Spark

by J Marie

slowly making its descent every few thousand feet. I could see buildings and trees,

  roads and small bodies of water. Clouds whipped by us, the sun still shining above,

  yet even in the midst of an experience I had never had before, my concern was not

  of the sky, but of the ground below.

  Now that Darren had laid out the new rules, I felt myself wanting to slip back

  into my depression, to give way to the tears that wanted to fall, to crumple in the

  exhaustion of trying to stay strong. The cuffs that chilled the skin around my wrists

  and ankles reminded me of how hopeless my situation was.

  A new chessboard had been laid out—my family members were my pieces and

  Darren’s empire, his. The unfairness was that my pieces were blind to the game,

  unaware that they were even playing. I’d hoped that my message to Jason would get

  through to them, but obviously after my “death,” the idea of a threat against them

  seemed to be debunked. They probably thought Jason was crazy now and probably

  resented my mom and brothers for disappearing. Everything was so fucked up, but

  at least I’d gotten four people away from Darren’s clutches … for now. I knew his

  men were still looking for them, and I didn’t know if I could survive it if he found

  them.

  21

  UNWELCOMEHOME

  A small bout of turbulence shook the plane, dragging me from my thoughts and

  causing me to grip the arms of the chair. Darren remained unconcerned as he

  rested his chin in his hand, his eyes still focused on the screen of his laptop. He was

  watching something, and by the looks of it, he didn’t like what he saw. His jaw was

  clenched, his eyes cold and narrow, clearly deep in thought. Something was going

  on; something he wasn’t telling me, something he wouldn’t tell me.

  An announcement came over the speakers, declaring we were about to land. I

  looked out my window to find the approaching runway up ahead, excitement and

  nervousness mixing in my stomach. I could see Darren in my peripherals as he shut

  the laptop in obvious irritation and placed it in a bag by his seat. A few moments

  later, my body experienced the change in elevation, the pressure fluctuating before

  we finally hit the ground. I didn’t know anything about landings, but it felt smooth.

  When the plane finally came to a stop, the engines cut out, but my nerves

  increased. When the door was finally opened and the stairs released, Darren stood

  and escorted me out of the plane. Nodding at the pilot and co-pilot in obvious

  thank you, Darren led me down the stairs where we were greeted by three black

  BMWs and about six men dressed in black. They waited by the cars, their hands

  neatly placed in front of them, their blank expressions hindered behind dark

  sunglasses.

  Darren kept a firm grip on my shoulder as he walked us to the middle car where

  one of his men opened the door for me.

  “Sir,” he said with a nod of acknowledgment to Darren.

  Scooting inside, Darren followed me in, watching as I buckled my seat belt and

  turned my head to stare out the window. Moments later, more doors slammed shut,

  the car took off, and we were in motion. As I watched the outside pass by, I realized

  even though I’d been with Darren for the past five months, this was only the

  second time I’d been in a vehicle with him. I was grateful he allowed me to sit in the

  seat like a human being, instead of between his legs on the floor.

  Darren ignored me for virtually the entire drive, which lasted about an hour. He

  spent most of his time typing away on his phone, and I was fine with that. The

  more shit that occupied his time, the better. At least then, I wouldn’t have to deal

  with him.

  Now that I’d been outside the estate, I couldn’t help but smile as we passed

  through the small town to get to Darren’s estate. The corners of my mouth curved

  as I remembered speeding off down the road on his Ducati, giving his men and the

  pocketed police department a run for their money.

  “Something amusing?” Darren asked.

  I smirked and casually pointed out the window. “I popped a wheelie on your bike

  right … there.” I grinned, pointing to the exact spot as we drove by. “Pretty sure I

  scared the shit out of one of your guys.” It was probably a bad idea to poke fun at

  the idea of my successful escape, but he was the one who asked.

  When I turned my head back to Darren, the look he gave me was positively

  deadly. I gulped back my regret.

  “Well, I hope it was enjoyable because you will never ride another motorcycle

  like that again,” he said sharply.

  I shook my head in disappointment. “You’re wasting my talents,” I said, turning

  my head back to the window.

  “Excuse me?” Darren quipped, anger beginning to rise in his voice.

  I exhaled a deep breath. “Penguins can’t fly, but if you were to see one do it, you

  wouldn’t try to stop it, now would you?”

  Darren cocked an eyebrow, but I could tell he wanted me to elaborate.

  “Guns, motorcycles, fighting? Not many girls come with the skills that I have. In

  your line of work, you’re better off exploiting them than burying them.”

  “And what do you know of my line of work?” His eyes narrowed at me, dark slits

  just waiting for the challenge I was presenting.

  I shrugged. “I know it’s dangerous and beyond illegal. And I’m smart enough to

  understand that your life is probably under constant threat, especially considering

  you have two cars to flank us with a total of six men to protect you, which then

  inevitably, also puts my life in danger. Am I getting warm here?” I asked. I

  shouldn’t sound so cocky, but he had to know I was right.

