Chapter 13 Brick by Brick #2
“What makes you think they would be?” he asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.
I furrowed my brows in confusion.
How could they not be?
“By association?” I exclaimed like it was obvious. “That’s all it takes. Your world is cruel and violent. I don’t want them getting sucked into it.”
Darren hummed in acknowledgment. “We can cross that bridge when we get there.”
Not if I destroy that bridge first.
I groaned internally, suddenly feeling drained. The man was exhausting, and I didn’t want to waste any more energy sparring with him. No matter how much he enjoyed it.
We continued to walk through the water until we made it back to the dock, my therapy ending for the day. As much as I wanted to stay, I didn’t push or complain when Darren lifted me in a beach towel and carried me back into the house.
A few days before, I managed to convince him to put a lounge chair out on the balcony so I could get more fresh air and sunshine. Instead, I got a round daybed with a canopy that fit neatly in the corner of the balcony.
Now that I was walking in water, Sid encouraged me to use my crutches instead of the wheelchair if it was for shorter distances.
I could tell Darren didn’t like it because I was still a fall risk, but if Sid said I could do it, he wouldn’t object.
My bones had healed, so I wasn’t that fragile anymore.
So after rinsing off the salt water and changing into a comfy maxi dress, I set my crutches against the brick wall of the house and laid out on my new daybed with Camaro next to me, pretending to read a book.
After everything Darren had told me this morning, I couldn’t focus on anything else. He wasn’t exaggerating when he said this place was a fortress. And that complicated things. A lot.
If Kayla did make it out, I had no idea what she did next.
If she ran away with the money from my ring and created a new life for herself, which would probably be the smartest decision.
I couldn’t blame her if she wanted to leave all of this bullshit behind and never look back.
Especially after tasting all her newfound freedom.
But on the small off chance she did look for Jason, if she was even able to find him, then I hoped she had managed to get him that cloaking device. She could provide him with plenty of valuable information and then disappear forever. There was no need for her to stick around if she didn’t want to.
If she did all of that, then there might still be a future for me, one I could actually live with.
But if she decided to stay and assist beyond her recollections, then she and Jason would spend the next several months likely planning a suicide mission.
Or…shit…for all I knew, the two of them could fall in love and just completely forget about me. Now wouldn’t that be a plot twist?
Either way, if they wanted to attack Darren, then they sure as shit couldn’t do it here. This meant the only way I was ever leaving this property was if Darren let me, and in my current predicament, that wasn’t happening anytime soon.
But if there was ever a chance of sabotaging the system, then I needed to learn that system as best I could. I needed to learn exactly how the bombs were triggered, where they were located, and if I could disable them and the defense missiles.
God, that would fucking take forever…
The thought alone was exhausting. But if I was being honest with myself, none of it was possible until I got my ass up and walking again. I needed to focus on that first. I wasn’t any good to anyone in this condition.
I still cannot believe I got shot during a fucking training exercise.
But at least it came with a silver lining and halted Darren’s family planning in its tracks for at least another six months.
Speaking of family…
I didn’t want to consider the other issue of Darren still hunting down my family. I knew the only reason he was still doing it was because of Jason. It wasn’t just a matter of control anymore. It was about pride and ego.
Jason had thwarted his efforts for so long, I doubted anyone could compare. It was another challenge Darren would obsess over until he conquered it. He wouldn’t stop until they were found.
While I knew exactly what he would do to Jason if he ever did find them—the thought sent shivers down my spine—but what the hell would he do with my mom and brothers? Bring them here to live with us? Put them up in some other compound? Make them work for him?
The fact that he didn’t even know was unsettling. It felt like they’d be another inconvenient family he wouldn’t want to be bothered with. But if they could be useful to him somehow, then they would serve a purpose. And what he would use them for could only spell disaster for me.
He was lying to himself if he thought he wouldn’t use them as leverage. He wouldn’t be able to help it. Fuck, he could even use me as leverage against them. What the fuck would that look like?
And what would he do when my brothers came of age? It’s not like he would just let them go off into the world so they could pursue their lifelong dream of zoo-keeping or whatever the fuck they wanted to do with their lives.
He’d probably decide for them, place them in an environment he could control while still putting them to good use. The thought alone infuriated me. Stealing my future was one thing, but stealing theirs was a crime I was not willing to stand by and witness.
I would not watch them come home in body bags because they were caught in the crossfire for simply existing in Darren’s world. I couldn’t let my mom live with that as their potential future.
And what about my mom? What the hell could Darren possibly do with her?
What purpose would she serve? I couldn’t think of anything.
She’d probably end up wasting away in the shadows, forced to watch the lives of her children deteriorate little by little until the day she joined my dad in the afterlife.
Fuck, I was going to make myself sick if I kept thinking about it. The what-ifs haunted me, and Camaro was starting to sense it as she whined beside me and rubbed her face into my lap.
I ran my hand through her fur, playing with her ears as I tried to calm the knots forming in my stomach. If Darren found them, any hope of escaping this life would be over, and I would never think of it again. Because I wouldn’t be able to leave them behind.
Which was why my only hope was to dismantle this world from within while I still could.
The walls were already starting to crumble, the solid foundation Darren had so carefully crafted was slowly breaking down, and that leaky roof was so close to collapsing I could almost feel the sunlight behind it.
I had successfully separated Darren from two of his greatest allies.
His youngest brother and his closest friend.
He now had a war in each hand to juggle, and from what I remember, wars were hella expensive.
But it wasn’t enough yet. He needed to lose territory.
Miss gainful opportunities. Exhaust his resources. And alienate his remaining allies.
One little brick at a time.
I didn’t care how heavy the sledgehammer was. I’d keep swinging it, even if all I got was a bit of red dust in my face. At least I still had the strength and the stubbornness to keep swinging.
I just hoped the day never came when I didn’t…