Page 129 of Spark

“Here, Dom,” Dan yelled, waving at him.

I could hear Dom making his way over to our table, and for some reason, I felt myself cringe. He was going to fuck this up somehow; I just knew it.

“What’s going on, family?” he said enthusiastically. I looked up at him to find a tall young woman with long, dark brown hair and full pink lips clinging to his arm. She looked as though she were a piece of candy stuck to his sleeve.

“Dominic, nice of you to finally show up,” I admonished him.

He gave me that signature look he always does when he blows off my scolding.

“What? I had business to take care of,” he said, taking a seat while the brunette sat down next to him. I knew exactly what he meant by “business.”

Looking over his date, I recognized her immediately. She’d been one of the slaves in the bi-weekly auctions from the beginning of the year. She didn’t sell due to her height, so we sent her to Dom in Vegas. Obviously, he found a purpose for her after all. She took one look at me, and the fear of recognition instantly lit up. Luckily for her, she’d only ever have to see me once, but once was enough for most of them.

“Holy shit, is this her?” Dom asked, pointing at Jaden.

I nodded. “Jaden, this is my youngest brother, Dominic. Dominic, this is Jaden.”

Jaden gave Dominic a small nod, and he just smiled.

“Damn, you picked a good one, brother. Boris wasn’t lying!”

Speaking of Boris…

I recently discovered his family had pulled him off life support a few weeks ago. Edmund had apparently appeared at the funeral wearing a black hand prosthetic. The thought had me grinning inside.

With Dominic happily steering the conversation to his latest venture to Tijuana, my eyes fell to Jaden, noticing how often she avoided making eye contact with anyone, including myself. She was quiet until she was spoken to, and it was rare. I wasn’t that surprised she wasn’t met with more conversation considering they were more afraid of my reaction to their questions than Jaden’s response. But the one person who didn’t sense the warning was the one person I wanted Jaden to have the least amount of interaction with – Regina. I was afraid at one point Jaden was going to leap across the table and strangle Regina herself. I might have actually allowed the entertainment. I’d never seen Jaden so annoyed in my life.

It made me wonder why I thought to bring her to this in the first place. While others saw her as the pretty jewel on my arm, I saw her as the tiger with the chain leash. But the whole point of this was to test her. She did well in Alaska, and now, I wanted to see how she handled the family. For the most part, she did well masking her emotions during the dinner conversations, but I caught every slip she made when her glares would sneak through the cracks of her concrete resolve. I had to give her props for catching herself quickly before anyone else noticed. The only thing she wasn’t able to hide was her subtle interest in the girl sitting one chair over. I didn’t like it.

When mention of my unborn niece came around, I noticed Jaden shrink into herself, her face becoming pale. Her knee began to bounce, the clear indication she was nervous and uncomfortable. Jaden knew that just as Dan had expected children from Katherine, I expected the same thing from her. I knew she didn’t have much experience with children to go on, but she would someday find her motherly instinct and make it work. And yet, through all her obvious insecurities, she still managed to find her voice.

“What made you choose the name, Ella?” she asked. I tensed slightly at her question, knowing the sensitivity of the answer.

Katherine gave Jaden a sad smile before looking to Dan, silently asking for permission to answer. He gave her the tiniest of nods.

“It was my little sister’s middle name,” she replied.

Jaden’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as the weight of Katherine’s words reigned in.

“Was?”

“Well, I think it’s time for dessert, huh? Aren’t you two supposed to cut a cake or something?” Matt chimed in to divert the conversation. I found myself thankful.

“Yes, I believe you’re right. Come on, Katherine,” Dan said, taking Katherine’s hand and helping her from her seat.

With dinner now over, the band began to play upbeat music, encouraging a few couples to head to the dance floor. When Dan and Katherine were nearly out of sight, Jaden leaned in to me.

“What did she mean ‘was’?” she asked.

“None of your business, that’s what.” I stood, buttoning my jacket back in place. “Now I have some business to attend to while I’m here. You’re free to walk around, but mind your conversations. Clive and Owen will be watching and listening.”

Jaden waved me off like I was a fly in her face, pursing her lips in rebellion as I turned away from her. I was waiting for many of the business partners attending the shower to bombard me, and I didn’t need Jaden within earshot of those conversations.

During my discussions, I kept Jaden within my peripherals, wanting to know where she was at all times and what she was doing. She was such a damn beautiful distraction, another reason I should have left her at home. I went against my own judgment when I said I wouldn’t let her off the estate for a long-ass time, but if she could display good behavior at moments like this, maybe I’d change my mind. I did want to be able to trust her eventually, but that was years in the making.

And that potential trust was immediately diminished when I caught her having a conversation with Dominic’s date. I didn’t know how long they had been talking, but the moment I saw it, I signaled to Clive and Owen to break it up. I didn’t need Jaden stumbling upon information that didn’t concern her. As the girl was removed from the table, Jaden glared at me from across the way. I returned it with the slight shake of my head, my face completely blank when she slammed her hand on the table and rose from her seat. My eyes followed her as she began to wander about the party, Clive and Owen not far behind.

As I made my way through-out the party, I approached Dominic, who was ordering his fourth drink from the bartender, and slapped my palm against his shoulder.

---