Page 103 of Stand: Part One
“Darren, don’t!” I cried out as he unhooked my bra and tore my thong down my legs.
“I’m going to give you one more chance, princess,” he warned, the sound of his belt buckle clinking as the leather strap was pulled from his waist. “And if you lie to me again, I swear to God, I won’t stop until I see you bleed.”
Fuck.
The familiar icy edge of panic crystalized my limbs, damn near locking them in place, my entire body tensing for the absolute worst.
Darren planted himself right behind my legs, trapping them against the desk.
“Tell me the truth, Jaden. Did you have anything to do with Kayla’s escape?”
My whole body shook with fear, and as much as I tried to get ahold of myself and stow away the paralyzing terror, there was no escaping it. No escaping him.
“If it makes it any easier for you, I’ve already commissioned a team to find her. So you should have no qualms about giving her up. She’s already being pursued.”
This time, the tears did finally break free as a quiet sob escaped my throat. I had tried so hard to protect Kayla, to keep her hidden, to give her a chance to get away.
And now all my efforts had been ripped apart by a monster I actually thought I could outsmart. And here were the consequences ready to bust down my front door.
The only silver lining left was that he clearly hadn’t found her if he was still pursuing her. Maybe she had found Jason. Or maybe she died somewhere, and they just hadn’t found her body yet. The possibilities were endless.
“Last chance, Jaden,” Darren warned, his voice hard with the promise of pain.
More tears spilled. What was the point in lying now when he already knew the truth? That ship had already sailed. But I could still save myself from an agony I knew would last much longer than I could bear right now. There was no point in suffering for a lie I could no longer defend.
Pick your battles, Jaden. You already lost this one long before you knew it even existed.
I sucked in a breath, absolutely hating myself.
“I did,” I whispered, the rancid taste of weakness and betrayal coating my tongue.
Darren dropped the belt to the desk and flipped me over to face him. His hand then shot out and wrapped around my throat, squeezing hard, harder than he ever had before.
Terror clutched my heart as my eyes caught the unyielded rage emanating from Darren’s gaze, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl as he compressed my airway with one incredibly strong hand. His arm was like steel as I fought against it, but all my clawing and kicking did absolutely nothing as he strangled me like he was actually trying to kill me.
Oh God, was this it? Was this how I finally met my end? Was he finally going to kill me?
I could feel the intense pressure building behind my eyes, drawing tears that blurred my vision. The sound of my blood pounded through my ears as a blunt agony collared my throat. My arms grew weak, and my strength finally left my body, darkness clouding everything as my chest burned for mercy. Only then did Darren finally release me.
My lungs immediately filled with a powerful rush of oxygen, my airway spasming as I choked and coughed on the air it desperately craved. Tears continued to spill over, wetting my cheeks as my body shook from the adrenaline surging through my veins.
Relief was immediate as the gift of life was restored by my god while my internal panic battered my body from the trauma of believing that death was imminent.
When Darren’s eyes locked with mine, not an ounce of leniency or regret reflected back at me, just the cold dark promise of more to come.
Still recovering, he leaned down and leered over top of me, both hands planted on either side of my head. He studied me with the kind of intensity that penetrated through even the strongest of resolves, and made lesser men run for their lives.
“The truth, Jaden. Now,” he spat.
My tongue felt huge in my mouth, like forming words was the hardest thing I could possibly do right now.
“We s-stole the cloaking device from Tony,” I croaked, my voice raw and scratchy. “I gave it to Kayla, along with my ring to sell. I told her to d-disappear.”
I wanted to slit my own throat. My stomach was sour, the sickly toxin of cowardice snaking through my veins while my heart pulsed with self-hatred.
Darren’s steely eyes searched mine, hunting for even the slightest hint of a lie, and while I didn’t give him all the details, I did tell him the truth.
“Why didn’t you go with her?” he asked, his hard gaze sharpening. “Why didn’t you run when you had the chance?”
