by J Marie
3
HORIZON
The following day, I finally got the wire off my jaw, and it was the first time in
weeks I was actually happy about something. After completing several exercises
for Sid, it was determined that my jaw had completely healed, though I had to take
it easy and keep up with the exercises to make it strong again.
I still couldn’t talk much or eat hard solids, but at least, I could finally move my
jaw again. It was sore and stiff while my voice was dry and dull, but Sid assured me
that, in time, it would all go back to normal so long as I stuck to my recovery plan
and followed the exercises.
That day, I had scrambled eggs for breakfast, and it was the best damn breakfast
I’d ever had, especially since Darren had to leave the island early for some
mainland business.
Darren was much busier while on the island. Since he couldn’t attend his
meetings face to face anymore, he had to resort to new ways of delegation. It
seemed that Scott handled a lot of it too since he wasn't around as he normally was.
I didn’t mind it so much, as it meant more time away from Darren.
Once I finished my breakfast, Ginsby told me that Darren had assigned another
guard for my trips outside. Benito, a tall, lanky-looking SOB with dark hair, stood
next to Hank; they both wore the exact same black suit, white shirt, and black tie.
They even wore the same black sunglasses. Geez, had Darren contracted the Men in
Black to guard me? I thought it was strange, especially since the guards on Darren’s
estate all wore black combat gear. Maybe the threat out here wasn’t as great as the
ones back at the estate.
After being woken from my nap and reluctantly changing into a knee-length
flowy dark pink halter dress and light brown leather flip-flops, I headed over to the
door to signal I was ready to leave for my mandated walk. I wondered if I would get
a treat afterward.
Hank and Benito both stood from the fine black leather lounge chairs added to
my suite to accommodate them and walked over toward the door to unlock it. Yes, I
was actually locked in this room unless I was granted access to leave. Another fine
reason to be depressed.
Hank unlocked the door and stepped out. I followed him while Benito trailed
behind me, walking through the house until we finally came to the front door. The
house was actually quite spacious for an island home. Many windows to let in
natural light and mostly creams and shades of blue and turquoise decorated the
interior. Thankfully, my suite was on the first floor, so I didn’t have to walk the
stairs.
When we reached the front door, Hank opened it and allowed me to walk past
him into the warm sunshine. It was very warm on the island, but the breeze was
always something to be thankful for. Apparently, a hurricane had hit land several
miles away, and the winds from it were felt all the way here.
Humidity sank into my skin as I wandered down the stone walkway until I finally
hit the sand. It was perfectly white, and the water couldn’t be a more beautiful
shade of clear blue. But all the beauty in my sight couldn’t slake the overwhelming
disinterest I felt. What good was a beautiful private island if you couldn’t even fully
enjoy it?
I slipped out of my flip-flops and left them in the sand before taking a few steps
toward the shore. The moment my toes touched the water a, “That’s far enough,
Miss Jaden,” left Hank’s lips. I didn’t even acknowledge him. I squished my toes
into the wet sand, feeling the warm bath-like water wash over my feet. And still, I
felt nothing.
I casually strolled along the shore, Benito and Hank not more than twenty feet
behind me. I did my best to let the scenery drown them out, but it was tough to
ignore two stalking shadows behind you. At least, the water felt nice against my
feet and ankles.
As I walked, I pondered the necessity of this walk. One foot in front of the other.
What difference did it make? I had walked five hundred feet from the front door
and didn’t feel any better. But to be fair, I didn’t feel any worse either. In a
stubborn fit, I stopped walking and plopped my ass down, my knees bent and my
feet digging in the soft, warm sand.
“Miss Jaden,” Hank said, “our orders were to take you for a walk on the beach,
not to sulk in the sand.”
Take me for a walk? The fuck was I, a dog?
Irritated, I leaned over, took my two fingers, and started writing in the sand.
‘Drag me then,’ I wrote and went back to staring out at the ocean.
They weren’t going to make me walk anywhere. I’d fight them, and they’d just
end up injuring me. Walk over.
Hank sighed heavily as he and Benito walked over to a nearby palm tree to lean
against it. I didn’t bother to turn around. I knew where their eyes were and where
they would remain. Mine, on the other hand, stared out at the roaring ocean before
me. The wind was warm but fierce as it forced the water to rise and crash into the
shore. The scene was beautiful and full of promise, but my heart just wasn’t in it.
Even as the midday sun shined down on me, its rays warming my skin, I was
reminded of a moment that would never last. Whatever second of peace I would
receive would instantly shatter the moment I brought myself back to reality. This
was not home. This was not life. This was not me.
And technically, it wasn’t even me anymore, was it? Over the last few weeks, I
had come to terms with the fact that I was now legally dead. Jaden Morgan Wilder
was gone and buried six feet under, yet her killer was still at large.
