dinner rolls, and sitting in the center of the table was a delicious looking already
carved monster of a turkey.
“Hi, Jaden!” Holly waved from across the room. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Wow.” I gasped as I walked over to the table. “Did you know about this?”
“Nope, not a clue,” she said. “Come on, sit down!”
I took my seat across from Holly. Even though Darren said he would be gone for
a few days, I left Darren’s seat at the head of the table open, just in case he
randomly showed up,.
Holly and I quickly loaded up our plates with just about everything and even
went back for seconds. We sipped on chilled white wine and enjoyed pumpkin pie
with vanilla ice cream for dessert. It was, without a doubt, the best dinner I had
ever had in my captivity. By the time we were done, I was so full I could barely
move. Darren would have been very happy with my appetite for once. So much was
still left, I’d hoped we could enjoy the leftovers for the next few days.
After dinner, we retired to the entertainment room and watched all the
Thanksgiving Day parades from all over the country. I loved the parades, but they
only made me think of family—the one thing I was never supposed to mention or
probably even think of ever again. In a way, Darren was right, though not for the
same reasons. I needed to forget them so I could focus on the task at hand, but no
matter how many times I’ve told myself that, the memories always seem to slip
through the cracks.
My dad had always found pride in carving the turkey when my family would get
together for holidays, even though he was terrible at it. You’d think he had cut the
damn thing with a hatchet or something. Sometimes, my brothers would hand him
one right when he was about to get started just for laughs, and then one year, he
finally indulged. Thankfully, my mom was the pro in the family when it came to
barbecuing it. God, those were the best.
Jason and I were usually always late because of his job, but we always managed
to witness my father’s hack job of the poor bird. Jason worked at a tank plant as the
man responsible for making sure the cannons went boom. Ever since he was a little
kid, he loved to blow shit up. His hands had small scars caused by burn marks from
handling fireworks and firecrackers back when he was young and dumb. He’d since
then grown into an explosives expert. I should know. Bastard blew my world up
when I met him, and now, another one had turned it to ash.
Fuck, I missed my family.
I fucking missed my best friend, too. On Black Friday, she and I would skip the
stupid crowds and curl up on my couch to drink our weight in wine and watch all
the Home Alone movies. It was another holiday tradition for us. Fuck, I missed that
bitch.
“You okay, Jaden? You’re crying,” said Holly softly, as she looked over at me, her
face washed with concern.
Shaking myself from my thoughts, I quickly wiped my face with my hands to
find my cheeks were, in fact, wet.
“Shit, sorry,” I mumbled. “I’m fine, I just … I just miss them.”
Holly rubbed my arm in an attempt to comfort me, a sad look on her face.
“I’m sorry, Jaden. I wish things were different, but we can’t change the past,
unfortunately.”
“I know.”
But I can sure as fuck change my future.
17
READY
“Maybe it’s your weight distribution. Ya know, from one foot to the next?”
I shook my head. “No, it’s more than that. I’m not raising my knees high
enough for the lift. That’s what ensures the height.”
Holly and I currently had our legs strapped around thick tree trunks while our
upper bodies ached and trembled to hold our remaining upper body weight up.
We’d been doing sit-ups earlier, and now, we were resting to see who could hold it
the longest while discussing why my butterfly kicks lacked the height they usually
did.
“I don’t know; you’re the expert. Maybe you just need more spring in your step,”
she said, her voice strained behind clenched teeth. She was sweating, but she was
doing well. My arms were casually folded in front of me as I fought to hold my
weight up. My core was burning, but I loved the pain. No pain, no gain.
A few seconds later, I heard the sound of a boat approaching and looked over to
see Darren and Scott pulling into the docks with a few of Darren’s men. It was then
that Holly gave out.
“Okay, I quit.” She gasped in pain as she clutched the tree with her arms to drop
her legs. She immediately collapsed on the ground, clutching her core. “You win.”
I held my position as I watched Darren climb off the boat and walk across the
docks, his eyes suddenly catching mine when he looked over. I could suddenly no
longer take the burn. I was low enough to the ground to bend down backward and
place my hands on the ground. Releasing my grip of the tree with my legs, I folded
backward with a kick over, landing on my feet and into a standing position.
“Show off,” Holly muttered under her breath. I smirked as I watched Darren
enter the house with Scott at his side. They were in a deep discussion over
something. I was a little surprised I hadn’t been warned of his pending arrival, but
maybe he just didn’t want me to know.
