Chapter 5 Gone
GONE
* * *
The sun peeked through the window curtains, the light touching my closed eyes and rousing me from my sleep. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I could see it was just after seven in the morning.
A smaller, warm body lay next to me, her rib cage gently pressing into my forearm with each steady breath she took, soft skin beneath my fingertips.
In the quiet of the early morning, when Jaden was still asleep, everything was so calm and peaceful.
And then it all crumbles to shit the second I force myself to leave it behind for a complete one-eighty.
With everything that I do and the decisions I make, getting out of bed was always the hardest part of the day.
But with the kingdom I’d built, it was fucking worth it.
My scarred knuckles grazed against Jaden’s lower belly.
The anticipation that her body would start to swell in the next month or so brought a new kind of thrill to my blood.
It was a new feeling being the one to create life instead of always taking it.
For once, it was going to be my turn to adapt to a new situation.
And I was only too fucking eager to start.
A groan suddenly left Jaden’s mouth, her body twisting in my hold until she was straining against it.
Releasing her, she leaped from the bed and rushed toward the bathroom, the sound of her vomiting quickly following.
Morning sickness had hit her hard, disrupting her appetite and mood, but since the ultrasound two weeks ago, she’d been trying her damnedest to keep it to herself.
Pulling back the sheets, I stepped out of bed and followed her into the bathroom.
Her head was hung over the toilet bowl, her hair shielding her face as she continued to heave the contents of her stomach.
Kneeling, I gently took her wild tresses and gathered them into my fist, pulling them away from her face until she was done.
Groaning aloud, she flushed the toilet and brushed my hands from her hair so she could stand. I watched her walk over to the sink to brush her teeth, her small frame hunched over the counter with her eyes closed.
Standing, I made my way over to her just as she put the toothbrush away, taking her shoulders in my hands. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, and instead of fighting me, she turned around and pressed her head against my chest, a deep sigh escaping her lungs.
Capitalizing on the rare moment, I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and rested my hand against the back of her head. The most satisfying feeling in the world warmed my soul whenever Jaden came to me willingly, especially for comfort. And I always wanted to encourage it.
“I’m sorry you’re still feeling sick,” I murmured softly, trying not to squeeze her too tightly.
She scoffed into my arm. “No, you’re not,” she mumbled.
“Well, I’m just not sorry why.”
Bending down, I pressed my arm into the back of her knees and lifted her against my chest, allowing her head to rest on my shoulder.
I expected her to stiffen, but instead, she relaxed against me as I carried her back to the bed.
It was still too early for her to be awake, and I wanted her to get as much rest as she could.
I laid her down in the bed and pulled the sheets up to her legs. She sighed as she turned her head into the pillow, her red hair fanning out over the black silk fabric.
“I think it’s getting worse,” Jaden murmured, resting her hand under her cheek.
“It will pass,” I reminded her, brushing my hand along her bare hip.
My eyes landed on the scar that lingered near her pelvis. To think this almost wasn’t possible because of the stupidity of my own people infuriated me to this day. I released a steady breath to let the anger go so I could focus on more important things.
“Go back to sleep,” I said, drawing the covers up to her shoulders. Watching her eyes close, I leaned over and kissed her forehead, taking in the delicate scent of her hair before withdrawing completely.
Leaving my wife to rest, I headed to my gym for my usual hour workout and training session.
Once I was finished, I showered, shaved, and dressed for the day, my morning typically the most mundane part of my daily agenda.
But it was the perfect time for me to consider my next plan of attack and decide what needed to be done and how.
The investigation with the server farms was still in its infancy, but the entirety of the situation was already costing me a fortune. Legal damage control was oftentimes more expensive when you actually had to play by the rules.
Despite our efforts to contain the chaos, Triguard’s stocks were still tanking, investors were backing out, and lay-off notices were being issued this week to cut down on costs. Our projected profit margins were shrinking by the day, and the longer the investigation took, the worse it would be.
What was left of my management team at Triguard handled the authorities as best they could while the legal team coordinated interviews and responded to the mountain of subpoenas.