Now that I was dead, I wondered if it gave me an advantage. I doubted it, though.
If it gave anyone an advantage, it was Darren. He could take me out in public, and
no one would bat an eye. I wasn’t the missing girl anymore. I was the found dead
girl in an alley, burned to a crisp after an apparent drug overdose. The search was
called off, and the world would eventually forget about me. At least, if that were the
case, I wouldn’t have to worry about any more gardeners recognizing me and
getting themselves killed.
I sat there in the sand for what felt like hours, watching the waves roll and crash
against the shore, while the wind blew through my hair. I felt numb inside. Like
those waves, everything was crashing around me, and I was helpless to stop it. I felt
useless, hopeless … and utterly fucked. Sid was probably right. I wasn’t helping my
condition by wallowing about my life, but I was running short on the positivity
bank.
What the fuck did I have to be happy about? I had no family now, no friends, no
one to talk to, no one to laugh with or cry with, no one to see me as something more
than just a pretty possession to keep. I was alive, I suppose, but was I really even
living? Not legally, that’s for sure.
Was this it? Was this the end? Was this the epitome of my life now? I hadn’t
even contemplated my original vendetta of revenge against Darren. I still wanted it,
but I was too emotionally exhausted to put any thought or emotion into it.
Vengeance would have to hold on the back burner for a while until my body fully
healed. Not much I could do until then, and that didn’t make matters any better.
The longer my recovery, the longer I would inevitably be stuck with Darren.
After what felt like hours of just staring into the horizon, I finally caught on to
Hank’s voice.
“Miss Jaden, it’s time to go back inside. It’s time for your dinner,” Hank said.
Not hungry.
“Miss Jaden,” Hank called again when I didn’t move.
Rolling my eyes, I nodded and slowly started to make my way to standing. My
lips formed into a tight line as I fought the ache in my side from the strain of my
movements, but it didn’t last long as my shadows hurried over to help me up. Once
I had the sand brushed from my legs and ass, they escorted me back to the house,
Benito picking up my shoes along the way.
As we walked back to the house, I finally got a chance to actually admire it. It
turned out to be a beautiful Spanish villa. With lots of high windows, orange tiled
roof, cream-colored brick, and rounded arches, it was a gorgeous compliment to
the island … but I didn’t give a damn about it. It was just another prison. More
pretty bars to cage me.
When we finally made it to the door, I realized being outside didn’t really make
me feel any better. I was still just as bloodthirsty as before. At least, I probably got
some freckles … but then I remembered Darren liked my freckles. Damn them.
Luckily for me, Darren was still stuck in some meeting off the island, so I’d be
having dinner by myself. I had it in my suite; Benito stood watch while Hank called
Darren to give his report of my day. I barely ate the soup that Ginsby had set down
for me before she retired for the night.
“You’d better finish eating that,” ordered Benito from the end of the room. I
turned to him with a scowl. Motherfucker hadn’t said anything to me all day, and
now, he was telling me what to do? Who the fuck did he think he was? I’d eaten
maybe a quarter of it but didn’t care to finish now. Instead, I narrowed in on him
and then slowly and deliberately pushed my bowl off the table like a thug life cat.
The plastic didn’t break since I wasn’t allowed glass, but the soup spilled all over
the floor.
“What the fuck!” Benito yelled as he marched over from his chair. He looked
down at the mess and then to me as I remained seated in my chair, not a single fuck
given. “Clean this shit up!”
I shook my head at him. Fuck him.
I didn’t know why I was looking for a fight, but knowing Darren wasn’t on the
island at the moment was making me brave … and just plain stupid. But for some
reason, I wanted to annoy my guards. Maybe I needed the attention or the
distraction from my own misery by causing someone else’s. Maybe that would be
enough to lift my mood.
I just didn’t fucking care about anything.
Benito groaned at me as he went to fetch the staff to clean up my mess, closing
and locking the door behind him, but then Hank appeared right after him. He held
his cell phone to his ear as he approached me.
“Yeah, she’s right here,” he said and then held out the phone to me. “Mr. Davis
is on the line. Say hi.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the phone out of his hands and held it to my ear,
saying absolutely nothing while enjoying the confusion on Hank’s face when he
looked down to see my spilled soup all over the floor.
“Jaden?” came Darren’s voice on the other end.
“Mmmhmm,” I mumbled in acknowledgment. He was silent for a moment
before he spoke again.
“How’s the jaw?”
Oh, fuck him.
“Fine,” I answered. The first word I’d verbally spoken to him in over a month.
I heard Darren suck in a slow breath as he listened to the one little word I gave
him to recall my voice. I knew he would want more but as per usual, fuck him.
