Chapter 51 Weaponized
Weaponized
Irritation boiled through my veins as I left Jaden behind in Sid’s office.
Sloane gave me an odd look as I passed her without acknowledgment, her eyes flashing with what I recognized as concern.
But then she schooled herself quickly, waiting for me to get halfway down the hall before reentering Sid’s office and finding the mess of a little brat I’d left behind.
Jaden’s reaction had been a little more heated than expected, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The only surprising part was that she actually managed to stab me in the fucking leg. She’d pulled it out so fast and had it in the air before I realized what it even was.
I thought it might have been another piece from Sid’s chessboard, not caring if it hit me. But when I felt the sudden sting in my leg, I was in damn near disbelief not only at her recklessness but also her accuracy.
She’d almost hit my femoral artery, barely just a few centimeters away. I would have bled out in minutes had we not been inside the convenience of an underground hospital wing.
Thankfully, it looked like she wasn’t really aiming for anything specific when she threw it. If I knew she had actually tried to kill me, things might have ended a little differently. Either way, she wouldn’t be getting that butterfly knife back for a long time, if ever.
As I stormed back to my office, charged heat expanded in my chest, the warmth radiating in waves that warned my guards to steer far away as they passed by.
Jaden was finally pregnant. My goal had been achieved and I was going to be a father—I should be fucking elated.
But all I could think about was Jaden’s absolute hysteria.
I knew this was going to happen, knew she would be pissed that I had purposely kept my actions from her.
Her anger had been enough to actually allow her to bypass her fear of me, giving her the strength to defy me and scream that she fucking hated me instead.
So why the hell was I so bothered by it?
I’d never cared before. I usually enjoyed it most times.
It wasn’t exactly a secret that she didn’t want to bear my children, and maybe that was the problem. Did I want her to want to have my kids? Maybe. It sure as shit would make things a lot easier right now. A united front on at least one mutual goal would have been nice to experience for once.
But that was the other problem—our goals were not aligned.
Would she act like this every time I got her pregnant? Probably—especially if I continued to keep my intentions a secret. Or maybe she would eventually come to appreciate the family she helped create and would grow to love. Just like she would eventually grow to love me—even if it took decades.
In my office, I found Scott and Daniel engaged in what sounded like a heated argument, their voices cutting off the second they heard me enter. Both their heads turned, their eyes observing my obvious mood before they traveled down to the bloodstain no doubt growing on my pants.
“What the hell happened to your leg?” Daniel asked, his brow rising in surprise.
I sighed as I rounded my desk and pulled out the first-aid kit to patch up the bleeding that continued trickling down my leg.
“What were you two arguing about?”
There was an annoying pause in the air before Scott caught on to my lingering rage and finally answered.
“Daniel wants Lessner dead.”
I scoffed with a quiet laugh. “And why the hell would he want that for our long-time family accountant?”
Ripping the tear Jaden’s knife had made in my pants, I tore it open so I could get a better look at the damage she’d done.
Goddamnit, it needs fucking stitches.
“Because he’s a huge liability that we can’t afford to have right now. He knows too much,” Daniel answered. “I think it’s time we cut him loose. I’ll manage the accounts.”
I almost snorted, but hummed my acknowledgment instead, ignoring the urge to laugh at the very idea as I opened the kit to begin cleaning my wound. Daniel’s brain damage really was going to be a problem if this was how he was thinking now.
“Daniel, that man has more extensive security than the fucking Pope, and you know this. Why are you suddenly so paranoid?”
“I’m just being proactive,” he practically growled. “The less people involved in our business the better.”
I stared at him for a moment, wondering if that was the actual truth before returning to threading the needle and making the first stitch.
“Should we off all of our lawyers then too? Or maybe even our investment analysts? What about our chefs? Are they not all liabilities too?”
“Don’t be a condescending prick, Darren. I’m just looking out for our family.”
“You haven’t even stated why you think it’s even necessary,” I reminded him.
By the time I completed the second stitch, Daniel still hadn’t answered me until I raised my irritated gaze to his.
“Just a strong feeling,” he finally murmured.
I made a point not to roll my eyes.
Yeah, like I’m going to respect the intuition of a guy with a literal piece of his brain missing.