  “I have a feeling you’re trying to make some kind proposal,” he sneered.

  “I don’t think you want to fully domesticate me, not really, anyway. Watering

  me down wouldn’t be in your best interests, not when I have so much more to offer

  you than just a pretty face with a hot body.”

  Darren instantly relaxed, crossing his arms over his chest, and leaned back

  against his seat, a smirk on his lips and the cockiness of a crime lord giant. “And

  just what else exactly do you have to offer me?”

  “You can feel secure in the fact that when I eventually become the target of your

  enemies, they’ll regret trying to play the damsel in distress with me.”

  “And what makes you think you’ll ever become said damsel in distress?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. The moment you marry me is the exact same

  moment you declare me as your weakness to the world. You already know they will

  try to use me to get to you.”

  “They can try,” he said, the cockiness in his voice unnerving. “And by try, I

  mean fantasize about it in their heads. You underestimate my capability in the

  underground and the civil world. My organization is much more than what you

  think it is, with ties further and deeper than you can imagine. Yet some will still try

  to cross me. I’ve been to war several times, Jaden, and I’ve never been beaten. So

  should the day come when some idiot decides to attempt to fulfill his little

  daydreams of overthrowing my empire, I will once again remind everyone why I am

  not to be fucked with.”
/>
  Goddamn.

  “So in response to wasting your talents, you have nothing to fear because I plan

  to have you match me in just about every one of my talents. The idea of anyone

  seeing you as my weakness will be gone before it’s even thought of. I don’t have

  weaknesses, Jaden, and I will not allow you to become one; therefore, you will be

  my strength instead.”

  I furrowed my brows in confusion.

  His strength?

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that by the time I’m done with you, my enemies will not even bother

  marking you as a target because you will not be worth the bloodshed that you would

  deliver should you ever be trifled with.”

  A dark look came over Darren’s eyes as he grinned with satisfaction of his plan,

  and I felt my stomach drop. He was going to make me like him, and I was too busy

  trying to figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  A few minutes later, I could see the black and gold gates to Darren’s estate open

  for our entry. Trepidation swept over me as we pulled up to the house. More men

  waited outside for us, only this time, most of them carried assault rifles openly.

  Darren opened the door and helped me out of the car. My eyes traveled among

  the men waiting for us, and I saw Scott heading them up at the front of the line. But

  Darren had his sights set on two super tall men who stood off to the side. His hand

  on my shoulder, he led me over to them, and I wondered if maybe they were my

  new babysitters.

  “Sir,” they both said with a nod.

  Darren smiled. “Jaden, this is Clive and Owen,” he said, pointing at each one.

  “They are your new bodyguards.”

  I looked up at him. “Clive and Owen. Seriously?” I nearly laughed. They were

  officially one name to me now.

  “Absolutely. They are among my best men and have been trained to anticipate

  any little line of bullshit you might try to feed them to gain an advantage.”

  “Sounds like a challenge to me.” I smirked, crossing my arms over his chest.

  “You would see it that way. But the only thing I see is an invitation to getting

  your ass beat by me should you test them. Should you get out of hand, they will

  tranquilize you immediately, and I will deal with you when you wake. I suggest

  avoiding that as best you can.”

  “Noted,” I replied with a nod as I studied them.

  I didn’t want to stare for too long, but the one named Clive had short buzzed

  black brown hair, zero scruff, and looked to be just a tad younger than Darren was.

  The other one, Owen, seemed even younger, late twenties with blond hair, slightly

  longer than Clive’s. They both wore the same outfit as the guards on the tarmac,

  but the sunglasses they wore seemed a little different in shape—more angular and

  the color was different, certainly not standard.

  I was beginning to see a pattern in the uniform of his men. It seemed the ones

  who guarded the house wore more combat gear, as if they were ready for an assault

  at any time, while the men who accompanied him, my guards included, wore less

  combative but more athletic. Normally, in the movies in organized crime, everyone

  wore suits but not Darren’s men. They seemed to wear clothing more fit for their

  stations. It made sense. If I wanted guards protecting me, I wouldn’t want them

  fighting in the restrictions of a suit either.

  “She is to stay in her room for the remainder of the day,” Darren suddenly said

  to them.

  And just like that, I went right back to being treated like a child. I couldn’t help

  but huff in disappointment.

  Darren turned to me and bent down to kiss me on the cheek. “Behave,” he

  warned in my ear and walked away to address Scott and several others.

  Stupid fucker.

  “This way, please, Miss Jaden,” Clive said and immediately escorted me back to

  the house. A shadow of pain crossed me as I entered the house, the one I tried to

  run from so many months ago, and now, I was back, being nearly pushed up the

  stairs to my old prison cell.