“Good. I’ll be gone for the next four days, so you need to listen carefully to your
guards and medical staff while I’m away. I need you to get better, Jaden.”
I snorted again. “’Kay.” I almost laughed.
Here he was talking to me as if I was some kind of child who needed a reminder
to behave while he was gone. Condescending cock stain.
“I’ll see you in four days. Behave.” And then he hung up. I felt my hand clench
the phone until my knuckles turned white.
“Miss Jaden,” Hank said, holding out his hand for the phone.
I glared at him, held it out, and then deliberately dropped it on the floor, just
inches from his hand and right into my spilled soup. It crashed against the tile,
completely shattering the screen and splattering the stupid smartphone with
vegetable soup.
Ha-ha.
“Goddammit, girl! What the fuck did you do that for?!” Hank shouted as he bent
down to pick up the phone.
“Oops.”
Hank groaned, scowling at me like he wanted to hit me, but there was no way
Darren would have that. He was the only one allowed to break his toy. I just stared
Hank down passively, until he finally turned around and exited the suite. I was
alone for maybe fifteen seconds before Benito returned with a maid to clean up my
spilled soup from the floor.
I had to admit I was being childish now, but fuck it; if Darren wanted to treat me
like a child, then I would behave like one.
Let the fun begin …
4
PLAY
F or the next two days, I did everything I could to piss off Hank and Benito. It was
actually pretty entertaining to see their faces heat up with nowhere for the rage
to go. They couldn’t take it out on me. The most they could do was lock me in my
suite, which was where I wanted to be anyway. I considered it a double win.
The cast on my wrist was finally removed, and it felt so good to have the damn
itchy thing off. I had physical therapy exercises to complete for that as well, but it
was worth it to make my wrist stronger. That was the only thing I complied with
since it really did benefit me, but everything else, I flat-out fucking refused.
I refused just about anything I could. I didn’t want to wear that dress or that
color. I didn’t want to watch that movie or listen to that song. I didn’t want to leave
my suite. I didn’t want to go outside. I needed water. Never mind, I didn’t need it
anymore. The soup is too hot. Now, it’s too cold. I didn’t break it. It must have
fallen on its own. Can you not breathe so loudly? No, you shut the fuck up. I mean,
literally anything.
I was officially six years old again, and I found it funny as fuck. I’d never
mouthed off so much in my life. I’d catch myself laughing out loud at their
hilarious misery, especially since there wasn’t shit they could do about it.
“Piss me off one more time, little girl, and I swear I’ll have Darren on the phone
so fas—”
I laughed. “So you can tell him what? How incompetent you are at handling me?
Good luck with that conversation.”
Benito went so red in the face, I thought he was going to explode like a giant
tomato. Too bad Hank was too busy taking a piss break to see it. And still I just
laughed and walked away; but this time, Benito actuall
y crossed a line.
In a fit of uncontrolled rage, he grabbed my still healing wrist in a way too tight
grip as I turned my back on him. I yelled out loud in pain like a wounded animal,
attempting to pull away from him, but when he didn’t let go, and the pain only
worsened, I did the only thing I could do.
“Let go!” I shouted and swiftly brought my leg up, and roundhouse kicked him
right in the side of the head as hard as I could.
The moment my foot collided with his skull, he immediately released me and
nearly fell to the floor, while I clutched my ribs like I had just been punched in the
side.
Fuck. Okay, no more kicking for a while.
When Hank returned to see me hunched over against the wall and Benito
counting the stars circling his head, he went nuts.
“WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?!” he shouted at us.
I chuckled, even though it only caused more pain to my ribs. “Benito just
learned what happens when you fuck with the wrong girl,” I replied with a smirk.
Hank quickly turned to Benito in rage-filled confusion. “What the fuck did you
do?” he yelled at him. By now, the nearby staff was starting to poke their heads
around the corner to witness the commotion.
“Nothing. Little brat started mouthing off again and tried to walk away.”
“Yeah, and then you yanked my healing broken wrist, you fucking idiot,” I
retorted, holding my wrist up. I could see bruises forming where his fingers had
wrapped around my pale skin. Fabulous.
“Let me see,” Hank said, rushing over to me.
I held my wrist out for his examination but kept my eyes on his face. He knew
this was bad. A guard touching me was bad enough, but bruising something that
was already damaged and healing was even worse. He knew they were in trouble,
but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I was home free. I was nothing but an instigator
anyway.
“Come on,” Hank said, taking me gently by the arm and leading me back to my
suite. “Let’s have Sid take a look.”
Once Sid had confirmed nothing had broken further, I was locked away in my
room for the rest of the night, which was fine. I wanted to be alone. But no one
could ever leave me alone long enough.
Sid walked in by himself some time later and casually sat across from me in the
reading nook. He crossed his ankle over his knee and folded his hands on top,