“I’ll see you later, Holly,” I called out as I took off in a jog. I needed to see
Darren. I didn’t just want to do my part and thank him for the Thanksgiving dinner;
I also wanted to tell him I was finally ready to leave the island. Holly had already
said it. I’d fully recovered, so there was no longer any need for me to be here. And
the longer I was here with her, the more she would continue to dig, and I needed to
put a stop to that.
Heading into the house, Hank and Blondie followed me while I headed straight
for Darren’s office. I knew that was the first place he’d go. Just when the door was
in sight, I felt a hand grab my arm and pulled me back into a halt.
“Whoa,” warned Hank. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I need to speak to him,” I argued as I yanked my arm from his grasp.
“We’ve received orders he is not to be disturbed. He’s very busy.”
I looked at him incredulously. “But … it’s me.”
“You are no exception. Mr. Davis will see you at dinner. It can wait until then.”
“But it’s important.”
“Sure, it is, kid. Now, let’s go,” Hank said, rolling his eyes and tugging me away
from the door.
Did he just call me kid?
Hanks escorted me down the hall and away from Darren’s office. Obviously, he
didn’t want me pacing in front of the door so I could catch Darren when he left.
Dinner was still hours away, so what the fuck was I supposed to do with my time
then?
I opted for some bag time in the gym to distract me from my agitation. After
fifteen minutes of slamming my fists into the fucking thing, Holly came in.
“There you are,” she said out of breath like she’d been running. “Where did you
go?”
“I went to talk to Darren.”
“Oh. What about?”
“I didn’t get to see him beca
use apparently, someone doesn’t want to be
disturbed even though I have important shit to discuss with him.”
“Oh? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just … I think I’m ready to leave the island,” I said almost
apologetically.
“Oh, that’s … that’s great, Jaden,” Holly replied with a weak smile.
“Yeah, well, you said it yourself. I’ve recovered.”
“Yes, and you certainly have, Jaden. It’s time we get you back to the mainland.”
I nodded silently in agreement.
“It’s just that … I’m going to miss this. Getting to work with you was an
experience I’ll never forget.”
My shoulders slumped a little. I almost wished she would forget. She was too
innocent to ever have anything to do with Darren and his blood money. Even
though she annoyed me on a daily basis, I still wanted her as far away from Darren
as humanly possible.
“I’ll miss it, too,” I said honestly as I closed the distance between us. “Just
promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
I got closer to Holly’s face in hopes I could keep my voice low enough for her to
hear, but no one else. “Just promise me that you’ll stay on your path and not
deviate again. And to never, ever accept employment from Mr. Davis ever again. I
don’t want him to fuck you over, and he has a tendency to do that sometimes.”
Holly furrowed her brows, her face washed with confused concern. “What’s that
supposed to mean?”
Fuck, I went too far. “Just trust me, okay? Darren is not the kind of guy you want
to work long term for. He can be … shady, sometimes.”
Holly regarded me for a moment before she finally nodded her head. “Okay,
Jaden. I understand.”
I released a breath of relief only to suck it back in when Scott entered the gym
with a mean look on his face.
“I need to talk to Darren,” I said quickly, but he just strolled right past me
without even a glance in my direction.
“He’s busy. And so are you.”
Scott headed over to the shelves on the other side of the room and grabbed the
focus mitts before walking back over to me.
“But it’s import—”
“Right, left, right back leg head kick, left hook, right uppercut, duck, left cross,”
he said, cutting me off.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine.”
I followed through the combination, finally fast enough and able to complete my
duck without Scott hitting me. Pride filled my heart when I saw him smirk at my
improvement.
We moved around the room, changing up the combination every now and then
while Holly watched from the sidelines in awe. Sweat dripped down the sides of my
face while my heart beat rapidly in my chest. I stayed light on my feet as I
maneuvered around the room, my arms tired from the exertion, but I kept going for
the next hour until Scott decided he was done with the focus mitts and tossed them
to the floor. I removed my gloves as well, tired of their bulk.
In a split second, he made a quick random advancement on me, which I gladly
countered. He threw a quick reverse hook kick toward my head, which I
immediately dodged, dipping low to the ground to sweep my leg over the one he
was relying on to hold him up, but he jumped up to avoid it. He didn’t make
another move as I quickly stood back up, my hands at the ready.
And then he started the real attacks. He made quick strikes to my head and
body, which I was able to block and counter with my own. For every kick and punch
he made, my feet remembered exactly how and when to move, the momentum of
my maneuvers capable of dodging his advances like the goddamn professional I
was. Adrenaline rushed through me like the drug I desperately depended on, my
strength and speed increasing with each breath I took. My reflexes were just as
sharp as I began to anticipate his moves, my eyes focused on the slightest twitch of
his body.
