Page 116 of Stand: Part One

Sid sighed dramatically and folded his arms across his chest. “It doesn’t matter, Jaden. If it did, you wouldn’t be breathing right now. He’ll want you no matter what you do,” he reasoned, but I didn’t think my invincibility went as far as he thought it did. The man was far too confident. “You need to think of Darren as a sword, Jaden. Regardless of the circumstances, if you swing it in the right direction, you’ll smite any enemy that stands in your way. Any enemy.”

I paused to consider what he said, my thoughts drifting into a very dark and bloody corner of my mind. I already knew Darren would destroy anyone who threatened me harm. Not even his youngest brother had escaped his fury when he tried to fight me in my octagon.

But what if Dominic had done worse? Would Darren murder his own family if they hurt me? Would he destroy his allies if they insulted me? Was there a line he wasn’t willing to cross when it came to me?

If that was the case, if his possessiveness and obsession ran that deep, then no one was safe. No one.

Suddenly, the little hamster in my brain that had flatlined long ago was now spinning that wheel with a new demented sense of purpose.

“Do you understand what I’m getting at?” Sid asked, his voice taking on a strange edge of agitation.

I nodded quietly, refusing to add more words to the conversation. What the hell was Sid even doing?

“Good. Now, let’s get this implant replaced and get you out of here.”

I was silent as Sid went through the process of removing the old implant and replacing it with the new one. My mind was so wrapped around what he had just openly suggested, I barely bothered to focus on what he was doing.

The man wanted me to use Darren’s desperate need for my love as a weapon against him, against anyone—but how the fuck would I even go about doing that? Positive reinforcement?

I could use his lust for me. I’d done that plenty of times. That was easy. But that was the Minors. Sid was asking me to enter the Majors. I wasn’t sure if I was prepared for that and what it might result in. After what happened the other night, my confidence to try anything was completely shot.

I sighed in frustration. While Sid was right that having something Darren wanted did give me some kind of power over him, it meant nothing if I couldn’t actually use it to my advantage.

I would just have to wait for an opportunity to appear and hope I had the guts to test those treacherous waters.

As Sid finished up, I glanced over at him, but when I did, my eyes suddenly caught sight of the reason for his odd lack of concern for his own skin. It was subtle, but its meaning was loud and clear. Keeping my discovery to myself, I looked back at the ceiling, my heart oddly feeling heavy in my chest.

When I was cleared to leave, I hopped off the table and thanked Sid for the replacement. Then I headed straight for the door, pretending to ignore the slight dusting of blood that dotted the inside elbow of Sid’s white coat. The very same sign my father had shown when he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.

The doors to my office burst open, Sid rushing through the doorway and storming over to my desk.

“Have you absolutely lost your goddamn mind?!” he practically shrieked at me, right before he went into another loud coughing fit, covering his mouth with his elbow.

I cocked a brow at his raging form, irate by the audacity of his sudden unwise interruption. Yet, as he stood there puffing out his chest like a man possessed, I couldn’t help but be slightly amused at his sudden boost of confidence to actually barge in here and question me.

Over the past couple of months, Sid had given voice to his disagreements with me far more often than usual. He wasn’t the type to argue, just merely offered his medical expertise and then followed orders when told. And while I valued his opinions, respected him even, his growing boldness was really starting to piss me off.

I glanced back over at Scott and Daniel, who were sitting in the chairs across from my desk, their eyes lit with intrigue. Tilting my head toward the door, I gestured for them to leave so I could handle the red-faced old man without an audience. When the doors closed behind them, I turned back to address the very distraught doctor.

“I assume you’re only here to report that my wife’s new “implant” was successfully replaced, and not to bother me with something that doesn’t actually concern you,” I said, my tone dark with warning.

Sid seemed to right himself for a moment, sucking in a broken breath before coughing again to clear his throat. “Of course, it’s done. But whether you want to admit it or not, Jaden’s mental health does actually concern me.”

I leveled him with a glare. “Careful, Sid. Your concern is reserved only for the directions I aim it in.”

He didn’t waver. “You tasked me with Jaden’s care. And I’m sorry to tell you that dragging her back into the basement and forcing her to tell you lies is not going to have a positive impact on her overall health.”

My lips curled into a smirk. So Jaden had told him after all. I was curious if she would seek his counsel over it. And now I had my answer. I’d have to watch the tapes later for that interesting conversation.

“Is this the part where you convince me I’ve lost my goddamn mind?” I asked. “So far, it’s not very compelling.”

“You find the idea of another mental breakdown more compelling?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be so fucking dramatic, Sid. Jaden will adapt and fall in line like she always does.”

Agitated, I turned my attention back to my desk, dismissing the pointless conversation.

“She is not a goddamn experiment, Darren!” Sid retorted. “This will inspire massive ramifications that you or I may not be able to rewire. How could you possibly think that was a good idea?”