said.
I rolled my eyes. “Do you mind if I get dressed first, or do I have to eat right this
second?”
“Please make yourself comfortable, Miss Jaden,” Clive answered.
Yeah, okay…
Shaking my head, I walked into closest to find the exact same clothes as before.
Now that it was November, it wasn’t exactly as warm as it usually was, so I opted for
a longer purple striped sundress. I quickly brushed my wet hair out and then made
my way over to the table and sat down. Dinner was roasted chicken with rosemary
potatoes and mixed steamed vegetables. I managed to eat most of it, though it was
difficult to do with Clive Owen watching me the entire time. With only a few bites
of potatoes left, I was beyond full, hoping they would concede to that before
pushing my plate away. Owen shook his head.
“All of it, ma’am,” he said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I complained. “I can’t fit another bite.”
“We have our orders,” said Clive chiming in.
“Do your orders include wearing your sunglasses indoors?” I asked. They hadn’t
removed them, and even though the shade had lightened a bit, I still thought it was
weird.
“Yes,” they both said.
I rolled my eyes. “If I throw it up, it’s your fault then,” I snarled and then shoved
the remaining bites of food into my mouth.
With my nerves constantly running amuck, it was difficult to devour a large
meal. Normally, this much wouldn’t be that difficult, but my stomach had shrunk
in size significantly, especially after my thirty-day liquid diet.
Shoving my plate away from me, I abruptly stood and stormed my way onto my
balcony, slamming the French doors behind me. I heard the door to my bedroom
close, and I knew they’d left. There were plenty of men standing around below me,
so there was no need for them to think I was going to make some crazy elaborate
escape now.
Trying to calm myself down, I sat on the lawn chair and curled into myself. I
thought about the conversation I’d had with Darren in the car just a few hours ago.
He’d mentioned his mother and how they hadn’t gone to war since her death. I’d
never asked how she died since I never cared. It was probably better that she never
got to live to see her sons become monsters anyway. But now, it seemed she had
been killed, which must have started the war Darren had mentioned. A war he’d
clearly won. He was young then, still just a boy, and I was sure the bloodshed that
came from that kind of retribution was the cement to his character.
The loss of a parent was difficult. My dad, his mom—I didn’t know which was
worse, knowing your parent and losing them forever or never really getting to know
them in the first place. Either way, I was sure his dad wanted revenge for the loss of
his wife, regardless of whether they had children. I wondered how it happened.
Clearly, it was away from the estate and obviously by one of their enemies. If the
war was bad enough to cause other organizations not to cross Darren’s, it must
have been one hell of a fight.
Fuck. Just what the hell was I up against?
Toward the end of the evening, after the shift change, Jaden’s bodyguards arrived
in my office to report on her day, even though I already knew how it had gone. I
wanted to know what they thought, if they noticed the same things I did, and what
they would do to avoid escalated situations in the future. Clive and Owen both sat in
the black leather chairs across from my desk and sat like the perfect soldiers they
were.
“So how was Jaden’s first day back?” I asked them, relaxing into my chair.
“Good, sir,” Clive answered. “Though she was a little argumentative, she is
beginning to adjust.”
I nodded in agreement. “I noticed she rearranged her room today,” I said.
“Yes, she did do that,” Owen replied with a nod.
“Do you know why?”
“She said she didn’t want to return to the same room she once escaped from.”
I smiled at his ignorance. “You’re half correct, Owen.”
I could see his eyebrows furrow behind his special glasses. They were designed
to register heat signatures as well as gain access to the security cameras throughout
the estate so they could not only see every potential threat, but they could also
watch Jaden without completely fucking with her privacy.
“Jaden rearranged her room in a way that she thinks will give her a defensive
advantage against me,” I continued, and this time they both gave away their
confusion. “Did you notice where she moved her bed? On the adjacent wall between
her bedroom door and bathroom door? Did you notice which side of the bed she
decided to sleep on? The one closest to the bathroom door?”
Clive and Owen raised their chins as if they suddenly realized what they had
missed.
“It would take me an extra six steps to get around the bed to get to her before
she’d make it to the bathroom. Before, nothing impeded me, and though those six
steps are not
