car accident, such as scrapes or cuts. And if that so-called “accident” was severe
enough to take the lives of three people, you’d have a hell of a lot more external
injuries than just bruises. Your injuries don’t make sense for a car accident, Jaden.
Because that’s obviously not how they happened.”
All I could do was blink; blink and pray this wasn’t happening.
He baited her. Oh, my fucking God, he baited her.
I closed my eyes as I tried to keep my breathing even, to keep the tears from
falling. I tried to conjure up some excuse, some reason for the shit that obviously
didn’t make sense, but I wasn’t that good of a liar. Holly was clearly too set in stone
in her convictions for me to have an impact anyway.
Instead, I wrapped a hand around my mouth to try to keep my chin from
trembling. Turning from Holly, I fought to reclaim my fears, knowing full well the
consequences that were about to play out. It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have
prodded her. I should have just ignored it and let it pass long enough for her to
leave the island because here I was confirming her suspicions with my broken
silence.
Why would he do this? Why would he bait her into making this kind of
discovery? He must not have trusted her from the get-go. Holly had pushed before,
asked questions that could have gotten her in trouble, and I had done a shit job at
convincing her that my life with Darren was normal, that I was happy. And now,
she was going to suffer for that. Because of me. Again.
“Jaden,” Holly urged. I had yet to answer her. I didn’t know what to say because
the only thing I wanted to tell her was to run, but that was hopeless.
I finally turned back to her, knowing my eyes were nothing but wells filling with
more despair than they could handle.
“I’m so sorry, Holly,” I whispered, unable to raise my voice. “I’m sorry that you
got dragged into this.”
“Dragged into what?” she asked angrily.
“The shit storm that is my life,” I replied, my voice defeated yet sarcastic.
“Jaden, what’s going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
I took a deep breath, hoping I might still be able to defuse the situation.
“No, Holly. Everything is going to be fine. You just need to trust me.”
“Trust you?”
“Yes, just trust me. Don’t worry about the records or what Darren said. Just
know that I’m alive and okay and that there’s no reason for you to worry. Okay?”
Holly’s brows furrowed as she regarded me like I was crazy. “You expect me to
pretend like there’s nothing wrong here? Like everything’s okay?”
I nodded with a soft smile. I knew it wouldn’t be enough, but I hoped. Good God,
I hoped.
“Have you made your arrangements to return to your residency?” I asked,
hoping someone was aware of her future plans.
Holly scowled. “I’m not scheduled to return for another month. Why?”
Fuck.
It’d be better if someone were expecting her like … tomorrow.
“What about your living arraignments? Where are you supposed to stay when we
leave?”
“I’m still paying the rent on my apartment. It hasn’t gone anywhere.”
“So no one knows that you’re supposed to come back in the next few days?”
“No, Jaden. There’s no one to tell,” she said, her tone becoming annoyed with
my questions.
I sighed, more annoyed than she was. “Do you at least have a cell phone?”
“Yes, but the signal out here isn’t very good,” she quipped.
If that were the case, there was no way Darren would be able to conduct business
on the island very well. He’d have to have a good connection to get a hold of
anyone, not to mention I’d never seen him have trouble on a call before. He must
have been transmitting something to jam up her phone’s signal. Clever,
motherfucker.
“Why are you asking me all these things?” Holly asked, her voice suddenly
shaking.
“Because I want you off the island. Tonight. You should go back to your room
and pack your things. Now.”
No point in hiding it now. Maybe there was still time.
“Yes,” I answered sadly. “He baited you, Holly, and you fell right into his trap.
Darren’s not who you think he is. He’s dangerous, and he won’t hesitate to
neutralize a threat when he sees one.”
Holly scoffed. “A threat? He thinks I’m a threat!” she shrieked.
“Shhh! Keep your voice down!” I hushed her.
Suddenly, the seriousness of the situation finally dawned on Holly, and she
began to shake while her eyes lit up with fear.
“Oh, my God, Jaden. Is he … is he going to kill me?”
Probably.
Her face washed with horror as she cringed into herself. I had to do something.
“I don’t know,” I said, trying to sound reassuring, though I totally sucked at it.
“I don’t even know if he knows what you’ve discovered. Maybe we can play it off
like you’re still clueless. You can be a little ditzy sometimes,” I said apologetically.
“Gee, thanks,” she said sarcastically.
“Just lay low, don’t do anything irrational—”
“Miss Jaden,” Hank suddenly said, halting me midsentence. I looked over at
him, suddenly worried he’d overheard us. “Mr. Davis would like to see you in his
office. Now.”
My heart suddenly stopped beating. Oh, fuck.
“D-did he say why?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“No, ma’am.” He shook his head, walking toward me and giving me a nudge
toward the house. “Now, let’s go.”