  Owen opened the door for me, and I reluctantly walked inside.

  “We’ll be just outside the door,” Owen said, but it was meant as more of a

  warning. “There are men patrolling your windows, so don’t get any ideas. Your

  dinner will be brought to you shortly. Knock if you need anything.” He then closed

  the door and locked it, actually leaving me alone in my cell.

  Exhaling deeply, I turned to examine my old room, finding it looked the same.

  Everything was in its place, exactly as it had been left. Padding over to the

  bathroom, I looked below the window I had tossed my Molotov cocktail out of and

  noticed the damage fixed. But after seeing the guard with an assault rifle and a

  German shepherd come into view, I immediately ducked back inside. I didn’t want

  them thinking I had ideas. Opening the cabinets, I found a lot of shit missing.

  There was no more alcohol, nail polish remover, bath oils, matches, or even

  candles, for that matter. All my sharp little tools like my cuticle cutters, metal nail

  file, nail scissors, even my rat-tail comb was removed. Obviously, someone was a

  little paranoid and a little overcautious. He had my damn family on the table. I

  wasn’t going to jeopardize that by attempting to stab him with a nail file.

  Shaking my head at the ridiculousness of it all, I took a long hot shower, hoping

  to smooth out some of the kinks that had worked themselves into my shoulders.

  When I was done, I wrapped a towel around my body and stepped out into my

  bedroom only to jump back to see Clive Owen standing by my table. They both

  immediately turned their eyes in another direction.

  “What are you doing?” I asked them, clutching my towel even tighter.

  “We’ve been instructed not to leave until you’ve finished your dinner,” Clive

  said.

  I rolled my eyes. “Do you mind if I get dressed first, or do I have to eat right this

  second?”

  “Please make yourself comfortable, Miss Jaden,” Clive answered.

  Yeah, okay…

  Shaking my head, I walked into closest to find the exact same clothes as before.

  Now that it was November, it wasn’t exactly as warm as it usually was, so I opted for

  a longer purple striped sundress. I quickly brushed my wet hair out and then made

  my way over to the table and sat down. Dinner was roasted chicken with rosemary

  potatoes and mixed steamed vegetables. I managed to eat most of it, though it was

  difficult to do with Clive Owen watching me the entire time. With only a few bites

  of potatoes left, I was beyond full, hoping they would concede to that before

  pushing my plate away. Owen shook his head.

  “All of it, ma’am,” he said.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I complained. “I can’t fit another bite.”

  “We have our orders,” said Clive chiming in.

  “Do your orders include wearing your sunglasses indoors?” I asked. They hadn’t

  removed them, and even though the shade had lightened a bit, I still thought it was

  weird.

  “Yes,” they both said.

  I rolled my eyes. “If I throw it up, it’s your fault then,” I snarled and then shoved

  the remaining bites of food into my m
outh.

  With my nerves constantly running amuck, it was difficult to devour a large

  meal. Normally, this much wouldn’t be that difficult, but my stomach had shrunk

  in size significantly, especially after my thirty-day liquid diet.

  Shoving my plate away from me, I abruptly stood and stormed my way onto my

  balcony, slamming the French doors behind me. I heard the door to my bedroom

  close, and I knew they’d left. There were plenty of men standing around below me,

  so there was no need for them to think I was going to make some crazy elaborate

  escape now.

  Trying to calm myself down, I sat on the lawn chair and curled into myself. I

  thought about the conversation I’d had with Darren in the car just a few hours ago.

  He’d mentioned his mother and how they hadn’t gone to war since her death. I’d

  never asked how she died since I never cared. It was probably better that she never

  got to live to see her sons become monsters anyway. But now, it seemed she had

  been killed, which must have started the war Darren had mentioned. A war he’d

  clearly won. He was young then, still just a boy, and I was sure the bloodshed that

  came from that kind of retribution was the cement to his character.

  The loss of a parent was difficult. My dad, his mom—I didn’t know which was

  worse, knowing your parent and losing them forever or never really getting to know

  them in the first place. Either way, I was sure his dad wanted revenge for the loss of

  his wife, regardless of whether they had children. I wondered how it happened.

  Clearly, it was away from the estate and obviously by one of their enemies. If the

  war was bad enough to cause other organizations not to cross Darren’s, it must

  have been one hell of a fight.

  Fuck. Just what the hell was I up against?

  Toward the end of the evening, after the shift change, Jaden’s bodyguards arrived

  in my office to report on her day, even though I already knew how it had gone. I

  wanted to know what they thought, if they noticed the same things I did, and what

  they would do to avoid escalated situations in the future. Clive and Owen both sat in

  the black leather chairs across from my desk and sat like the perfect soldiers they

  were.

  “So how was Jaden’s first day back?” I asked them, relaxing into my chair.