And the truth fucking hurt. I felt the world close in on me, felt the weight of the
tears that promised to fall if I didn’t shape the fuck up. Darren knew where they all
were, and he would kill them for my compliance.
“I know,” I said blankly. “But I doubt you’d give up your brothers just as easily.”
I was bold enough to stare up at him after that statement.
Darren wrapped his hands around my face, pulling me toward him and keeping
me in place. That intense stare of his pierced through me, sending wave after wave
of ice up my spine.
“You are not me,” he said with a disapproving tone. “Stop trying to compare in
hopes I will sympathize. I won’t. You are never to bring them up again without my
prompt. Do so, and I will gladly have one eliminated every day until you understand
that the only family you have now is me.”
My breath caught in my throat as the tears pooled in my eyes. “You say the
sweetest things,” I replied, my voice raspy and broken.
“Don’t I always,” he answered and lowered his face to mine.
Suddenly, I forgot about my need to breathe. His lips melted onto my mine, soft
yet domineering as ever. But as the kiss took form, it was just the push my tears
needed to go right over the edge. They fell down my face, trickling through
Darren’s fingers and wetting my skin. I felt my blood rush as Darren’s lips forced
my mouth open wider, allowing his tongue to enter and conquer. By the time he
was finished, I was hot all over and angry as hell.
That night, Darren fucked me mercilessly for hours, reminding me that I was his
by biting into the tattoos of his name on my wrists so I would feel them later. But I
made sure to bite back. I left teeth marks on his shoulder, scratch marks down his
back, and even a few tiny bruises on his forearms from my grip. I hate fucked him
so hard; even I’d be feeling it for days.
When I woke up again, it was still dark, but the light of a small lamp allowed me
to find Darren packing a bag at his dresser. His broad, jacket-covered back faced
me, but I still managed to see that he wasn’t just packing the bag with clothes, he
was packing guns—lots of guns. I laid there on my stomach under the soft sheets,
my arms stretched out under the pillow while I watched Darren through half
hooded, tired lids. His movements were quick, sharp, and determined. He knew
exactly what he was doing, knowing exactly what he needed. I wondered what came
of this and where he was going.
“Go back to sleep, princess,” he said to me without turning around as he
continued to load several mags of ammunition into the side pockets of his bag.
Once I focused on them, I realized they weren’t just for pistols; there was automatic
ammunition going into those pockets. What the fuck was he up to?
“How did you know I was awake?” I asked through a yawn. I could have rolled
over and easily fallen back asleep, but I wanted to know what was going on.
“I heard the change in your breathing pattern. Now, go back to sleep.”
“Where are you going now?” I asked sleepily, ignoring his order for the second
time.
Darren sighed in annoyance. “You know I won’t answer that,” he replied and
zipped up the bag.
I rolled over and pulled the sheet up to my shoulder. “Obviously some place
where automatic weapons will be needed,” I replied, closing my eyes. “I’d wish you
luck, but …”
But I’m hoping you’ll end up eating all those bullets for breakfast.
“You probably should,” he replied casually as he dropped his bag off at the door.
“Have you never wondered what would happen to you should I ever perish?”
Now, this piqued my interest. I had thought about it many times, but I figured if
he was dead and it was obviously not my doing, it would be easier for me to escape.
His empire and brothers would likely be too busy trying to take control and avenge
him to care about me, and I’d be long gone before they even remembered my name.
Hopefully.
“I guess that would depend on how you died, and whether your organization
thought I did it,” I said slyly. “But either way, I doubt I’d be kept around for long.”
I could hear his smile long before I even saw it. I felt Darren’s large hands grip
my ankles and tug me to him toward the end of the bed, allowing him to lean over
me. He placed his hands on either side of my head, so all I could see was the sinister
look on his face. I guess we weren’t laughing anymore because my stomach
immediately shriveled up in knots.
“You will be well cared for, Jaden. If by some miracle, some lucky bastard was
able to take me down, you will be looked after for the rest of your life. But if you
continue to push, if you continue to misbehave and cause trouble for my brothers,
you will find