Scott’s fighting style and techniques were almost the exact same as Darren’s,
and I imagined it was because they trained together. Scott even held back the same
way Darren did. I could feel it in his strikes. Though I knew Scott wasn’t going to
hurt me, I didn’t give a shit about not hurting him, and when my scorpion kick
connected with his face, a smile left my mouth when I watched blood drip from the
corner of his lips. He stumbled back a bit, absolutely stunned yet … prideful.
“I’m ready to leave the island,” I stated, my shoulders square as I narrowed my
gaze on him.
He smiled, a small chuckle rolling up his throat as he wiped the blood from his
mouth with his thumb. “Finally,” he said, and then he left without another word.
I turned to the sound of Holly clapping for me as she nearly jumped up and down
with excitement. “Holy cow, Jaden! I had no idea you could fight like that! That kick
was amazing!”
I took a deep breath and slowly released it, feeling the adrenaline rush through
my veins. “God, that felt good,” I whispered aloud.
“I’ll bet! You are officially the coolest chick I have ever met!”
I scoffed. “I think you need to get out more,” I said with a laugh as I grabbed my
bottle of water and downed it.
“Thanks,” I said with a small smile, unraveling the pink wraps around my
hands. “I’m going to go clean up. I’ll see you later.”
After being escorted back to my suite, I took a long, hot shower to calm my
nerves. What if I told Darren I was ready to leave, and he decided I’d stay on the
island anyway? What if he never let me leave the island? I doubted it. Being out
here had to make things more difficult for him to manage his organization.
Returning home for good would make this easier for him, right? I just hoped Holly
would be free and clear to leave, even with all of her digging. I thought I did a pretty
good job at quashing it, and I hoped it stayed that way.
When I was done with my shower, I dolled myself up, knowing what I was likely
to do later. I chose a white strapless layered sundress and added a little curl to my
hair. I even threw on a little makeup and some perfume. In my strappy silvery-gold
sandals, I paced the room, my arms folded over my chest as I contemplated how
soon we might leave the island once I told him I was ready. I also wondered what
kind of world I’d come back to. Would things be even more strict than they already
were? Would there be new rules? Would I have to wear my cuffs again? Darren had
said he had a new curriculum for me, and I feared what it might be.
Once we left the island, I’d likely be entering a whole new world compared to the
one I ran from. And I was sure it was going to be far worse than my island treatment
considering I’d have better access to certain resources on the mainland that I didn’t
have on the island. Darren couldn’t afford to give me a single centimeter to gain an
opportunity to try to overthrow him. It was all about control with him, so I could
kiss whatever “freedoms” I’d had before goodbye.
Fuck. This was going to suck.
Eventually, I was finally escorted to the dining room w
here I waited for Darren to
arrive. My heart fluttered while I wiped my sweaty palms against my legs. I didn’t
know why I was so nervous, especially since I was sure Scott had informed Darren
what he probably already knew. After a few minutes, I notice Hank turn his head as
if he were listening to something in his earpiece.
Goddammit.
“I’m sorry, Miss Jaden. Mr. Davis will not be able to join you tonight. He is being
held up.”
I clenched my teeth in aggravation. I fucking knew this was going to happen.
“Could you at least get a message to him that I need to speak with him the
moment His Majesty is available?” I growled in irritation.
“I will let him know,” Hank said with a nod.
“Thank you.”
After finishing my dinner alone, I was escorted back to my suite where I paced
back and forth for the next several hours, waiting for Darren. I had no fucking clue
how long it would take or if I would even get to see him today.
“Miss Jaden, I don’t know when Mr. Davis will be available to see you. Perhaps,
you can find something better to do with your time besides pacing back and forth.”
“Shut up, Hank,” I said, chewing on my knuckles as I ignored him, continuing
my pacing anyway.
He scoffed and sat back in his chair, obviously more comfortable than I was.
Finally, after another hour of pacing, the door opened and in strolled Darren. My
heart skipped a beat as I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost midnight.
Darren eyed me for a moment before he addressed my guards.
“Out,” he said to them, and they immediately took their leave. Darren shut the
door behind them before turning to me. I felt oddly on display while his eyes
traveled up and down my body. I was still wearing the same dress and sandals,
makeup and hair done even though I should probably have been in bed by now.
“I understand you wanted to see me,” he said, a frown line on his face as he took
a few steps toward me.
I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders. “Yes, I did.”
He looked at me expectedly, waiting for me to go on. I blew a piece of stray hair
out of my face and continued.
“First, I wanted to thank you for Thanksgiving dinner. That was thoughtful of
you, and I’m grateful that you allowed Holly to be a part of it.”