Chapter 10 #2
“Listen to me, you little shit,” he started, taking another step closer to me and prompting Sloane to loudly follow suit.
Daniel noticed her abrupt proximity, glancing at her with a warning in his eye before he continued.
“I won’t have you filling Katherine’s head with your vengeful nonsense because of the problems you created for yourself.
It’s your fault your stupid dog got killed last night, no one else’s, so deal with it in private and away from my wife. ”
I scowled at him, the urge to bash his skull in with a bat incredibly strong. “Is that what you think I do? Fill her head with vengeful nonsense?”
“I don’t think. I know it.”
I laughed at him. “I didn’t realize I was such a threat to you, Daniel. Thank you for the compliment. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” I said, then moved to sidestep him.
“Don’t you walk away from me, you defiant little bitch!” he growled and then struck me with the back of his fist.
Another hook, line, and sinker.
The timing of the swing was a bit of a surprise but all I felt was the whoosh of air against my face since Daniel’s strike was deflected by Sloane’s quick body slam to his side.
I capitalized on the moment anyway by crying out as I stumbled back to avoid Daniel’s fist and slipped down the stone steps behind me, purposely scraping my cheek into the railing.
“Daniel, are you out of your mind?! She’s pregnant!
” Sloane shouted as she practically threw him a good ten feet away from me before rushing to my side to help me up.
“Are you alright, Jaden?” she asked, her eyes scanning my body as I grimaced to a stand.
She gently swiped my hair away to reveal the angry scratch against my cheek that I was sure had drawn some blood.
“I’m fine, Sloane. Daniel missed,” I sneered, glaring at Daniel’s scowling face.
Several guards had now swarmed the area, an awkward stand-off ensuing as they all looked between me and Daniel, yet they knew they were expected to only follow Sloane’s orders. Darren was going to be so fucking pissed that he tried to hit me.
“Any contractions? Any pain anywhere? You’ve got a good scratch on your face.”
Pressing my palm to my stinging cheek, I pulled it back to reveal a tiny drop of blood, which would be plenty enough in Darren’s eyes.
I shook my head at Sloane’s question, trying not to smile. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”
She breathed a short sigh of relief before she turned back to Daniel with a bite of fury in her voice.
“Attempt to touch her again, and I’ll remove your hand entirely. Understand?” she warned, echoing his earlier tone.
Daniel scoffed. “Blame Darren. He refuses to teach his bitch proper respect for her superiors.”
“The only thing superior about you, Daniel, is your own arrogance. Now go bother someone else with it,” I shot back.
“That’s it! You little bit—” he stammered and then moved to lunge for me again, but Sloane was ready, grasping her gun, and immediately pointed it at his face.
“Back off, Daniel,” she warned, “or another bullet is going to pass through your skull.”
He huffed a harsh laugh. “You’re not going to kill me, Sloane.”
“You willing to test that theory?” she asked, her hand steady and her voice deadly calm.
“Are you willing to test the consequences of your theory?”
Sloane was steadfast. “Absolutely.”
Daniel chuckled as he swayed back and forth, moving like a lion waiting to pounce for the kill. “You’re so fired after this,” he said, then lunged forward.
Sloane pulled the trigger once, the gunshot cracking through the air as Daniel cried out before slumping to the ground, clutching his hand with the other.
Even with my ears ringing, I could hear the guards panicking but calling for a stand-down as reports of the source of the gunshot filtered in through their earpieces.
But, of course, there was no need for alarm. Sloane had only just blown a hole right through the palm of Daniel’s hand.
“You fucking Russian cunt!” he shouted as he stared down at his blood-soaked hand.
“I guess you were right about that theory after all,” she said before reholstering her Beretta.
Daniel struggled to stand, but when he did, his other hand sluggishly moved for his gun.
“Restrain him!” Sloane ordered, prompting the guards to jump into action, grasping his arms and pulling them back.