In an odd manner, Hank and Blondie flanked us while we were escorted back
into the house. I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest while I rubbed my
sweating palms against my thighs. This wasn’t good. Darren never called me into
his office.
He knew. He had to fucking know. There was no further explanation for why he
wanted me in his office, right at this very moment. Fuck.
After putting our shoes back on that we left on the grass, I felt Holly
continuously glance at me as if she needed confirmation for what I was thinking.
She was scared. She should be.
“Ms. Ketter, if you’ll follow me, please?” Blondie suddenly said once we got back
into the house, waving his hand in the opposite direction of the hallway.
All four of us stopped in the middle of the hallway, and Holly stared at me like
she wasn’t sure what to do. So I stepped in for a quick hug and whispered into her
ear.
“It’s going to be okay,” I lied. “Don’t worry.”
I let her go, and she gave me a sad smile before turning away with Blondie. I felt
my lungs get heavy as I fought back the tears that threatened to choke me. I had to
stop this. I had to be able to fix it somehow. I turned back around with Hank and
followed him to Darren’s office like I was on death row, heading for the electric
chair. I hoped that maybe he would just want a quick fuck and then be done with
me. But I so doubted it.
When we reached the double oak doors, Hank knocked and waited for
confirmation to enter. I sudden
ly wished I wore something sexier than just my light
pink skort, white tank top, and running shoes. Maybe if I were in a nice dress, I
could distract him with my body and come up with a plan for Holly.
The door opened, revealing Scott who looked down at me like he knew what I
was in for. Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit. He stepped aside, and Hank ushered me
through. Stepping outside, Scott closed the door behind me, leaving me alone in
the room with Darren. Breathing suddenly became more difficult.
Darren’s office was huge. There were a few windows here and there, allowing a
nice view of the ocean, wood paneling against the dark brown painted walls,
burgundy rugs covering wood floors, and another fireplace directly across from the
large wooden desk toward the back of the room. Black leather chairs and couches
were arranged accordingly throughout the room, along with a conference table, a
fully stocked wet bar, and several well-stacked bookshelves.
I could hear clicking on the other side of the room, suddenly realizing as I stood
awkwardly at the door that Darren was typing something at his desk. He was turned
away from me, facing three monitors while he furiously typed away on his
computer. I could feel my nerves getting the better of myself as I awkwardly looked
around, trying to focus on a black and white photo on the wall in a shit attempt to
distract myself.
“Come here, Jaden.” I finally heard him speak, drawing my attention back
toward his desk. His voice was smooth and calm, yet it did nothing to ease my
suspicion. He was still typing, his eyes centered on the screen in deep
concentration.
Trying my best to conceal the wobbliness in my steps, I tentatively made my way
over to Darren’s desk and around to his chair. I tried to sneak a peek at the contents
of his desk, finding several paper documents scattered in neat piles, some charts,
others looked like reports, contracts, and some documents containing a triangular
shield-like logo with the name Triguard at the top of the letterhead. There were no
knick-knacks or picture frames, nothing of any significance or personalization.
Everything on his desk had a specific purpose, and as my eyes lingered on the pen
basket containing a long letter opener, I wondered if any of it contained a purpose
for me.
After a short moment, Darren finally stopped typing, making a few clicks with
his mouse before swiveling in his chair around to face me. Without even so much as
a glance, he grabbed my hips and pulled me onto his lap. I gasped in surprise, my
heart fluttering wildly, but didn’t fight him. Swiveling back around, Darren clicked
on his screen a few times, bringing up a new window.
“I want to show you something,” he said casually and then kissed the side of my
temple.
When the window finally loaded, I realized it was a video clip, more specifically a
clip from his security cameras. Darren clicked the play button and secured his arms
around my body, loosely caging me against him. He seemed relaxed as the video
began to play, but as soon as I was able to focus on the video, I became anything
but.
It was of Holly and me, running on the beach before stopping right in front of
the palm trees … where a camera had obviously been hidden. And then the camera
zoomed in, increasing the volume.
“So I did a little digging and went through your medical records, which
happened to be very easy for me to access, by the way.”
I instantly tensed. He’d heard the entire conversation. Every. Fucking. Word.
Unable to stop myself, I jerked against him, wanting to break his hold and delete
the clip, but that wasn’t possible. Tightening his hold, Darren’s grip on me abruptly
increased, pulling me back to him, and I couldn’t hide the shock in my breath. And
then I felt his lips against my ear.
“When are you going to learn I have eyes and ears everywhere,” he drawled.
Son of a bitch. He did have them everywhere, probably all over the island. In the
house, I knew for sure, but in the damn trees?
