Chapter 45 Doomed
Doomed
The following morning, I found myself sitting silently in the dining room, attempting to eat my breakfast as quietly as possible while Darren sipped his coffee and read something on his tablet.
The air was thick with an awkward silence, but if Darren noticed, he certainly didn’t care as he remained focused on his work.
My stomach was still uneasy from the horrors I had witnessed the day before, but I knew Darren wouldn’t accept that as an excuse not to eat. So I settled for fruit and toast, hoping it would be enough.
But the sound of him clearing his throat had me stiffening in my seat, and all my attention immediately focused on his movements as he folded the case over the screen of his tablet and stood.
“When you’re finished, I want you to go see Sid about your hip. You’ve been limping since yesterday, and I want it resolved.”
I wonder why…
I kept my features neutral as my mind went back to the ache still lingering in my hip. I didn’t think I had been limping that bad and had just planned to stretch it out, but if that was what Darren wanted, then I guess I wouldn’t argue.
“Okay,” I responded plainly.
“After that, you’ll spend the day with Ella like we discussed.”
I immediately panicked inside. “Alone? Darren, I have no idea how to care for a toddler.” I mentally cursed myself for arguing, but the panic couldn’t be stopped.
“Carla will assist you.”
That was better than nothing. “Has Katherine woken up yet?” I asked.
Darren paused as he leveled me with a glare of caution. “She woke up last night. She’s fine.”
Relief surged through me at the good news. “I should go see her,” I said, scooting my chair back so I could stand.
“No,” Darren said sharply, causing me to pause in place. “You can see her later, after you’ve done what I’ve asked. Clear?”
I bit my tongue to hide my frustration. “Yes.”
“Good. I’ll see you later.” He took off down the hallway, most likely heading for his office.
“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath. Sighing, I leaned forward and placed my head in my hands, waiting for the anxiety in my stomach to settle.
Today was going to fucking suck.
With my appetite now shot, I got up from my seat, Camaro rising from her bed in the corner to follow me down to Sid’s office in the infirmary.
I slowed my pace as I neared Katherine’s room, peaking through the window to see if she really was awake.
But from what I could tell, it looked like she was sleeping.
Camaro’s claws clicked against the tile floor as we continued on past the cleaning staff, passing a few nurses who were working on a screaming soldier’s bloody leg. And then I instantly wondered where they were keeping Daniel. Shouldn’t he be in the same room as his wife?
I eventually found Sid in his office, his nose buried in a binder of records at his desk. Knocking against the doorframe, I startled him from his seat.
“Dammit, Jaden!” he accosted me, but all I could do was smirk.
“You’re extra jumpy today.”
He huffed his irritation. “Come on, let’s look at that hip,” he said, waving me in.
Stepping inside, I rounded his desk as he went to the sink to wash his hands.
“Lie down, Camaro,” I said, watching my dog find herself a spot on the floor, yawning as she did.
“Okay, let’s take a look,” Sid said as he sat back down in his chair. Lifting the side of my dress for him to see, he furrowed his brows when he noticed the speckled bruises spread over my skin. “Goddamn that man,” he whispered under his breath. “How bad is the pain?”
I shrugged. “A five or six. It just feels a little tight.”
He gently pressed his hand along my skin, feeling the bone and testing the muscle. I winced when the pressure became too much.
“You’re a little inflamed. I’m going to give you a cortisone shot for the pain. It should help bring down the inflammation.”
Opening a drawer, he pulled out a syringe and an alcohol swab. After disinfecting the area, he removed the cap and pressed the needle to my skin. “Slight pinch and a little pressure.”
I gritted my teeth at the “slight pinch” as a weird pressure began to fill in my hip joint. Withdrawing the needle, Sid disposed of it in a medical waste bin, then turned to look at me, his eyes full of scrutiny.
“You look tired. Are you tired?” he asked, raising a brow.
I shrugged. My life was exhausting. Of course, I was tired.
“Yeah, always.” Duh.
Sid swiveled in his desk chair back to the open drawer and pulled out another syringe.
“I’m gonna give you a B12 shot. Give you some energy and put some pep back into your step.”
I eyed him suspiciously but ultimately resigned over its harmlessness. “Sure, why not,” I said. I didn’t think I was deficient, but I wasn’t going to protest if it gave me back a little more energy.
After injecting the shot into my arm, he disposed of the needle and removed his gloves.
“Okay, you’re all set, Jaden.”
“Thanks. Darren told me Katherine woke up. How is she doing?” I asked.
Sid sighed before he coughed into the elbow of his jacket. “She’s in a lot of pain from the burns, but she’ll be okay. She just needs to rest.”
I nodded. “That’s good. What about Daniel?”
“So far, he’s alive and resting. I expect him to make a full recovery.”
“But you don’t know about the potential personality changes?”
