Page 33 of Spark

“They will be,” she said softly as she proceeded to paint a clear polish over Holly’s nails. Her focus was sharp as she slowly dragged the brush down each nail, her precision honestly impressive.

There was no fire today, though. For the last week, Jaden had been nothing but quiet, cooperative, and complacent. She’d been working with Holly without complaint, didn’t trouble her bodyguards, and was even less argumentative with me. Though, from the security feeds around the house, I could still tell how annoyed she was with some of the things that came out of Holly’s mouth. Unfortunately, Holly wasn’t exactly the brightest crayon in the box, another reason she was perfect for this job. She was none the wiser when it came to how easily it was to manipulate her. Too gullible, too goddamn innocent, and fucking annoying.

Her only redeeming quality was that Jaden was ten times better than she was two weeks ago. Something had changed, and I didn’t know if it was Holly or something else entirely. For once, Jaden finally seemed focused on getting herself back together, which gave me even more hope that she was still perfect for me. I didn’t want someone who could just hit hard; she had to be able to take the hits and keep going. But I had to give her a reason to keep going.

I stayed and watched some of the fights with Jaden and Holly before I had to step away to take a phone call. Jaden was quiet at first as she watched each match, but as Holly became more vocal, so did Jaden. Her commentary was interesting, only because Holly asked so many damn questions—what she thought of each fighter, their fighting style, their record, and their strengths and weaknesses. Jaden could see it all, and I couldn’t help but find myself appreciative of her insightfulness. It made her that much more desirable.

14

Remember

* * *

“That’s it, Jaden. Just five more. Come on, push it.”

Sweat dripped down my face as I pushed for the last set of thirty inverted sit-ups. Holly and I had been working on my physical therapy in Darren’s gym for the last hour, and I made damn sure she challenged me at every angle.

After I was finished with the set, I grabbed the metal bar I was hanging upside down from and flipped myself over, landing perfectly on the floor. It had been another two weeks, and I was feeling stronger than ever. My muscle mass had grown, my four-pack finally visible again, and I was feeling better than ever. I’d even somehow managed to stay on Darren’s good side due to my lack of attitude. Since I was getting better, exercising, and breaking past my limits, I was happier. I still wasn’t back to my old 100 percent, though. A few things were missing.

When Holly and I were finished, I couldn’t help but stare longingly at the heavy bags on the other side of the room. I could almost hear them begging me to lay into them… and I wanted to really badly. Tentatively, I walked over to the bag and threw a reverse sidekick, landing it perfectly and sending the bag back a good few feet.

“Holy shit!” Holly cried out in excitement. “How did you do that? That was so cool!”

I grimaced. “It was slow.”

“Are you kidding me? If I’d have blinked, I would have missed it!”

“You would have missed it even if you hadn’t,” I replied. That’s how fast I was supposed to be. Fuck, I had so much work to do.

“I knew it! You are some kind of fighter, aren’t you?”

I scoffed. “Was,” I said blankly, walking away from the bag.

“What do you mean ‘was’?”

“I don’t exactly practice anymore.”

“Well, what’s stopping you?” she asked me.

I fucking straight up laughed. About a million things were stopping me, but I couldn’t tell Holly that. So, I lied somewhat.

“Injuries, plus I don’t have any of my gear,” I replied with a shrug.

“Well, maybe we can get Mr. Davis to get you your gear.”

I chuckled again. “Good luck with that.”

“Why? You don’t think he would?”

“I’d be very surprised if he did.”

Holly suddenly squared her shoulders, wearing a big smile on her face. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll convince him it’s part of your therapy.”

“Don’t lie to him, Holly. It’s not a good idea,” I warned.

“It’s not a lie,” she said reassuringly. “I really do want to incorporate it into your therapy. I think it’ll be really good for you.”

“If you say so.”

---