“Get off me! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?! Let me go! Now!” Daniel shouted at the guards as he thrashed against them.
“Take him to see Sid,” Sloane ordered. “Hopefully, he can get him to calm down.” The guards ripped Daniel away, escorting him inside the house while he continued to fight and shout.
“This isn’t over, Sloane!” Daniel called just as the doorway shut behind him.
As the rest of the guards dispersed back to their posts, it finally dawned on me what Sloane had just done.
“Holy shit, you actually blew a hole through Daniel’s hand. That was awesome,” I said.
She sighed heavily, looking just as annoyed as I usually did. “It won’t be awesome when I have to explain it to Darren later. Come on, let’s get you inside.”
But the opportunity to explain later would never happen because it chose to appear a single minute later. The second I stepped onto the first step of the main stairway of the lobby, Darren walked through the front door, looking pissed off already.
I ignored him as I beelined it for the stairs because all I could think about doing was clawing his eyes out for what he did to Camaro.
Hey!” he called after me, but I refused to acknowledge him as I took another step up the stairs.
Darren moved swiftly, grabbing my arm and hauling me away from the stairway, but my other arm was just as quick as my fist connected with his mouth. He grunted upon impact, his teeth cutting into his bottom lip and my bare knuckles.
“Get the fuck off me you bastard! Don’t fucking touch me!” I shouted as I tried to pull away from him. I didn’t even want to look at him, let alone be anywhere near him. “Let go!”
“Jaden, enough,” he warned dismissively, not a hint of sympathy in his rising voice.
Enraged, my arm struck out a second time. “Let go!” I screamed, but Darren caught my fist in his palm this time, squeezing it painfully. “Ah!”
“Knock it off!” he barked down at me, the sharpness of his voice subconsciously causing me to angrily freeze in place.
When I stopped fighting him, he righted me in his arms and his eyes suddenly lit up with rage the second he saw the mark on my face.
“What the fuck happened?” he growled at Sloane as he turned my chin so he could see the deep red scratch on my cheek. Revulsion hit me at his touch, and I refused to meet his gaze as I loudly groaned in annoyance. I wanted to beat the fuck out of him so badly, but I knew Sloane would stop me.
“Daniel tried to strike Jaden, and she lost her balance dodging him as I knocked him away,” Sloane answered calmly. “She hit her cheek against the railing as she fell. I warned him to back off, and when he didn’t, I put a bullet through his hand.”
Darren growled under his breath as his eyes turned to find mine. “He tried to attack you?” he asked me. “Why?”
I glared back at him, not wanting to utter a single word in his direction. “Because he’s a volatile piece of shit, just like y—”
Sloane coughed over my insult to regain Darren’s attention. “It wouldn’t be the first time,” she reminded him. “He didn’t think I would kill him for trying.”
She should have. Maybe then we’d be even…
Not yet, Jaden. Don’t waste the opportunity.
Darren’s eyes narrowed as a dark rage began to build behind those deep ocean blues. “Where is he now?” he asked as his gaze remained fixed on my blemished face.
“With Sid,” Sloane answered. “Likely receiving medical care for his injury. And perhaps a tranquilizer.”
A deep rumble of a groan echoed in his chest, his features slowly softening as his eyes returned to my stomach. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” he asked, his hand pressing gently against me.
“No,” I snapped, swatting his hand away.
Ignoring my rejection, his brows suddenly narrowed at the obvious detail he had clearly missed. “Why are you all wet?”
I growled in annoyance. “Because fuck you, that’s why.”
Darren rolled his eyes, exhaling in frustration before he let me go. “Get upstairs and change.”
Ripping myself away, I practically ran up the stairs to get away from him.
Sloane could fill Darren in on the rest of the details.
Right now, I needed to start planning my next phase of project vengeful nonsense.
Hopefully, Katherine had already gotten started.
But first, I needed to wash all this damn salt water off me.