. We circled
the entire island, which I found was at least fifteen miles around. Holly and I had
run along the beach before, even took a jog with Darren a few times, but I’d never
been able to circle the entire island until now. When we headed back to the house,
we walked waist deep in the water, giving my core and thighs a nice run for their
money. By the time we made it to the front door, my feet were killing me from lack
of support. In the end, it was worth it to get to run in the water.
After a quick lunch, Holly and I went for a walk through the island, with proper
shoes this time, and I was content on trying to forget Darren’s words. It was
Thanks-fucking-giving, and that asshole had the nerve to tell me the day before
that I would never see my family again and to bring them up would mean their
deaths. Stupid motherfucker.
Today was supposed to be the day of giving thanks, of remembering everything
you had to be grateful for. Did I even have anything to be grateful for? To be
thankful for? I was alive, technically, but should I even be thankful for that? Some
lives were simply not worth living, but I couldn’t necessarily say that about my
own. At least I wasn’t a drug dependent sex slave in a Mexican brothel … yet.
Eventually, we came across the place where I remembered hiding the branch I
had used as a makeshift bo the day I accidentally hit Holly in the face so many
weeks ago. It was still right where I left it. As Holly and I walked, I nonchalantly
picked it up and started twirling it in my hands. Holly regarded me curiously as she
watched me play.
“Where did you learn to do that?” she asked me.
“BÅjutsu training,” I replied. “The only weapon I ever mastered.”
“That’s awesome. Show me!” Holly beamed, her eyes twinkling with
excitement.
I looked back at my guards who were about fifty feet behind us, wondering if
they would object. After a few seconds, I finally decided fuck it.
“Step back then,” I said, and Holly immediately obliged, giddy like a five-year-
old.
Taking my time, I warmed up with some figure eights, twirling the bo over my
arms and across my body. The motion felt good, almost as if I were stretching
muscles I had forgotten about. Once I’d warmed up, I practiced a few tricks,
spinning the bo above my head over my open palm before twirling it behind my
back, over my leg, and around my neck and torso. Every move was flawless,
calculated, and precise. I hadn’t lost my touch after all.
When I was comfortable and had a good grounding, I performed an old form I
used to compete with, winning me several first places. My movements were still
just as sharp and strong, though I lacked my usual speed from lack of training. All
my kicks and jumps and punches came out well enough to obviously impress the
shit out of Holly. When I was done and out of breath, Holly jumped up and down
like a little kid, which in turn, made me smile. It was nice to see someone happy
with me for my talents.
“Oh, my God, that was so freaking cool! You’re amazing, Jaden! Darren has no
idea how lucky he is to have you.”
“Thanks,” I said, trying to hide my smile.
“Miss Jaden,” Hank called. Holly and I both looked over at him. “Put the stick
down, please.”
I sighed in defeat. And there it was—my reminder.
“What do you mean, ‘put it down’?” Holly said, suddenly angry. “Didn’t you see
what she just did? She’s incredible!”
“That is beside the point. Mr. Davis does not want her to get hurt.”
Holly furrowed her brows in disbelief.
“Holly, it’s okay. Don’t worry about—” I tried, but she continued on, actually
cutting me off.
“Get hurt? She’s obviously very capable of handling herself.”
“We have our orders. Mind your own,” Hank said sternly. “Miss Jaden, please.”
He nodded.
Without further argument, I dropped my makeshift bo to the ground and pulled
Holly away to continue our walk. She folded her arms, a frown line immediately
forming on her forehead as she walked with me, clearly upset by our little
exchange.
After a while, Holly and I took a break and sat down, leaning our backs against
the palm trees. At least, it was a beautiful day. The sun was out in full force while an
easy breeze blew through my hair from the ocean. At moments like this, I found
myself actually able to relax and find a small moment of peace.
Hank and Blondie stood by about a hundred feet away, actually giving Holly and
me some privacy for once. Weird. Holly eyed them carefully, and I could see the
wheels turning in her head. She had been on the island just a few weeks, but she
was already starting to pick up on the strange ways of my life and this island.
“They follow you everywhere,” she said quietly as she stared at them. “Why?”
