away that nasty hangover.”
“Thanks,” I said and accepted the cup.
“You know you shouldn’t be drinking with the amount of medication you’re on,
sweetheart. It could cause serious complications to your health. Don’t you want to
get better?”
I sighed heavily as I took a sip of what she gave me. Fuck, it was delicious.
“I know, Ginsby. I had a momentary lack of self-control. I doubt it will happen
again.”
I was sure Darren would see to that.
“I certainly hope so,” she said nervously. “We only want what’s best for your
health, dear.”
“I know,” I said with a nod and focused on finishing my hangover cure.
Once I had showered and changed into a black cotton sundress, Hank and some
other guard I had never seen before escorted me. This one was blond and maybe a
head shorter than Darren; a little older, too. Where was Benito?
I looked up at Hank as I walked through the hall. “What happened to Benito?” I
asked.
Hank didn’t respond; he didn’t even look my way. Neither did Blondie.
Whatever.
My headache was slowly subsiding, thanks to my pain meds, but my body still
felt like shit. My jaw and stomach were sore from all the rapping and retching I did
last night. I still couldn’t believe I did all that in front of Darren. I hadn’t
anticipated him for another day, but I had obviously done a fantastic job at getting
myself totally wasted in less than thirty minutes. Otherwise, I would have probably
been terrified out of my mind. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d gotten
drunk like that, much less had a sip of hard liquor.
Oh, wait. I do remember. And the ending wasn’t very pretty for me then either.
What a sight I must have been. Had I been sober, things probably would have
ended very differently. Then again, I probably wouldn’t have snuck out at all if I had
known Darren was back. Fuck.
I wondered if Darren enjoyed my little performance. Probably not. I was sure he
was pissed with my recent behavior and the fact that I had snuck away from my
guards. If anything, I was just showing him their weak spots. He should really be
thanking me. Maybe that was what he wanted to discuss.
The patio was on the east side of the house and, of course, faced the ocean. The
roof covered the entire span of the patio area, with large dark brown pillars to
support it. The ground was an array of different orange-colored bricks laid out in a
swirl pattern while large green ferns decorated each corner. There was a long glass
table fit to sit eight people in the middle with bronze chairs all around it. Soft patio
furniture strategically scattered around here and there, and a small fireplace
centered between it all.
I sat down at Darren’s usual right while he read something on a tablet in his
hands; he ignored my entrance completely until he was finished with his business.
He was dressed casually today; a white dress shirt, buttons undone at the top,
sleeves rolled to the elbows, no tie, and khaki dress pants. His hair was stylishly
messy while that sexy light brown shadow lingered on his jaw and chin. At least
Darren had one good thing going for him—he was fantastic to look at until he
caught you looking, and then your heart stopped a little.
When he finally looked up at me, he had an uneasy smile on his face, but my
scowl remained as I sat back in my chair. Breakfast was immediately placed down
before us by the staff; scrambled eggs and slice bananas for me, an omelet for
Darren.
“So how’s the jaw now?” he asked casually, but I could hear the snide undertone
of his voice.
The nerve of this fucker. I felt the grip on my fork tighten as my mouth formed
into a tight little smirk.
“Never better,” I said with a hard glare. My jaw was still stiff and talking tired it
out quickly, but I wouldn’t give Darren the satisfaction. I could feel his eyes on me,
lingering longer than usual. They almost burned.
“Good,” Darren finally said as he started on his plate. “It seems like it must be
perfectly healed now considering how well you used it last night.” There was that
lingering smirk on his mouth I was looking for.
“I’m glad you enjoyed the show.”
“Yes, it was very entertaining, actually. I’ve never seen someone imitate
I slowly chewed my sliced banana before swallowing. “Consider yourself a lucky
witness. I wasn’t expecting you for another day.”
“So because I’m not here, that suddenly means my rules no longer apply to
you?”
I shrugged. “It just means I care less.”
“I see,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Would you care more if I told you
your actions cost Benito his life?”
“Nope,” I said automatically, taking another bite, even though my stomach
squirmed a little at his confession.
I had my suspicions about Benito. I warned him. Once again, my ability to
manipulate Darren was proving to be a productive experiment. Had I planned for
Darren to kill him? Would there have been any other result? It seemed either you
followed Darren’s rules or you died. I doubted there was an in between.
“Really?” Darren said, actually sounding fascinated.
“Really,” I said staring at him. “You obviously see those poor girls you sell as
less than human. Why shouldn’t I assume the same thing about anyone who works
for you?”
Darren considered me for a moment, a smirk forming on his lips.
