“Goddamn right,” I affirmed.
Kayla and I continued to talk about our lives since we’d been sold, and it was
surprising to find she was pretty much in the same position as I was. Though she
didn’t battle with Matt like I did Darren, she still kept up a good defiant attitude for
as long as she could take it. Eventually, she had given in to Matt, which was
understandable. I didn’t blame her for that. Even I had given in to Darren in some
aspects.
When I told her about our fight in Darren’s training room, she laughed and
clapped her hands together in obvious amusement. She was proud of me for
standing up to him the way I had, even though I lost in the end. She was excited to
know I was still training, making my body better than ever before. I didn’t tell her
about the island or how I’d gotten there, but I did let her in on the adventure in
Alaska and the wolf pack that almost ate me. She’d nearly lost her shit when I
showed her the scars.
She was beyond envious when I told her about Camaro, but she had said she was
the only pet in the house as far as Rainer was concerned. It felt good to hear from
her; it felt good to hear anything from her. Even if it wasn’t the best news, even if
she was obviously uncomfortable with the amount of talking we were engaging in, I
was just glad she was all right. I was happy to finally be interacting with another
person other than Darren, and it was a woman no less. My subconscious was
practically singing itself back to health. Genuine laughter did wonders for my
mental state.
“Do you ever think about them?” Kayla finally asked me. I knew exactly who she
was talking about but didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“I try not to,” I said. “But I’ll see them again. I’m just not sure when.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“It’s going to be okay, Kayla. One way or another, I’m going to fix this. Somehow
…”
“Don’t get yourself killed, Jaden,” she warned. “If something happens to you
…”
I scoffed. “There are other things worse than death, Kayla. Besides, don’t you
know who you’re talking to? I’m indestructible.” I gave her a smile hoping to ease
her nerves, but even she could see I was talking out of my ass. Now that I knew of
Kayla and where she was, I felt more fragile than ever. Darren had officially added a
new toy to the box that he could easily take away from me.
Some few minutes later, I felt a chill rise up my back as the door behind us
opened, and I could feel Darren’s eyes on me before I even turned around. He and
Matt were standing right behind us.
“Time to go,” Darren said.
I nodded and stood with Kayla. We gave each other a quick hug, eyes locking for
one final moment as if this could be our last moment together—and for all I knew,
it very well could be. Matt could kill her tomorrow if he wanted, and Darren could
refuse to allow me to see her again. Pain erupted in my chest as I walked away from
her to Darren’s side. His large hand pressed into the small of my back, leading me
out of the house and back to the car.
Something was off about his demeanor. He seemed tense, cold, and frankly,
pissed off. I wondered if something had gone wrong between him and Matt? When
we were on the road, my warning flags were in full mast as the little hairs on my
arm stood on edge. Darren’s knuckles were white as his gripped the steering wheel,
his jaw clenched shut, while his breathing remained slow and even. He was
definitely pissed about something but was holding it back. It was freaking me out,
and I had no idea how to dissolve the anger coming off his body like steam.
To be honest, I was pretty pissed myself. He knew all this time where Kayla was
and who she was with, and he never told me. Of course, he would feel that
information was privileged, but he had to have known how important she was to
me. I wanted to berate him for withholding her from me, but instead, I bit back my
pride and did something else that made me shake with rage.
“Thank you for letting me see Kayla,” I said softly through gritted teeth.
Darren didn’t say a word, just clutched the steering wheel tighter. Fuck,
something was up, and it was making me panic inside. Had I done something to
upset him? I was a perfect fucking angel in there, eating out of his hand like a little
fucking bird, and he thought he could be the one to be pissed