Sid shrugged. “Time will tell with that one. It’ll manifest itself one way or another.”
“And Darren is aware that his brother could now be a potential liability to his criminal empire?” I asked.
Sid furrowed his brow, eyeing me with suspicion, but then nodded. “He’s well aware of the risks and challenges that may or may not lie ahead.”
I nodded in acknowledgment. “Well, that’s all good to know. I’d like to be able to visit Katherine when she’s well enough. Will you let me know when I can?”
Sid folded his lips together, tilting his chin before finally answering me. “I’ll try to.”
I gave him a small smile. “Thanks. I’ll see you later. Come on, girl,” I said and headed out of his office, my hip noticeably less tight with each step.
But dread crept into my stomach as I approached Katherine’s room, remembering that I had to entertain her daughter today.
Peeking through the window again, I hoped for some sign of movement, but she seemed to still be in the same position as before.
Sighing, I left her to rest and made my way up to the nursery, where I knew Ella was being kept.
Opening the door, I found the room bathed in sunlight, a toddler's soft coos and giggles floating from somewhere off in the corner. My eyes landed on the tiny blonde sitting on the floor, watching Sesame Street and playing with a texturized book.
Behind me, Carla was busy in the small kitchen area, preparing what must be Ella’s lunch. When she turned around, she damn near jumped out of her skin.
“Oh, Mrs. Davis!” she gasped, her hand clutching at her chest. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
I folded my arms and tried not to smirk. That was the second time in one day I’d scared the shit out of someone by being so quiet. Darren must love getting these reactions all the time.
“Sorry,” I said as I moved farther into the room.
Smoothing down her shirt, she regained her composure. “I was just preparing Ella’s lunch. Why don’t you go sit with her while I finish up?” she suggested.
“Sure,” I replied, reluctantly turning around to make my way toward Ella.
Ella stayed focused on her book even though an array of toys surrounded her, her chubby fingers gripping the fuzzy lengths on the cardboard pages. I sat down on the floor next to her and folded my legs, catching Ella’s attention.
“Hi, Ella,” I said sweetly. “Do you remember me?”
Her pretty blue eyes searched my face, like she was trying to recognize me. And then a cute little smile lit up her cheeks followed by a quiet giggle.
“Hi,” she said back shyly.
After a few seconds, she pulled herself up to stand and wobbled over to hand me her book.
“Do you want me to read it?” I asked as I gently took the book from her. She smiled and giggled, plopping down in front of me to open the pages for her to play with.
As I sat there and read, my stubborn ass didn’t want to like this just to spite Darren, but I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. Ella was cute, expressive, and so damn happy for the daughter of a criminal like Daniel. But given who her mother was, I hoped she had more of her genes than his.
I didn’t know what Darren was trying to accomplish by having me do this. He’d just had my birth control replaced, so I knew he wasn’t ready to force a child on me yet.
What was he waiting for? Did he hope this would stir up some baby fever in me and I’d end up begging him for a child? If that was the case, he was more delusional than I thought.
But I decided I would play his game. I could spend as much time with Ella as he wanted me to and it wouldn’t change a damn thing about what I wanted. And I would relish in his failure to inspire for as long as I could.
Because while I knew he wanted me to want a family with him because it would make the whole process easier, my acceptance was ultimately not required.
Given the current status of things, I wondered if I should just accept what was. I had no idea if Jason was alive, I had zero faith in Matt, and Darren had buried another enemy into the dust overnight. It could be years before another attack like that could be orchestrated.
I was sure Matt wasted a lot of resources on Daniel’s home when he failed to actually kill him. He should have been using them to get rid of Darren.
With him out of the way, Daniel would be easier to get to, and Matt wouldn’t have to worry about retaliation. Or maybe he and Jason were splitting the work to get them both at the same time. Either way, whatever the fuck they were doing, it wasn’t working.
I sighed with frustration. I was going to drive myself insane if I kept going back and forth over it. It was exhausting, and I needed to just take everything one day at a time.
“Okay, everyone,” Carla called as she hustled forward holding a small bowl and spoon in her hands. She stopped in front of the pen and nodded her head at the highchair near the table. “Would you like to feed her?” she asked me.
I blinked up at her. “Uh, sure.”
“Great, just pick her up and put her in the highchair.”
When I looked back down at Ella, she was still playing with the fuzzy cotton on the pages of the book. Reaching out, I picked her up from the floor and placed her on the side of my hip. She squirmed at first, but then giggled as her wide blue eyes focused up at me.
I found myself quickly entranced by the striking coloring of them. Dark blue rimmed her ice-blue irises, the brightness mesmerizing in its contrast.
One thing was certain as I held her. Something took root in the pit of my stomach, and the longer I held her, the faster it grew. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt, if I gave Darren a child, I was fucking doomed. Because I would die before I ever gave that child up to him.
Just like his mother did.