“They’re supposed to watch over me,” I replied.
“Why do you need to be watched, Jaden?”
And here comes the digging. Fuck.
“Because I’m in recovery, and Darren wants to make sure I’m always cared for.”
“Jaden, you’ve recovered. Fully.”
I shrugged, trying to blow off her concern, but my heart was beginning to pound
with unease. If Darren thought for even a second that Holly was on to him, she
wouldn’t make it off this island alive, and I would not see her end up like the
gardener.
“I know, but Darren can be overly cautious sometimes,” I said casually with a
shrug. I didn’t want to give her the idea that I was anything but unsurprised by
Darren’s behavior.
Holly folded her arms. “You and he seem to have a strange relationship,” she
stated.
I raised my brow in surprise. “That’s awfully judgmental of you.”
“Well, he’s never around to spend time with you, yet your life seems controlled
in almost every way. I mean, it’s friggin Thanksgiving, and he’s not even here to
celebrate with you.”
“It’s just a stupid holiday, Holly. He has more important things to do,” I
murmured.
“Stupid holiday?! More important things to do?!” Holly shrieked in shock.
“Jaden, this stupid holiday is about giving thanks for the things you have and to
appreciate what surrounds you. How can he not see that it’s an important day to
spend with the people he cares about the most?”
I sighed in irritation, pinching the bridge of my nose to get myself together.
Here I was, trying to defend Darren to protect Holly, and it was the stupidest
fucking argument I’ve ever had.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Holly. You’re welcome to voice your concerns to
him, but I imagine they will fall on deaf ears. He’s a very busy man.”
A flash of red fell over Holly’s face as she blew the air out of her cheeks in
frustration. It almost made me laugh.
“So he’s too busy to care about you, is that it? You’ll accept his name on your
own skin, and then sit around waiting for him like some kind of doormat?”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Careful, Holly. You wouldn’t want this doormat to
punch you in the face on purpose.”
Holly huffed and shook her head, waving off my threat. “I just don’t get it. He’s
always so stern and intense whenever I’ve seen him, and every time you come back
from finally spending time with him, you seem different.”
I furrowed my brows. That was too specific of an observa
tion from her; to know
she was paying that much attention to me made me uncomfortable.
“Different how?”
“Sad different. Defeated almost.”
Fuck.
“I mean, from the way it seems, it’s like you don’t even like him.”
Double fuck!
“And the choker around your neck that you never seem to stop fingering never
leaves your throat. Why is that, Jaden?”
I hadn’t even realized my fingers were grazing along the smooth metal around
my throat. I’d caught myself doing it once or twice, but apparently, it was a lot
more than I thought. I didn’t even know why I played with it.
I shrugged again. “It was a gift from Darren. I like wearing it.”
Liar.
“Right. How did you even meet him anyway?”
I felt my stomach drop. Shit, I never thought I was ever going to have to come up
with a bullshit story about my life with Darren. I needed to put Holly in her place
and move past this.
“Ya know what? My relationship with Darren is none of your business so stop
pushing. He’s a busy man and doesn’t always have time for me. I understand that,
so you need to be, too. You’re here to help me get back on my feet, not judge my
life. Now, can we move on, please?”
Holly sighed in defeat. “I just wished he treated you better is all. He’s a little
scary sometimes, you know.”
“Don’t worry about him. He’s mine to deal with, not you. You just focus on me.”
“Okay, Jaden. Whatever you say.”
And let’s keep it that way. For her sake.
–∞–
W hen Holly and I got back to the house, we were both instructed to clean up for
dinner. Confusion swept over our faces as Holly never had dinner with me; it
was only ever reserved for Darren. But we didn’t argue.
When I was clean and dressed, Hank and Blondie escorted me down the hall
toward the dining room, where, upon my arrival, I was wide-eyed and shocked.
Holly was sitting at the table, across from my usual seat, smiling like crazy. But it
wasn’t just her presence that had me shocked. It was what was displayed all over
the table.
Thanksgiving dinner.
There were bowls of mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad,
vegetables, and even green bean casserole, plates of several different styles of