“Well, until that feeling turns into an actual fact I can verify myself, I want you to leave Ron alone. He’s looking into a potential hostile takeover of Rainer Industries for me and he’s the only one I trust to do it properly.”
Daniel gritted his teeth. “You shouldn’t be trusting anyone right now, Darren.”
“Does that include you and your judgment?” I barked, glaring at him before taping the final piece of gauze over the four stitches I had made.
Daniel’s exaggerated groan was cut off by Scott’s sudden interruption as I returned the first aid kit to its cabinet.
“Ok, enough ladies, onto the next line of drama. What did you do that made Jaden stab you just now?”
I could feel my eyes blazing with annoyance as they shot up to meet his, the flames increasing as I caught the humor lingering in his stare. Scott knew my wife too damn well—the fucker could clearly recognize her handiwork from across the damn room.
But instead of killing him for my irrational misplaced jealousy, I exhaled from the emotional exhaustion alone and revealed the “happy” news.
“I told her she was pregnant.”
Scott paused for a moment, staring at me with shock, and then immediately burst into a fit of laughter.
“And her reaction was to stab you? Fuck, that’s actually pretty hilarious.”
“Technically, she threw it at me,” I corrected.
“You mean that little purple one you got her for Christmas? I told you that was a bad idea, and you have the balls to question my judgment,” Daniel sneered with a dramatic eye-roll.
Scott continued his excessive chuckling. “Damn, she’s got a good arm if you didn’t catch it in time.”
I groaned in annoyance. “She threw it before I even realized what it was.”
“Sounds like you’re losing your touch,” Daniel commented, his eyes exuding a dark glower. “Tell me you left her in pieces for that.”
I leveled him with a glare of my own. “How I handle my wife is not your concern,” I warned him before throwing the bloodied cleaning cloths into the trash.
“Also, I really love how the two of you are more focused on the fact that she stabbed me rather than the fact that she’s pregnant… with my child.”
I could see Daniel shaking his head from the corner of my eye.
“Fine, Darren, Congratulations. It’s actually about time your wife fulfilled at least one of her duties, so it’s great to see she isn’t completely useless.
But, seriously, if Katherine tried something like that, she wouldn’t be walking for days. ”
For some reason, the word ‘useless’ stung in a way I didn’t expect. Jaden hated that word, and I could understand why.
I dropped my chin and leaned on my knuckles against my desk, narrowing my gaze at my brother. “Well, it’s a good thing you’ve already beaten your useless wife into submission so she’d never even dream of it, let alone have the skill to accomplish it,” I shot back.
“Exactly, something you should have done to Jaden a long time ago,” he replied, his voice taking on a dark note.
I snarled at his growing arrogance. “I did, asshole. Don’t you remember?
Her robotic devoted submission bored me.
And clearly Katherine’s dull mousy subservience does the same for you, otherwise you wouldn’t feel the need to force your dick down every warm hole you see.
I’m not so desperate since I happen to have a wife who actually satisfies me so that I don’t need to look elsewhere. ”
Daniel scoffed. “And look at what that satisfaction is costing you,” he argued, gesturing his hands through the air at my leg. “She disrespects you at every turn, practically tries to kill you, and you let her do it because you’re clearly so damn pussy-whipped!”
If he didn’t watch his own disrespect, he was in danger of ending up with his own stab wound as well.
“Watch it, Daniel. In case you weren’t aware,” I nearly growled, “that was the first time she’s acted out since I brought her back from the country estate. There are bound to be slip-ups from time to time. Slip-ups I enjoy punishing her for.”
“Ok, ok, drama aside, congratufuckulations, Darren, that’s awesome news, but can we please get back to the real reason we’re here?
” Scott interrupted. “I don’t have time to listen to the two of you bicker all day.
Rip each other’s throats out later. Right now, we have some serious problems on our hands. ”
“What the fuck happened now?” I snapped.
“The brothels in Vegas were attacked all at once. Everyone is dead, and the girls are all missing,” Scott replied.
I sighed as a massive headache began to pound against my temples. With my wound clean and dressed, I sat down in my chair and pinched the bridge of my nose. This was the last fucking thing I needed right now.
“Looks like Matt is finally upping his game,” I commented, closing my eyes as I rubbed my temples. “Is that all?”
Daniel scoffed. “Is that all?” he mocked. “Darren, those whores could go to the fucking cops! We need to find them.”