“Interesting point,” he said slyly as he watched me. “Though, you should be
careful with a statement like that. I may make you regret those words one day.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I snapped, turning back to my plate, but he was still watching me,
his fingers scratching his jaw while his eyes wandered.
“It’s all just so fascinating, Jaden.”
I stopped in the middle of my cutting to read him. “What is?”
“How quickly your desensitization has grown.”
My desensitization …
“Wasn’t that one of your goals?” I said blankly, cutting into my eggs with my
fork.
“Yes, but again, you surpass my expectations.”
I looked up at him, my brows furrowed in confusion.
“I just inadvertently made you kill one of your own guards. How is that
surpassing your expectations?”
“Benito was expendable. He should have anticipated your behavior, and he
didn’t. Instead, he lost his nerve thanks to your manipulative and childish antics.
Yes, he may have dug his own grave, Jaden, but you handed him the shovel.”
I smirked.
“Happy to help,” I said with a genuine smile.
Darren actually threw his head back and laughed, that deep chuckle rolling into
my ears and making my stomach flutter.
“Oh, God … you are so perfect.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I replied, pushing my half-eaten eggs around.
“So are you less hungover to discuss more pressing topics?”
I huffed. My whole life was one big hangover now. What difference did it make?
“Not really, but you’re going to discuss them anyway,” I said. “So by all means.”
He smiled
and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. My eyes
couldn’t help but follow the tattoos down his bare arms, my eyes lingering over the
golden hawk that clutched that shield so tightly.
“Your personal trainer has been selected.”
I turned my head toward him and gave him a confused look.
“My what?” I asked.
“She starts tomorrow,” Darren said as he took another sip of his coffee. “And
you are to follow everything she says. No arguments or complaints.”
“Wait. Who is this person?” I asked, gaping at him.
“Her name is Holly. She is going to help you get back on your feet until you’re
ready to leave the island.”
I scowled at him. “I don’t need help. I just need to be left alone.”
Darren rolled his eyes, sagging his shoulders, and gave me the most irritated
look.
“Really? Are we seriously going to do this already?”
I scoffed at him. “Did you expect anything less?” I asked with a smirk. Like I’d
suddenly stop arguing with him. What a tool.
“What I expect is for you to shut up, stop arguing, and do what you’re told.”
I could have sworn I caught the sight of a few grays at his sides earlier. God
knows they’d be on my account, and I enjoyed the thought of aging him
prematurely. Maybe that was how I’d ultimately kill him. Stress him to death.
“I could ask you the same question, smartass,” Darren said with a growl.
I shrugged my shoulders. I was beyond over this.
“Just so you know, I don’t expect Holly’s first day to go very well.”
“Holly’s first day will go exactly as expected, without issue and one-hundred-
percent successful. And should anything interrupt that, there will be severe
consequences,” he snarled.
I snorted. “Like what? You’ve already killed my entire family. What more can
you do to me?”
I watched him with a glare as his shoulders squared and his jaw clenched.
Darren’s eyes darkened as we stared each other down while I waited for him to
admit the truth.
“I’m waiting,” I snarled.
“Then you’ll keep waiting,” he finally said. “Because aside from your uncle, I’ve
done nothing to them.”
I shot up from my chair, completely outraged with his obvious lie. “You fucking
liar!” I shouted at him, my jaw now flaring in pain. “What did you do to the—”
Before I had understood what was happening, Darren had risen, grabbed my
throat, and hauled me to his chest. My heart practically backflipped while my
stomach nearly jumped to my mouth as my hands gripped his thick wrist. Darren’s
grip wasn’t as tight as it usually was, but it was certainly possessive as I hid my eyes
from him.
“Look at me, Jaden,” he said with that dark, steady voice; the same voice that
advocated against arguing. My sass no longer entertained my villain.
Begrudgingly, I dragged my unwilling eyes from his chest to feel like I’d been
punched in the gut when they finally settled on those deep dark blues of his.
“What is the one thing I told I would never do?”
“There are a lot of things you said you wouldn’t do. Like letting me go, for
example,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“And that one will never change,” he said gripping me a little tighter for
emphasis. “Think back to rule six.”
My eyes wavered off to the side as I tried to remember the stupid fucking rules
he had recited for me months ago, but then it became too obvious.
“Lie,” I finally bit out.
“That’s right. So before you start accusing me of shit I didn’t do, I suggest you
calm the fuck down and check your attitude before I correct it myself.”
I glared at him a moment longer, anger seething through my veins, but he was
right; he had said he was a man of his word. So did that mean he was still planning
to kill them?
“So what have you done with them?” I asked, checking my tone before pissing
him off even more than he already was.
“Nothing,” he said seriously.
I raised my eyebrow in suspicion. “Not a thing?” I questioned, hope floating in
my chest.
