Chapter 9
He Knew
I slept like absolute shit. The whole night, I could hear myself screaming at the top of my lungs in my head, absolute terror ripping through my body.
I woke up gasping nearly every hour, dreaming of the lie I thought I had so carefully concealed.
I should have known better. I should have fucking known.
Shifting slightly to my side, I turned my back to the man who I could only hope was still asleep next to me.
Darren was trained to be a light sleeper for a reason.
He always had one eye open on the shadows around him.
Sometimes I wished those shadows would just come and take me anyway. Maybe I’d be better off with them.
When I pulled my hand behind my pillow, the stupid diamond ring snagged against the pillowcase, making a noise that caused me to freeze.
When no movement behind me followed, I gently pulled my hand away.
My heart rattled in my chest as I twisted the cursed thing around my finger, its weight suddenly heavier than ever.
There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t think of Kayla, hoping like hell she made it out.
Wondering if she had ever found Jason. At least I knew she made it as far as Arizona and got some money for the ring.
Hopefully, she got a good price for it. Even if she didn’t find Jason, it would be enough to keep her safe and hidden for a while.
But it wouldn’t last much longer.
Darren knew. There was no way he didn’t. Not after my shitty performance of containing my shock and fear of the truth. If there was video footage of Kayla at the shop, then there would be no denying she was alive. And if Darren knew she was alive, he would hunt her down.
The question was, what would he do with her if she was found?
Would he return her to Matt to form a truce?
Would he sell her again to another buyer?
Or would he just kill her?
I took a deep breath to slow my racing heart at the thought of what might happen to Kayla. But then my heart stopped completely at the thought of what Darren would do to me if he found out I helped her. If he discovered just how much I had lied to him.
I could hear the rattling of my cage in the basement just ringing in my ears, echoing my name with a cruel, shrill laughter. My body shuddered.
No. I would not go back there. I would not.
I would strangle myself with my own fucking hair if he put me in that cage again.
I had to believe that Darren had zero evidence of my involvement and was only testing the waters yesterday by gauging my reaction to the return of my ring.
He clearly had reasonable suspicion for sure, but I prayed that was all he would ever have. If there was footage of her, my only hope would be to convince him that Kayla had to have stolen the ring from the same men I said took it from me and then made her escape.
Would he believe me? I doubted it. He knew I lied once already. My words would never hold credibility again.
I let a heavy sigh escape my lungs. I was so fucked.
When the sun began to bleed into the room from behind the cracks of the heavy curtains, I gave up trying to go back to sleep. Shifting back, I turned to look behind me and froze when I found an empty bed.
My eyes shot back up as they bounced around the dimly lit room, searching for the stealthy giant that snuck away without my noticing. I didn’t even feel the bed move.
Suspicion was heavy when I found nothing in the room, no movement, not even a whisper of air. He’d disappeared like the shadow he was. Feeling his side of the bed, I found the sheets were only slightly warm. Fuck.
Sitting back against my pillows, I rubbed my puffy eyelids with the palms of my hands. And then I felt the air shift to my right.
“Looking for someone?” Darren asked, interrupting my peace and making me jump. The involuntary movement had me wincing from the jolt in my hip, my glare evident as my tired eyes found his. I wanted to admonish him for it, but the stern look he was currently wearing made me think better of it.
He stared down at me with that hard expression, wearing only a pair of black sweatpants with his arms folded across his naked chest. I felt my stomach tighten just looking at him.
He was such a massive man, broad and muscled, tattooed and scarred, merciless and lethal. A beautiful monster that stalked my nightmares and haunted my days. God, I fucking hated him.
“I didn’t hear you get up,” I said, wincing at him.
He relaxed his arms and slowly approached my side of the bed, taking a seat at the edge, right beside my hips. His dark blue eyes held mine captive.
I feared if I looked away even for a second, I would lose track of the predator right in front of me. I was exactly where he wanted me, trapped in place, but that didn’t mean the hunt was over.
“You didn’t sleep well,” he stated, his eyes traveling down my body. It wasn’t a question. Just a factual observation.
I tried to shrug him off, quickly compartmentalizing my anxieties and keeping my voice even.
“My hip was bothering me throughout the night. Made it difficult to sleep comfortably.” It wasn’t a total lie. My hip did ache throughout the night. It just wasn’t the main reason I didn’t sleep.
Darren’s focused gaze traveled down to stop at my hips, making my skin warm under his scrutiny. I didn’t like it.
My eyes glanced at Camaro’s bed in the corner of the room, wishing she’d wake up already and cause some kind of intervention. The lazy dog couldn’t even guard me from awkward silences.
“What’s on your agenda today?” I asked with a yawn, hoping to change the subject.
“You are,” he replied, his eyes returning to mine.
“Oh?” I said, arching a brow, my arms raised mid-stretch.
“Mm-hmm,” he affirmed with a nod. “I cleared my whole day just for you.”
Joy.
I eyed him suspiciously. “I’m sure whatever you had planned is far more exciting than spending your entire day in bed with me. I’m pretty boring right now.”
He shook his head with a smirk. “Boring is the last word I would ever use to describe you. Besides, now that I have you back in our bed, I’m not feeling as inclined to leave it so soon.”
I eyed him carefully, my stomach clenching nervously at his sudden change in routine.
After our minute revelation yesterday, I wasn’t quite ready to immerse myself back into his full attentions just yet.
But I couldn’t let him believe there was anything wrong.
I had to continue proving my false innocence.
I revealed a small smile. “And just what are we supposed to do in bed all day?”
He knew damn well he couldn’t fuck me yet, so what the hell did he have planned?
