looked like one bullet into the gun and held it up. A silencer was attached to the
barrel.
“There is now one bullet in the mag. I’m giving you one chance to pull this
trigger and put the bullet in Jared’s head. But I want you to understand that I’m not
forcing you to do this. You can refuse if you want, and I will allow it this one time.
But just know, if you take this gun and you do pull the trigger and end his life, you
start walking down an entirely new path, and there is no walking away from that.
Ever. Do you understand?”
I was suddenly having a hard time finding my breath. I looked down at the black
H&K USP 45 Tactical, and it dawned on me that I actually knew what kind of gun
Darren was holding. I knew of its excellent accuracy, the perfection of the
craftsmanship, and the fantastic reliability it garnered. I also knew it was a .45-
caliber pistol with a threaded barrel to allow the grip of the silencer.
I had never been shy around guns. I grew up around them. My dad hunted and
was an avid shooter and proud gun owner. I followed in his footsteps. When you
obtained a license to carry concealed, you had a responsibility to educate yourself
on that type of weaponry, and I made sure I was a fucking scholar in that area.
I was never afraid of guns. They were nothing to be feared. The only reason to be
afraid was when someone had their finger on the trigger and was pointing it at you.
But the presence and existence of this particular firearm wasn't what had me
alarmed; it was what the man holding it was offering me to do with it.
Darren was offering me a chance to kill someone, and not just anyone—the man
responsible for my life as it was now. The man responsible for taking me from my
family for not being able to handle rejection and placing me in a hell I never wanted
to acknowledge was real. The man responsible for not only my suffering, but also
for my loved ones’ and for countless others I didn’t even know of. The man
responsible for raping Kayla in front of my very eyes with a smile of satisfaction on
his face as she screamed. A man who had taken part in delivering so much misery
to others that I doubted one death for him would be satisfactory.
But even though he was Darren’s traitor, and traitors didn’t survive in Darren’s
world, I found it odd. Even though this man was responsible for my coming into
Darren’s ownership, he still wanted him dead. If I was to be given the opportunity
to kill him, I needed to know why I was the offeree.
“You want me to kill the man responsible for bringing me to you?” I asked. I had
to be sure this was what he wanted.
“How you came to me makes no difference. You’re mine now, and that’s all that
matters,” he answered definitely.
I looked down at the semi-automatic in his hand and went into consideration
again.
“What if I say no?”
“Then you say no, and you go back into the house and ready yourself for bed. You
will not be punished, nor will I treat you any differently. Nothing will change.”
That was it. Like it made no difference to him if I said no. Life would resume as
is.
“And if I say yes?” I asked.
“Then you say yes, and we move on to a new phase in our lives. But only if you
think you’re ready.”
Two decisions. But which one would make him happy? Which one would please
him the most?
“What do you want me to do?” I asked, hopeful he would tell me exactly what he
wanted and expected.
Darren glared at me, his tone harsh and unapologetic. “I want you to make a
fucking choice. Make a decision for yourself. You decide, Jaden, not me. Kill him or
don’t. It makes no difference to me. Jared will die either way. I just thought I’d offer
you the right of first refusal.”
My eyes went back to the gun he held in his hand. What do I do? I didn’t want to
question his motives any further. I needed to make this decision on my own, and
the thought had me conflicted as fuck.
And then the sound of gurgled laughter filled my ears again.
“Come on, Darren. You’re really going to let the little pumpkin kill me?” He
chuckled, blood coating his yellow teeth. “Surely, you can do better than that.”
My eyes turned to him, lit with instant rage at his words. How. Fucking. Dare.
He.
Soft chuckles and smiles from the men around us surrounded me, and I felt
myself coming undone, the stitches that held my restraint together slowly ripping
apart from the seams. I wanted to lash out, to fight, to maim, to full on fucking rage
until I was exhausted and satisfied, and as my body shook with fury, it became
harder and harder