“Aside from keeping track of them, no harm has come to them. Yet,” he said
with that final warning. My stomach dropped. It wasn’t over. They were back to
being leverage. But why? I was very aware of his hand still firmly wrapped around
my throat, and I didn’t want to give it cause to tighten, but I had to know.
“Why? You had them all in the palm of your hand. Especially at my funeral,” I
said, narrowing my eyes at him.
Darren’s eyes darkened as an evil smirk formed across his lips. I felt my heart
quicken.
“I attended your funeral, Jaden. It was actually quite touching; however, my
initial targets were not in attendance,” Darren said with a menacing grin.
My eyes immediately lit up. He went to my funeral…
He went to my fucking funeral…
But then it suddenly hit me.
My initial targets were not in attendance…
Did that mean?
Holy fuck! It did! They had gotten away!
I couldn’t help but smile in his stupid fucking face. Mission accomplished.
“Fucking. Win,” I sneered with a smirk.
In a fit of rage, Darren released my throat with a hard shove, causing me to
stumble back and my throat to ache, but the smile remained on my face.
“You won’t be smiling for long when I find them. And I will find them, Jaden.”
“Good luck.” I smiled, my jaw now pulsing hard with a tired pain I fought to
ignore. I had fucking won. I felt elated—light and airy—like I had finally
accomplished something Darren couldn’t prevent. I was pushing my luck with my
smug attitude. Darren still had plenty of my other family members at his disposal,
and even though my main focus was on my immediate, I didn’t want anything to
happen to the rest of my family. He might kill my family, but he would torture
Jason to death … and I’d have a front row seat to that show. I was not fucking
letting that happen.
“None needed,” he said with a scowl. “Now, sit down and shut your mouth
before I find a better use for it,” Darren said sternly, and the smile disappeared
from my face. I didn’t need to challenge him any more than I already had.
The rest of our breakfast was spent in silence, and when it was over, Darren took
a call rather than torture me further with some afternoon alone time. Instead, I was
escorted back to my suite by Hank and Blondie, where I spent the rest of my day
gazing out the window and had dinner alone. Eventually, the moon had risen,
shining above the clouds, and I wondered if Jason saw the exact same moon as I did.
Maybe it wasn’t as full wherever he was, or maybe it wasn’t as bright, but
tonight’s moon burned with the hope that he was safe with my mom and brothers
and that they were all right. I longed to be with them to the point of absolute agony.
I wanted to wrestle with my brothers and hear them laugh as I tickled the shit out
of them after a submission. I wanted to gossip with my mom about the latest
celebrity bullshit because she enjoyed
making fun of them all just as much as I did.
But most of all, I just wanted to hear Jason’s voice one last time. I wanted to feel
every inch of him against me and never let him go. To see his rough, handsome face
and those gorgeous green eyes would be enough to make my entire heart melt all
over again, but the memory of him was only making it break deeper. My heart
ached for him like he was the blood missing from my veins. That night, I fell asleep
on the window nook with a river flowing down my face.
8
HOLLY
“Jaden. Jaden, wake up.”
I groaned and burrowed further into the pillow of the reading nook.
“Jaden, come on. Time to get up,” said a happy female voice I didn’t recognize.
“Fuck off,” I grumbled, pulling the blanket tighter around my shoulders.
Whoever it was gasped. “Such language.” And then she huffed. “Come on,
Jaden. Up, up, up.” She started clapping her hands together like that was somehow
the magic code to get me to rise.
I begrudgingly turned around and glared at whoever the fuck was waking me up
to find some petite young brunette with a way-too-happy round face and big white
teeth. I rolled my eyes. My new physical therapist.
“Ugh. Holly, right?” I asked with an irritated tone.
“That’s right,” she said with a bright smile as if she were super proud of her
name. Her lean, short figure was dressed in a sunflower yellow athletic tank top,
light gray knee-length athletic leggings, running shoes, and her hair was up in a
high ponytail with a matching yellow headband. She looked like a bee, buzzing
around and annoying already.
“Okay, look, Holly,” I said with a drawn-out yawn. “I don’t know what they told
you about me, but I don’t need your help. They’re just overreacting. I’m fine. So …
you can probably just go now.”
She gave me a very confused look, but then she smiled. I wasn’t going to deter
her from her mission.
“I was told you were going to difficult, but that’s okay,” she said with a smile. “I
understand it can be hard to get back on the saddle, and it can be even harder to
admit that you’ve fallen and can’t get back up in the first place, but don’t worry,
because I promise I will get you back up there in no time!”
Okay, now, her voice was annoying me. It was high pitched and almost nasally.