me.”
“I never said I was fair. I told you what would happen if Holly didn’t mind her
own business. You did a piss-poor job at convincing her you were happy with me,
which only served to increase her suspicions.”
“I did everything I could,” I croaked, fighting back my tears as my chest filled
with emotional agony.
“I’m sorry that it wasn’t enough,” Darren said, almost sounding regrettable.
I turned in his lap, suddenly desperate to change his mind. I wouldn’t be
responsible for another innocent person’s life. Not again.
“Please, Darren,” I begged, my eyes wide as they searched his, hoping to swim
past his icy barrier. “Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything. You don’t have to kill
her. We can—”
Before I got a chance to finish my groveling, Darren’s lips assaulted mine,
crushing me to him with a powerful kiss. Locked in his embrace, I pressed my lips
into his, giving him exactly what he wanted, hoping to placate him before he
violently tore himself away. Grabbing my hips, he shoved me off him while he
instantly stood, groaning in irritation as I hit the floor.
“What’s done is done, Jaden. You failed to keep her blissfully in the dark, and
now, I have to take care of it. Again.” His voice was cold and harsh as he walked
past me without even a glance in my direction. He was going to go kill her. I
couldn’t let him. I had to do something. Anything.
Before I could even register what I was doing, I launched from the floor and
leaped onto Darren’s back, my legs swinging around to clench his waist while my
arms slung around his neck for a rear-naked choke.
“You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” I screamed as I pulled with my all my might,
trying my hardest to plant my feet between his thighs to dig my hooks in for the
choke.
Grunting, Darren stopped mid-stride, reached up to grip my arms, and began to
pull them away from his neck. I held on as tight as I could, pushing out my hips to
extend my body to increase the strength of the choke, but it did nothing against
Darren’s strength. Inch by inch, my arms finally gave way and allowed Darren to
pull me off him completely. I wasn’t giving up, though. The moment he had my
arms locked in his hands, I released my legs around his hips, and kicked my feet
into the back of his knees, causing him to bend down in hopes of getting him to the
floor, but Darren was already ready.
The moment his knees buckled, he had already pulled me around his body and
nearly threw me off him to the floor. I rolled against the hardwood and stood up
quickly, my body now blocking the doorway thanks to where he tossed me.
“Get out of my way, Jaden. You should know better than this by now,” he
growled, those cold eyes narrowing on me. I felt a shiver roll up my spine from the
look he was giving me right now; the look that told me I would regret my decisions
if I didn’t heed the warning in his eyes. I was so scared of him, so scared of what he
could do to me, but the terror of what he would do, what he was about to do to
Holly, outweighed it all. I’d suffer for it later, but I would suffer more if I stood by
and did nothing.
“I’m not going to let you hurt her.” My voice lacked its usual conviction, but I
would still fight him for as long as I could.
“Not your decision. Now, move.”
“No!” I shouted angrily, my eyes faltering to the floor. I didn’t want to look at
him, afraid I’d lose too much of my nerve. I could see Darren shake his head,
disappointed as usual.
“Have it your way then,” he said and charged forward.
My heart skipping a beat in a panic, I grabbed the first thing I could reach, which
happened to be a big blue ceramic vase and hurled it at him. Without missing a
step, he blocked it, causing the vase to crash to the floor, shattering everywhere. I
felt my body immediately ready for a fight, my knees bending slightly, while the
heel of my back foot lifted for optimal movement. My open palms quickly raised to
protect myself while my upper body shifted defensively.
On a single blink, Darren’s hand quickly reached out for my throat, but I blocked
it, turning my body and wrapping my hand around his wrist in an attempt for joint
manipulation. His wrist in my hold, I
