Page 187 of Stand: Part One

I nodded. “That’s good. What about Daniel?”

“So far, he’s alive and resting. I expect him to make a full recovery.”

“But you don’t know about the potential personality changes?”

Sid shrugged. “Time will tell with that one. It’ll manifest itself one way or another.”

“And Darren is aware that his brother could now be a potential liability to his criminal empire?” I asked.

Sid furrowed his brow, eyeing me with suspicion, but then nodded. “He’s well aware of the risks and challenges that may or may not lie ahead.”

I nodded in acknowledgment. “Well, that’s all good to know. I’d like to be able to visit Katherine when she’s well enough. Will you let me know when I can?”

Sid folded his lips together, tilting his chin before finally answering me. “I’ll try to.”

I gave him a small smile. “Thanks. I’ll see you later. Come on, girl,” I said and headed out of his office, my hip noticeably less tight with each step.

But dread crept into my stomach as I approached Katherine’s room, remembering that I had to entertain her daughter today. Peeking through the window again, I hoped for some sign of movement, but she seemed to still be in the same position as before. Sighing, I left her to rest and made my way up to the nursery, where I knew Ella was being kept.

Opening the door, I found the room bathed in sunlight, a toddler's soft coos and giggles floating from somewhere off in the corner. My eyes landed on the tiny blonde sitting on the floor, watching Sesame Street and playing with a texturized book.

Behind me, Carla was busy in the small kitchen area, preparing what must be Ella’s lunch. When she turned around, she damn near jumped out of her skin.

“Oh, Mrs. Davis!” she gasped, her hand clutching at her chest. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

I folded my arms and tried not to smirk. That was the second time in one day I’d scared the shit out of someone by being so quiet. Darren must love getting these reactions all the time.

“Sorry,” I said as I moved farther into the room.

Smoothing down her shirt, she regained her composure. “I was just preparing Ella’s lunch. Why don’t you go sit with her while I finish up?” she suggested.

“Sure,” I replied, reluctantly turning around to make my way toward Ella.

Ella stayed focused on her book even though an array of toys surrounded her, her chubby fingers gripping the fuzzy lengths on the cardboard pages. I sat down on the floor next to her and folded my legs, catching Ella’s attention.

“Hi, Ella,” I said sweetly. “Do you remember me?”

Her pretty blue eyes searched my face, like she was trying to recognize me. And then a cute little smile lit up her cheeks followed by a quiet giggle.

“Hi,” she said back shyly.

After a few seconds, she pulled herself up to stand and wobbled over to hand me her book.

“Do you want me to read it?” I asked as I gently took the book from her. She smiled and giggled, plopping down in front of me to open the pages for her to play with.

As I sat there and read, my stubborn ass didn’t want to like this just to spite Darren, but I couldn’t help but enjoy myself. Ella was cute, expressive, and so damn happy for the daughter of a criminal like Daniel. But given who her mother was, I hoped she had more of her genes than his.

I didn’t know what Darren was trying to accomplish by having me do this. He’d just had my birth control replaced, so I knew he wasn’t ready to force a child on me yet.

What was he waiting for? Did he hope this would stir up some baby fever in me and I’d end up begging him for a child? If that was the case, he was more delusional than I thought.

But I decided I would play his game. I could spend as much time with Ella as he wanted me to and it wouldn’t change a damn thing about what I wanted. And I would relish in his failure to inspire for as long as I could.

Because while I knew he wanted me to want a family with him because it would make the whole process easier, my acceptance was ultimately not required.

Given the current status of things, I wondered if I should just accept what was. I had no idea if Jason was alive, I had zero faith in Matt, and Darren had buried another enemy into the dust overnight. It could be years before another attack like that could be orchestrated.

I was sure Matt wasted a lot of resources on Daniel’s home when he failed to actually kill him. He should have been using them to get rid of Darren.