He lifted a brow, a look of pure innocence flashing across his eyes. “How about a movie marathon?”
I paused, drawing back in surprise at his suggestion. “What movie series?”
He shrugged. “I’ll let you decide. Just don’t pick something I’ll consider to be a form of torture. Otherwise, I’ll have to find other ways to entertain myself,” he said, his fingertips sliding up my exposed thigh.
I pursed my lips at his warning, watching as he stepped away from the bed to head into the closet. After helping me with my morning routine, Darren emerged from the bathroom freshly showered and shaved, smelling absolutely divine.
As much as he didn’t want to see me in any clothes, wearing only his t-shirt was apparently a suitable compromise to ensure breakfast could be served without drama or bloodshed.
So when the knock came on our bedroom door, I made sure the sheets covered my entire lower body before Darren answered it with just a towel still around his waist.
Clive and Owen rolled the cart inside with a large tray on top of it, stopping at the front of the bed while Darren headed back into the bathroom.
“Aw, thanks, Betty Crocker, but aren’t you two supposed to be wearing frilly kitchen aprons or something?” I snarked as I watched them set up my bed tray and fill a plate for me.
Neither one of them said anything as Clive placed my tray over my lap and set my plate down with a glass of orange juice. I slumped in slight disappointment. They wouldn’t chide with me when Darren was nearby. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t pay me back when he was out of earshot.
“Jaden, you shouldn’t tease your bodyguards,” Darren scolded me as he walked out of the bathroom.
“If they can take a bullet for me, then they can certainly take a joke as well,” I retorted.
Owen snorted while Clive shook his head as he tried to hide his smirk.
“Besides, I still owe them for the bunny slipper prank they pulled.”
Darren’s brows furrowed. “What bunny slipper prank?”
I folded my arms as I stared Clive and Owen down as they tried to hide their smirks. “These two jokesters thought it would be funny to have me complete that last training exercise in a pair of obnoxious fuzzy white bunny slippers.”
Darren’s eyes shot over to my two bodyguards, but neither of them met his gaze.
“Is that what those were? Bunny slippers?” he questioned, his tone lighter than expected.
“Mm-hmm,” I replied. “I think a little payback is warranted.”
“Hey, you wore those slippers like a champ,” Owen chimed in, pointing at me. “Despite how ridiculous you looked, we were pretty impressed with how well you did in them.”
I scowled at him. “They were incredibly difficult to sneak around in.”
Clive folded his arms in front of his chest and stared down at me.
“No one forced you to wear them, Jaden,” he reminded me.
“Anyone else would have gone barefoot, but not you. You accepted the challenge and dominated your opposition in literal bunny slippers.” He then started to chuckle.
“It was probably the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. ”
I rolled my eyes. “I’d like to see you guys do your job in bunny slippers. We’ll see who’s laughing then.”
Darren’s eyes suddenly darkened as his mouth lifted into a sneer. “Maybe you will,” he said to me. I smiled back with devious hopefulness.
Darren then dismissed my bodyguards and fixed himself a plate, sitting beside me on the bed. I’d been given a generous portion of scrambled eggs, bacon, a stack of pancakes, and a small bowl of fruit. I wanted to roll my eyes at the ridiculous amount of food that Clive had piled onto my plate.
“So what are we watching?” Darren asked as he sipped his coffee.
I thought for a minute about what he might find enjoyable to watch that also happened to have sequels. And then an interesting one struck.
“How about The Matrix?” I suggested.
Darren shrugged as he considered it. “Sure. I’ve never seen it.”
I dropped my fork, instantly appalled.
“You’ve never seen The Matrix?” I nearly growled. “It’s like, my favorite trilogy.”
He chuckled slightly under his breath. “Well, I guess that settles it then.”
A sense of eagerness overcame me at the thought of his reaction to the films. They were action movies, after all, so he should be able to find something to like about them. At least I hoped.
Aack. Why the fuck did I care if he liked them or not? Fuck him. I should have chosen Star Wars.
Darren was surprisingly silent throughout the movie, but I could tell he was making a professional assessment, especially regarding the fight scenes and weaponry.
“Well, I can see why you’d like it,” he commented as the credits began to roll.
“Did you like it?” I asked as I pulled my head from his shoulder that I had been leaning on for his benefit.
He shrugged. “It was decent. The fight scenes are way too choreographed to be realistic, but I can appreciate the skill that went into them.”
I nodded in agreement. “I think they’re meant to be more entertaining than realistic.”
“Probably, but the number of mistakes made during production were getting a little annoying.”
I frowned at him. “What mistakes?”
He smirked. “In one scene, Trinity is holding a Beretta 92F to an agent’s head, and then it suddenly switches to a Beretta 84F when she pulls the trigger.”
I rolled my eyes. “You would notice that.”
“Also, the bomb they dropped in the elevator had mercury switches, which is a poor choice since the mercury could touch the contacts during the fall and cause a premature explosion.”
I glared at him. “You know this movie came out in 1999, right?”
He shrugged. “The premise itself is a little faulty too. Whatever energy the machines could extract from humans would likely equal the same amount of energy needed just to keep them alive. Not a very good power source.”
I scowled at him. “I think the machines had very limited options. Are you done shitting all over one of my favorite movies?” I growled.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop.” Darren chuckled, raising his palms in surrender.
“Thank you,” I said with a glare.
“But Tank also gave Trinity instructions for the wrong helicopter. It was a B-212, yet the program he downloaded was for a B-260 shown on his computer.”
I grabbed one of the smaller throw pillows and chucked it at his stupid head.