“I will be right back,” she said with another nod and turned away to the kitchen.
I returned my gaze back out the window, aware that Romero had joined Alex at
his side, his hands folded in front of him as he watched me. A few short minutes
later, the same woman from before brought out a silver tray containing my tea and
placed it on the table in front of me.
“Your breakfast will be out shortly. Is there anything else you need?”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you,” I said nicely.
See? I can be nice sometimes … when the occasion called for it.
Pouring my tea, I stirred a few scoops of sugar in it and took a sip. It was perfect.
Not long after that, my breakfast was brought out and placed in front of me, and
my stupid, deprived mouth couldn’t help but drool. I had loved crepes ever since
my high school days in French class when we got to experience French cuisine. I
hadn’t had crepes since coming to Darren’s captivity. In fact, I never really got to
experience anything that wasn’t healthy for me except for the occasional glass of
wine. I’d hoped that maybe the holidays would give me a bit of a reprieve.
Cutting into my breakfast and taking my first bite, I couldn’t help but moan in
total satisfaction. These were fantastic. I ate my breakfast in earnest, finishing my
entire plate as well as the bowl of raspberries. I felt like I was going to burst from it
all, but it was worth it. When I was done, I piled the plates up on the tray and stood
from the table to stretch before turning to my guards.
“I’m going to explore the house. A polite distance would be appreciated,” I said
as nicely as I could. I didn’t want the giant on my heels everywhere I stepped.
“I’m sure it would,” Romero replied, “but it’s not guaranteed.”
Yeah, yeah.
I grimaced at him before turning on my heels to begin my expedition. The cabin
was a lot bigger than I thought it was. There were five bedrooms, six bathrooms,
and a finished basement, complete with a gym, sauna, and showers. There was an
entertainment room, a study, a sunroom of nothing but windows looking out over
the lake, a gigantic five-car garage, and of course, Darren’s office. The rooms were
all lavish with a woodland décor and rustic interior.
Even though the cabin wasn’t as big as Darren’s estate, there were still plenty of
guards posted throughout and staff busying themselves. No one looked at me. No
one said a word. Even here, I was invisible. Some faces I recognized; others I didn’t.
But the one face I recognized the most was the guard who dragged me out of the
house to meet Darren and that poor gardener, the same one who assisted in his
torture. But something was different about him as he walked past me, his eyes
deliberately avoiding me, just like mine were supposed to be avoiding him. With a
bald head and the only hair covering him being the dark patch on his chin, I quickly
figured it out. His fucking ears were missing.
I couldn’t help but commit a double take as my eyes locked onto the shredded
and scarred remains of his ears. What the fuck happened to them?
“Eyes elsewhere, Miss Jaden,” Romero ordered. I turned back around to face
them as we kept walking.
“What happened to his ears?” I asked quietly.
Romero and Alex gave me strange smiles, like it was funny but they weren’t sure
if they should tell me.
“Come on,” I pleaded. “It’ll be our little secret.”
Romero nodded for me to move forward. “Mr. Davis cut them off. Since Eric
can’t listen to directions, Mr. Davis felt like he didn’t need them.”
I stopped dead in my tracks, and the two of them almost ran into me.
“Fucking hell,” I whispered under my breath. Had I caused that, too?
“Mouth, Miss Jaden,” Romero reminded me sternly.
“Yeah,” I said, biting my lip in thought before turning back around to continue
my expedition.
Forcing Eric and his lack of ears from my mind, it took me a little less than an
hour to explore the entire cabin and learn the layout of each floor, all the while with
my guards no more than ten feet away from me. You’d think I’d be used to constant
shadows by now, but I still hated how limited my privacy was.
Looking out the wide window of the sunroom, I loomed over the grounds and
found myself wanting to explore the outside now. I probably needed special
permission before I could do that, though. So I turned to Romero and Alex.
“I’d like to explore the grounds outside if you don’t mind,” I said carefully.
Romero shook his head. “You’ll have to get permission from Mr. Davis first.”
I figured as much. “All right. Where is he?”
“In the gym.”
“To the gym then,” I said and immediately headed that way while Romero and
Alex exchanged looks of nervousness.
Bitches.
33
ADMISSION
W hen I opened the door to the gym, I found Darren standing in the middle of an
octagon cage, his hands covered in black wraps, and his bare upper body and
hair glistening with sweat. Scott was opposite him; the exact same appearance only
he wore a tight black muscle shirt. The two were breathing heavy, and their skin
was flush from
