Page 35 of Stand: Part One

Clive left the balcony without a word, leaving me alone with the angry giant bearing down at me from behind.

Darren took two steps forward and leaned his hip against the banister, crossing his ankles and folding his arms in front of his chest. The sigh that came from him made me scowl even harder.

“Jaden, are we really going to have problems here?” he asked, his tone taking on a dangerous note.

I clenched my jaw in response, my eyes refusing to meet his.

“Answer me,” he barked.

“Yes,” I snapped through gritted teeth. “We’re going to have problems if you continue to hinder my recovery.”

That was a bold accusation, but it was the only thing that made sense. Plus, I wanted to see if he would deny it.

When he didn’t say anything, my eyes shot to his, daring him to lie to me.

“It’s been three months, Darren. I should have been walking weeks ago.”

He rolled his eyes before turning to look at me, and then his gaze suddenly zeroed in on my shoulder. His facial features softened for just a moment as his arm slowly began to reach out to me.

“Don’t move,” he said quietly.

But of course I did, tilting my head down to look at what had caught his attention on my shoulder. It was a large brown spider.

Yuck.

With a grunt, I flicked the thing away with my fingernail and turned back to the near blank look on his face. I was not about to let him change the subject now.

“Don’t tell me I’m wrong, Darren,” I continued. “I can’t keep wasting away like this.”

Still, he said nothing, looking a little lost in thought for some reason. But as I waited for his response, I watched his eyes as they began to grow dark, his facial features stoic, his entire demeanor shifting into the lethal predator he was.

Keeping my eyes captive, he leaned down and pulled my wheelchair so I faced him. With his hands gripping either side of the arms of the chair, he lowered his upper body until we were practically nose to nose, his massive bulk effectively caging me in.

The intensity of his gaze left me cold and painfully anxious, but I wouldn’t let it show. The man fed off my fear, and right now, I would have him fucking starve.

“Who owns you, Jaden?” he asked, his tone a dark warning.

I scoffed and looked away. “I’m not playing this gam?—,”

His hand struck out to my throat, gripping it tightly until almost all of my oxygen was cut off. I swung my arm out to strike his face, but his hand caught my wrist and pinned it down against the arm of the chair. Five seconds later, he loosened his grip just enough for me to suck in a huge breath of air, but both his hands remained exactly where they were.

“Answer the fucking question,” he growled.

My chest heaved, and my blood raced, but even with a stomach full of fear, I refused him.

“No.”

Darren ripped me out of that chair so fast, I didn’t even realize it until I felt my back slam onto the bed. His heavy body pinned mine in place, my wrists caught in one of his hands, trapping them above my head.

“I’m going to ask you one more time,” he seethed, “and if you don’t give me the correct answer, I will fuck you until your pelvis breaks all over again. And then you can spend another three months trapped in this bed.”

His threat made my body instantly slack, my head falling back onto the bed with a rage-filled groan.

Gripping my jaw in his large hand, he yanked my face close to his.

“Who owns you, Jaden?” he asked again, his tone ripe with warning.

I could feel the tears building at the corners of my eyes, my frustration, anger, and fear molding into a dangerous chemical. I knew Darren would follow through on his threat.