None of them knew the truth of course, which made it easier to steer the investigators in whatever direction I wanted them.
As suspected, the media was spreading the possibility of a domestic terrorist attack, given the method of the explosion, but since no one had yet to step forward to claim their fame, fingers were pointing in all kinds of directions. Cartels. Gangs. Anti-government regimes. The list went on.
The theories were interesting, and I was already working on my own spin to point in the direction of those still secretly loyal to General Rainer.
The story would prove chaos was the goal.
By disrupting dozens of corporations of that magnitude, the economy was threatened and could have far more devastating consequences that wouldn’t be realized until much later.
There was plenty of time to pick a particular group I wanted to be wiped off the face of the earth to pin that story on.
I just needed to make up my damn mind already.
Given the unrest slowly matriculating through the underbelly of the other organized syndicates and gangs, whoever continued to bark the loudest might find themselves the center of the wrong kind of attention from me.
Thankfully, the contents of what was lost in the attack had yet to be revealed to anyone of consequence. I was officially ruling behind a bluff now, and if word got out of it, I would have to fight for my throne until I was the only one left standing.
At 10:00 a.m., Sloane entered my office for our weekly meeting regarding Jaden’s safety, protocols, and any behavioral issues I should be aware of.
She sat in one of the chairs in front of my desk, her stern demeanor a favorable quality I admired.
I did not want Jaden to think of Sloane as her friend. She was her bodyguard. Nothing more.
“And how is my wife this morning?” I asked as I finished replying to the fifteenth email from my executives at Triguard.
“She’s just finishing her breakfast but has been unusually quiet,” she answered, her faint Russian accent still very much detectable. “She’s been very reserved lately.”
I nodded. My punishments would do that to her.
She’d usually keep her head down and her mouth shut for a few weeks, her way of getting back at me by denying me her true nature.
Jaden had two competing goals. One was to bore me and reject any meaningful interaction.
The other was to appeal to my more protective nature, appearing soft and vulnerable, like she was this morning when she leaned into my chest, making me want to coddle her instead.
Both tactics were annoyingly efficient.
“Morning sickness has been hitting her pretty hard,” I replied dryly.
Sloane shook her head. “It’s not just that. She still wishes to see Miss Katherine.”
I rolled my eyes. It had been a week since Katherine’s dramatic little scene with Daniel’s guard, and Jaden was not subtle when it came to speaking her concerns over Katherine’s well-being.
I had to remind her more than once to mind her business, the result of which was silent pouting and a cold shoulder.
“How Daniel manages his wife is not my concern,” I said. “If he wishes to keep her locked up in their suite for another month, that’s his business.”
She nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, but she still worries. It’s not good for the baby,” Sloane added. “I have been easy on her this week to compensate.”
My eyes glanced to hers, the steel gray in her gaze a sharp feature I imagined struck a chord in her adversaries. “How easy?” I asked.
Her head tilted just slightly, the question not sitting well with her. “I don’t push her much, especially on the days she feels unwell. She’ll spend the time either painting, reading, or watching movies. She’s much more…pliant on those days.”
Of course, she was. She didn’t have the energy to argue anymore.
“Has she been crying more?” I asked, wondering how much affect the pregnancy hormones were having on her emotional state.
Sloane was thoughtful for a moment as she sat silently, then shook her head. “No. Not that I’ve noticed.”
Ever since the ultrasound, I expected Jaden to regress into herself for a while, but it seemed like she was beginning to adapt to her new situation—as expected.
“Good. She should be learning to be less combative as she progresses in her pregnancy. I need you to help facilitate that.”
Sloane dipped her chin in acknowledgment. “Of course.”
“And keep track of her symptoms. I want to know if she’s trying to hide any of them.”
Jaden tended to hide when she was feeling sick or in pain, fearful that I might restrict her activities of the day if I felt it was necessary. And she was right to expect it. Because I would if I couldn’t trust her to rest on her own.
“She’s usually pretty vocal about her complaints, but I will keep a closer watch to see if she downplays them.”
“We also need to keep up on her mental—”