Page 52 of Spark

Tears instantly burst from my eyes, sliding down my face in heavy droplets as I concluded that I couldn’t do anything for Holly, that fighting Darren would only make things worse for her. I was so useless in a world that was not my own.

“You’ll send me back weeks of recovery,” I tried to rationalize with him.

“You’ll bounce back. You always do,” he countered quickly, not a hint of emotion in his voice.

I gulped back my fears as I tried to come up with another way to save her. Darren was done playing games. I was physically well again; it didn’t matter that I would be a miserable little fuck once we got back to the estate, as long as I did what I was told… There had to be something else I could do here.

“Just let me keep her,” I replied, desperation now getting the best of me.

Darren instantly scowled at me, his brows furrowing in confused anger. Yeah, Holly annoyed the shit out of me, but if keeping her around meant keeping her alive, then I would do it.

“What?” he asked incredulously.

“Let me keep her. She can keep me company at the estate when you’re gone and help me maintain a better mentality for my life. She’s still useful, Darren. She doesn’t have to die.”

Darren released a heavy breath as he considered my words. The glare he was giving me didn’t give me much hope, but then his shoulders relaxed while his other hand reached up to my face to wipe away my tears with that pad of his thumb.

“No, Jaden. You are enough of a liability as it is. I will not take on a second, nor will I allow Holly to be your crutch. End of conversation. The only thing you will decide is how Holly dies, slowly and painfully, or quickly without a struggle. Which is it going to be?”

I felt my heart breaking all over again. No matter how I tried to rationalize it, no matter how many times I tried to look past the evil lurking in his eyes, Darren had no redeemable qualities. His well of sympathy had dried up long ago, or maybe it had just never filled in the first place. He was a monster, bred among monsters, and he never ceased to unleash his terror on another, and I had to stand by and witness it all.

On a choked sob, I released Darren’s wrist, his hand remaining against my throat as I dropped my hands lifeless at my sides, surrendering my fight and giving him my choice of the lesser of two evils. If Holly had to die, I would prefer it to be quick and painless rather than slow and grueling.

A smug smile curved along Darren’s face, and I couldn’t help but respond with a disgusted scowl. “That’s my good girl,” he approved, and then, tightening his grip on my neck, he turned, taking me with him and threw me across the room, far away from the door. I rolled on the floor, several pieces of the broken ceramic vase cutting into my skin, as I caught myself against the hardwood.

Darren glanced at me for only a second before he opened his office doors and stepped out. “Watch her,” he ordered to whoever was outside, and I felt the panic and regret come over me again. Scott and Hank immediately stepped inside, but I was already on my feet, heading for the open doors.

“No, wait!” I shouted again, suddenly changing my mind and still wanting to argue like the dumb shit I was. Even though Scott had already shut the door, I, for some reason, imagined having a better shot at escaping the two of them over one of Darren. I was wrong.

“Darren, wait!” I shouted, heading for the door and attempting to bypass Scott and Hank. Scott’s arm quickly snaked around my waist and pulled me away. I clocked him in the face with my elbow and kicked Hank right between the legs as he approached me. As each second ticked by, I knew Darren was getting closer while Holly’s life expectancy exponentially shortened.

“Wait! No! Please! Get off me!” I shouted, squirming in Scott’s arms as he tried to get me under control while Hank fought to regain himself. Now that the decision had been made, my panic set in. My breath was unsteady, and my blood rushed with fear knowing Holly was about to die. And the fact that there wasn’t shit I could do about it hurt far more than I wanted it to.

I fought harder against Scott, kicking, scratching, punching, and elbowing everywhere I could, but he would not let go. Hank finally seemed to get a hold of himself as he marched toward me, grabbing my wrists when suddenly a gunshot went off somewhere in the house, immediately ceasing my fight. I froze instantly, tears inadvertently spilling down my cheeks as I centered my attention on the announcement of Holly’s death.

In my moment of brief distraction, I felt something poke into my skin and jerked my head down to find Scott had injected a needle into my arm. A wave of dizziness overcame me, and I felt my knees buckle.

“You fucking bas…” was all I could manage to say before my mind went blank, and I fell completely into darkness.

19

Return

TWO DAYS LATER

I was numb, hopelessly and utterly numb. I had cried so much in the last day, I couldn’t feel anything anymore. I sat on the edge of my bed, my short legs hanging off the side while my feet dangled a few inches above the floor. My hands gripped the edge of the bed as I stared out the window of my suite, watching the rain pebble down the window. Today was supposed to be a good day, the start of something fresh… because today we were leaving the island. Instead, it was a sad reminder that one less person was leaving… or had already left.

After I’d woken from my drug-induced slumber, I found myself in Darren’s bed. He’d been sitting in the chair adjacent to me, waiting for me to wake. I’d turned away from him, unable to look at his gorgeously demonic face, and tried my hardest not to cry in front of him. Eventually, he’d gotten up and fucked me the entire night, reminding me of what I was and who I belonged to. He’d dragged me across his knee to strike my ass thirty times for attacking him and then bent me over to fuck me from behind. I refused to participate, keeping my face stone cold and emotionless, even when he’d force me to look at him while he emptied himself into me. And throughout all the hate, all the pent-up rage and despair, I’d still managed to lose count of the orgasms he compelled from my body. I’d told him the least he could do was get me off after all the shit he had done. That had earned me another set of twenty over his lap. Even as I sat here, my ass was still stinging.

Luckily, I hadn’t seen him yesterday. He’d left to make sure everything was prepared at the estate for my return, meaning he wanted to make sure all the new security provisions were executed properly. My suite had already been packed up and put away, looking like I was moving out of the damn place completely. Hank and Blondie were still sitting in their usual seats near the door while they watched me. Darren had arrived on the island several hours ago; we were just waiting for the plane to be refueled while pilot rested up. I’d been praying like crazy before he got here that the damn thing would crash, only to be swallowed by the ocean and never seen again.

Another hour went by, and I still hadn’t moved from my bed. The rain had stopped, but the remaining water droplets still clung to the window, sliding down like the ones on my cheek. I hadn’t asked what happened to Holly because I hadn’t wanted to know what Darren had done with her body. He hadn’t even asked me if I wanted to pay my last respects. He just tossed her memory to the dirt like she’d never meant anything. Fucking bastard.

“Miss Jaden,” Hank said, pulling me from my thoughts. “It’s time.”

So it was.

I nodded, standing without issue as I walked over to the door, Blondie opening it so I could walk through. My long cream-colored floral dress drifted over the floor as it flowed around me, and I wondered why Darren had requested I wear a longer dress. He usually preferred to have my legs visible, not to mention shorter dresses meant an easier chance of exposing myself and keeping my physical fight to a minimum if I didn’t want to see more bloodshed than necessary.

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