“Please don’t hurt her,” I nearly pleaded, unable to take my eyes off the screen.
“She brought this on herself,” he countered coldly.
“You baited her.”
“Yes, I did. To see if she would dig, and she very clearly did.”
“That’s not fair,” I said through gritted teeth. “She’s only ever tried to help
me.”
“I never said I was fair. I told you what would happen if Holly didn’t mind her
own business. You did a piss-poor job at convincing her you were happy with me,
which only served to increase her suspicions.”
“I did everything I could,” I croaked, fighting back my tears as my chest filled
with emotional agony.
“I’m sorry that it wasn’t enough,” Darren said, almost sounding regrettable.
I turned in his lap, suddenly desperate to change his mind. I wouldn’t be
responsible for another innocent person’s life. Not again.
“Please, Darren,” I begged, my eyes wide as they searched his, hoping to swim
past his icy barrier. “Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything. You don’t have to kill
her. We can—”
Before I got a chance to finish my groveling, Darren’s lips assaulted mine,
crushing me to him with a powerful kiss. Locked in his embrace, I pressed my lips
into his, giving him exactly what he wanted, hoping to placate him before he
violently tore himself away. Grabbing my hips, he shoved me off him while he
instantly stood, groaning in irritation as I hit the floor.
“What’s done is done, Jaden. You failed to keep her blissfully in the dark, and
now, I have to take care of it. Again.” His voice was cold and harsh as he walked
past me without even a glance in my direction. He was going to go kill her. I
couldn’t let him. I had to do something. Anything.
Before I could even register what I was doing, I launched from the floor and
leaped onto Darren’s back, my legs swinging around to clench his waist while my
arms slung around his neck for a rear-naked choke.
“You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” I screamed as I pulled with my all my might,
trying my hardest to plant my feet between his thighs to dig my hooks in for the
choke.
Grunting, Darren stopped mid-stride, reached up to grip my arms, and began to
pull them away from his neck. I held on as tight as I could, pushing out my hips to
extend my body to increase the strength of the choke, but it did nothing against
Darren’s strength. Inch by inch, my arms finally gave way and allowed Darren to
pull me off him completely. I wasn’t giving up, though. The moment he had my
arms locked in his hands, I released my legs around his hips, and kicked my feet
into the back of his knees, causing him to bend down in hopes of getting him to the
floor, but Darren was already ready.
The moment his knees buckled, he had already pulled me around his body and
nearly threw me off him to the floor. I rolled against the hardwood and stood up
quickly, my body now blocking the doorway thanks to where he tossed me.
“Get out of my way, Jaden. You should know better than this by now,” he
growled, those cold eyes narr
owing on me. I felt a shiver roll up my spine from the
look he was giving me right now; the look that told me I would regret my decisions
if I didn’t heed the warning in his eyes. I was so scared of him, so scared of what he
could do to me, but the terror of what he would do, what he was about to do to
Holly, outweighed it all. I’d suffer for it later, but I would suffer more if I stood by
and did nothing.
“I’m not going to let you hurt her.” My voice lacked its usual conviction, but I
would still fight him for as long as I could.
“Not your decision. Now, move.”
“No!” I shouted angrily, my eyes faltering to the floor. I didn’t want to look at
him, afraid I’d lose too much of my nerve. I could see Darren shake his head,
disappointed as usual.
“Have it your way then,” he said and charged forward.
My heart skipping a beat in a panic, I grabbed the first thing I could reach, which
happened to be a big blue ceramic vase and hurled it at him. Without missing a
step, he blocked it, causing the vase to crash to the floor, shattering everywhere. I
felt my body immediately ready for a fight, my knees bending slightly, while the
heel of my back foot lifted for optimal movement. My open palms quickly raised to
protect myself while my upper body shifted defensively.
On a single blink, Darren’s hand quickly reached out for my throat, but I blocked
it, turning my body and wrapping my hand around his wrist in an attempt for joint
manipulation. His wrist in my hold, I kicked up, hoping to land one on his face, but
he blocked it with his other hand, shoving my leg back down with such force, I was
sure it would leave a bruise.
Jerking his wrist from my hold, he made another move for my neck, but I
blocked, countering with a strike at his face, which he, in turn, blocked as well.
Adrenaline coursing through my veins, I exchanged a few more strikes and blocks
with him before I quickly became winded and Darren’s grip at my throat was finally
a success. Shoving me back against the door, his fingers tightened around my neck
while my hands struggled against his wrist.
“You’ve gotten slow,” he drawled, his breath even and his demeanor calm as his
face closed in on mine.
“No thanks to you,” I said through gritted teeth. His grip was tight; it was not
tight enough to inhibit my oxygen supply, but the threat was still there.