Page 56 of Stand: Part One

I could feel my face dropping with disgust just thinking about his response.

“He … appreciated it,” I murmured, shaking my head in bewilderment. “It was one thing to hear him describe his torture as a child. It was another to hear him praise it.”

Sid nodded. “Agreed. But we can’t change what was done to him, and we can’t convince him to condemn it. So what else is there to do?”

I shot my eyes back to Sid. “Prevent him from continuing it.”

“Ah,” he said with a nod. “So that’s what you dreamed about.”

I lowered my head, wishing I could get the image of my brothers out of my mind. But their screams just wouldn’t stop echoing.

“It was my brothers,” I replied. “It was happening to my brothers.”

Sid said nothing, his eyes telling me to continue like he knew there was more. So I finished.

“And then Darren held up a toddler and declared it would be his turn soon.”

Sid sighed, his eyes now traveling anywhere but mine—like he hoped the answer might be written on the wall somewhere. But we both knew there was no answer for this. Darren would do as he pleased, no matter what anyone else thought.

“It’s not just a dream, Sid,” I continued. “It’s the goddamn future if Darren has his way.” And we both knew Darren always got his way.

A heavy silence overtook the room, its weight crushing my heart with each passing second Sid didn’t speak. For once, it seemed he had no words of wisdom to bestow.

When he finally did speak, it broke my heart in half.

“I wish there was a way for me to offer you hope, Jaden. But unfortunately, I just can’t. My advice to you is to do what you’ve always done. Accept and adapt.”

I felt my breath catch in my chest, my lungs choking on a despair I had no chance of fighting. My throat tightened, and I felt the onslaught of tears building up behind my eyes as they fell to my lap. If I was forced to have Darren’s children, he would torture them into monsters. And nothing could be done to stop that.

My ass.

“You should go,” I muttered quickly, swiping away my stupid tears.

I paid Sid no more attention as he silently stood and walked toward the door. But then he paused.

“For what it’s worth, Jaden, if there’s anyone strong enough to endure it, it’s you. Your children will be very lucky to have you as their mother.”

But incredibly unlucky to have Darren as their father.

I said nothing as he walked out and left me alone. Left me alone to do the one and only thing that could save this sinking ship. The one thing I was best at.

Plot.

16

Reminder

I could not believe that fucking cockroach might have actually survived. I should have just put a bullet through his skull and ended this goddamn joke of a war. At least then I’d know the fucker was actually dead and not just missing. But the signs would show themselves eventually, and I’d have my answer.

At least Daniel had survived the ordeal. He was still recovering in the infirmary but was bitching to be released every fucking hour. He was lucky to be alive and never seemed to appreciate his own vulnerable mortality. We might be damn tough to kill, but we weren’t invincible. And he needed to remember that before it got him killed. Thankfully, Sid was only too happy to have him sedated for another day.

“Alright, thanks,” Scott said as he hung up the phone and stopped the car at a red light. “He was sighted on a traffic cam.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, unsurprised by the development. Because of course he fucking survived. It was no longer speculation anymore.

“Where?”

“Four blocks from the club. A black van picked him up and took off.”