“Jaden, stop it,”he demanded sternly, his hands now gripping my upper armstightly.
“No! Get the fuckoff me! Let go of me! I fucking hate you! I can’t even stand thesight of you!”
I started to cry.I couldn’t help myself. I felt so weak and pathetic as I tried tobreak free from his hold, but he was just too goddamn strong.Irritated as shit, I finally brought my foot up to kick him. Heabsorbed the kick, grunting as he did and then threw me roughly onthe floor. I crashed against the carpet and had no energy left tofight him. My anguish was absolutely exhausting. Myfacestill hurt, and my body had nothing leftto give. I just curled into myself, covering my face and ears withmy hands in a futile attempt to hide from him.
I could feel himstanding over me, could feel his rage seep from him, infecting theair around us, and it made me sick to mystomach.
“Keep behavinglike this, Jaden, and I swear to God, you won’t see the light ofday for a very long time,” he warned, his eyes gleaming down atme.
I felt my lipscurl in absolute hatred. What difference did it make? It wasn’t asif I would ever feel real light in my life ever again. I looked upat him from the floor, my fists curling at my chest, and I wantednothing more than to hurl myself at him and gouge his eyes out withmy thumbs. But something else entirely roared off mytongue.
“If you kill them,you’ll be taking away my only reason to live. If there’s nothingleft of them, you will find nothing left of me in return. Thenwe’ll see who’sreallywonthis little battle, won’t we?”
My new attempt atthreats was stone cold and serious. Why would Iwanttocontinue living if myonly reason for living wasgone?This was my personal Hell. If death wasmy only escape, then maybe that was the better way out. I wouldn’tbe able to accomplish my goal of killing Darren and bringing hiscriminal organization to the ground, butatleast,he would have tocontinue living without his obsession. He could spend the rest ofhis miserable days in want, knowing I was free of him and restingpeacefully with my loved ones. Maybe that was the only way I couldtruly get back at him, truly win.
Darren’s handscasually shifted into his pockets as he remained unfazed by mylatest threat. A little grin began to form at the corner of hislips while his eyes blazed with that intensity that made me quiverinside.
“Please,” he said,amused. “Like you’d ever allow yourself to become that weak as toend your own life. And besides,” he said, resting his arm on thetallbedpostand leaningover me, “I plan on giving you a whole new reason to live. And theyhave little feet tinier than yours.”
His arrogance wasbeyond annoying as well as disgusting. It was as if no matter whatI said, what I proposed or threatened, Darren would not budge. Itwas his way without even the option of the highway. Fuck, if I hadthat option, I’d be speeding down it so fast, I’d have the entirecounty police department on my tail.
So that was itthen. Plan A it is.
“Now, if you’llexcuse me,” he said, heading for the door, “I have some work todo.”
Panic rushed me asI realized the work he was referring to was probably locating myfamily for their execution. I threw myself forward from the floorand raced after him.
“Wait! Darren,don’t!” I shouted as I ran after him, but by the time I reached thedoor, he had just closed it without even bothering to turn aroundas the lock clickedintoplace. My entire body slammed into the door while my fistspounded into the hard oak. “Darren, please don’t do this! Don’tleave me in here!” But I could already hear him walking up thestairs.
I pounded on thedoor for what felt like hours, kicking it and throwing my body withas much force as I could muster, but it never fell. My entire bodyached along with my fists as bruises formed all over theplace.
I shoved myselffrom the door and paced back and forth in the black room, my handssweaty with anxiety as I thought long and hard about how to breakthe fuck out of this prison that was my life. How could I get amessage to my family to run?
I felt myselfbegin to hyperventilate. I needed to calm myself the fuck down if Iwas going to think clearly and figure this out. I forced myself tostop pacing and stood very still, taking long, deep breaths andexhaling them slowly. I needed to be rational; I needed tofocus.
In a roomsurrounded by sex toys of pain and torture, I found a way to drownit all out and concentrate on one singular moment. I lowered myselfdown to my knees, parted them slightly in a comfortable position,and placed my hands lightly on top of my thighs. Bowing my head, Iclosed my eyes and quieted my mind. I silenced everything around meuntil the only thing I could hear was the sound of my ownheartbeat.
I listened to itintently; the sound and strength of each beatresonatedthroughmewhile I brought myself to an absolute calm. Nothing was around mefor miles, nothing above me or below me. There was just me andnothing else.
I relaxed everymuscle in my body one by one, releasing the tension from myshoulders that reached all the way to my lower back. I took long,deep breaths, sucking them in through my nose and breathing outthrough my mouth, releasing all my stress andanguish.
I took about tenminutes of pure solid meditation before my heart rate had slowedand I felt in control of myself again. My fear was gone, replacedwith determination for a solution.
And then it allwent to shit when my stomach growled like a miserable littlebitch.
I had forgotten Ihadn’t eaten yet, and it was probably well into the afternoon. Itwasn’t like Darren to starve me, but maybe with today’s events,he’d forgotten. I stood up from my position, my stomach now tightfrom hunger pains as I walked over to the edge of the bed and satdown, facing the door. My hands gripped the edge of the mattress asI waited for Darren to enter the room. It was maybe an hour laterwhen the door finally opened.
I nearly joltedforward, ready to rush the door when I saw Scott slide half of hisbody through to glare at me in warning.
“Don’t.” Hepointed at me. “There are two more guards out here, so don’t bothertrying anything. I’m just bringing you some food since you haven’teaten all day.”
I just glared athim, my knuckles turning white as they continued to grip themattress.
“Well, make itquick before I change my mind,” I warned him, a slight hint ofbitchy sarcasm on my tongue.
He gave me a smirkand then walked in with a silver tray, quickly shutting the doorbehind him. I watched him with hard eyes as he set the tray down onthe nightstand and headed back to the door.
“Tell me,” I saidto him before he opened the door. He turned to look at me. “Are youlooking forward to helping Darren hunt down my family or are youjust following orders?”
