Darren. I didn’t just want to do my part and thank him for the Thanksgiving dinner;
I also wanted to tell him I was finally ready to leave the island. Holly had already
said it. I’d fully recovered, so there was no longer any need for me to be here. And
the longer I was here with her, the more she would continue to dig, and I needed to
put a stop to that.
Heading into the house, Hank and Blondie followed me while I headed straight
for Darren’s office. I knew that was the first place he’d go. Just when the door was
in sight, I felt a hand grab my arm and pulled me back into a halt.
“Whoa,” warned Hank. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I need to speak to him,” I argued as I yanked my arm from his grasp.
“We’ve received orders he is not to be disturbed. He’s very busy.”
I looked at him incredulously. “But … it’s me.”
“You are no exception. Mr. Davis will see you at dinner. It can wait until then.”
“But it’s important.”
“Sure, it is, kid. Now, let’s go,” Hank said, rolling his eyes and tugging me away
from the door.
Did he just call me kid?
Hanks escorted me down the hall and away from Darren’s office. Obviously, he
didn’t want me pacing in front of the door so I could catch Darren when he left.
Dinner was still hours away, so what the fuck was I supposed to do with my time
then?
I opted for some bag time in the gym to distract me from my agitation. After
fifteen minutes of slamming my fists into the fucking thing, Holly came in.
“There you are,” she said out of breath like she’d been running. “Where did you
go?”
“I went to talk to Darren.”
“Oh. What about?”
“I didn’t get to see him because apparently, someone doesn’t want to be
disturbed even though I have important shit to discuss with him.”
“Oh? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just … I think I’m ready to leave the island,” I said almost
apologetically.
“Oh, that’s … that’s great, Jaden,” Holly replied with a weak smile.
“Yeah, well, you said it yourself. I’ve recovered.”
“Yes, and you certainly have, Jaden. It’s time we get you back to the mainland.”
I nodded silently in agreement.
“It’s just that … I’m going to miss this. Getting to work with you was an
experience I’ll never forget.”
My shoulders slumped a little. I almost wished she would forget. She was too
innocent to ever have anything to do with Darren and his blood money. Even
though she annoyed me on a daily basis, I still wanted her as far away from Darren
as humanly possible.
“I’ll miss it, too,” I said honestly as I closed the distance between us. “Just
promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
I got closer to Holly’s face in hopes I could keep my voice low enough for her to
hear, but no one else. “Just promise me that you’ll stay on your path and not
deviate again. And to never, ever accept employment from Mr. Davis ever again. I
don’t want him to fuck you over, and he has a tendency to do that sometimes.”
Holly furrowed her brows, her face washed with confused concern. “What’s that
supposed to mean?”
Fuck, I went too far. “Just trust me, okay? Darren is not the kind of guy you want
to work long term for. He can be … shady, sometimes.”
Holly regarded me for a moment before she finally nodded her head. “Okay,
Jaden. I understand.”
I released a breath of relief only to suck it back in when Scott entered the gym
with a mean look on his face.
“I need to talk to Darren,” I said quickly, but he just strolled right past me
without even a glance in my direction.
“He’s busy. And so are you.”
Scott headed over to the shelves on the other side of the room and grabbed the
focus mitts before walking back over to me.
“But it’s import—”
“Right, left, right back leg head kick, left hook, right uppercut, duck, left cross,”
he said, cutting me off.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine.”
I followed through the combination, finally fast enough and able to complete my
duck without Scott hitting me. Pride filled my heart when I saw him smirk at my
improvement.
We moved around the room, changing up the combination every now and then
while Holly watched from the sidelines in awe. Sweat dripped down the sides of my
face while my heart beat rapidly in my chest. I stayed light on my feet as I
maneuvered around the room, my arms tired from the exertion, but I kept going for
the next hour until Scott decided he was done with the focus mitts and tossed them
to the floor. I removed my gloves as well, tired of their bulk.
In a split second, he made a quick random advancement on me, which I gladly
countered. He threw a quick reverse hook kick toward my head, which I
immediately dodged, dipping low to the ground to sweep my leg over the one
