Page 152 of Stand: Part One

“So far,” he clipped, steeling his tone as he released me. “That doesn’t mean it’s the primary method of defense. It’s the last resort.” I scoffed at his reasoning, looking away to focus on anything else other than his stupid face. “I’m not arguing with you about this, Jaden. There will be serious consequences if I find out you disobeyed me and stuck around to fight instead of actively trying to flee. Do not test me on that.” When I refused to look at him, he took my chin between his fingers and pulled my gaze back to his. “Say you understand,” he ordered, his voice hard and uncompromising.

I huffed an agitated breath as I stared him down. This conversation was not going in the direction I had planned. But if I stayed true to my goal and redirected, then none of this would even fucking matter anyway. So there was no reason to get upset about it.

“Fine,” I grumbled. “I understand.”

“Good,” he replied, releasing my chin. “I can’t afford to have you at risk all the time.”

I tilted my head, frowning slightly. “Are you anticipating more attacks while we’re away from home?” I asked carefully.

“You should always anticipate an attack, no matter where we are. Especially when we’re at war.”

“I do, but that makes for a very exhausting life, you know.”

“It’s the life we live,” he declared.

Or the life one of us was forced to live.

“Fine, then how much longer are we staying here? I can only stand to see the bloodstains on the carpet from Clive and Owen for so long.”

Darren groaned, a flash of agitation in his eyes. “You weren’t supposed to see that. I specifically ordered for it to be covered up before you woke up.”

“Well, it wasn’t.”

His eyes swung over to Scott’s, glancing at him with a silent, but fierce displeasure.

“I’ll take care of it,” Darren affirmed, and I suddenly wondered if that meant he intended to add to the stain before having it removed. I seriously hoped not. I’d seen enough of what he does to people who fuck up around me, and I didn’t want to contribute to it anymore. Unless it would somehow work in my favor. “We won’t be here much longer,” he added. “The jet is being prepared as we speak.”

I sighed in disappointment, resting my head back down on his shoulder, snuggling in close for dramatic effect. “I was really looking forward to this change of scenery.”

Darren exhaled, rubbing his hand up and down my arm softly.

“I know. But I want you home where it’s safe, so I can focus on what I need to do.”

I groaned, tired of everything revolving around keeping my stupid ass “safe” when I had other reckless motives to push. The thought of actually going back to the estate already made me physically ill.

“Does it have to be that home? Can’t we stay at one of the other ones? Just for a little while?” And just like that, my heart already skipped a beat.

Darren sighed greatly, the weight of my request difficult for him to ignore after this weekend’s epic failure. But I knew my simple complaint would be enough to at least get the wheels turning in his head. After a moment’s pause, he finally spoke again.

“Which one?” he asked, his tone hard and serious, like he was mad at himself for giving in and entertaining my silly whims.

His question made me think back to my working days during settlement negotiations. You usually demanded as much as you could, which was most often much more than what the case was actually worth to get the realistic amount in the end. The same could easily be applied to just about any scenario.

“How about the one in Anchorage? I could finally do some snowboarding,” I suggested.

Darren immediately scoffed like I’d hoped he would. “I am not flying out to fucking Alaska right now, especially from Chicago. Try again.”

I feigned my disappointment with a huff.

“Well, aside from the yacht and private island, the only other place I know of is the country estate. And that isn’t much for a change of scenery.”

My stomach instantly plummeted at the mention of my deception, the treachery splintering through my spine like thorns growing on a rose stem. I hated how he had successfully conditioned me to feel so much fear from lying that my body would physically punish itself whenever I did. And here I had done it twice now in the last twelve hours.

Darren scratched the side of his jaw, silently deliberating to himself while I tried not to hold my breath.

“No, but it would be a lot closer,” he mused.

My eyes quickly wandered away to focus my anxiety on something else to soothe it, Camaro being the next best thing. “I’d honestly settle for anything at this point,” I added, absentmindedly. “But I guess it would be nice to see the horses again.”