Page 51 of Spark

“When are you going to learn I have eyes and ears everywhere,” he drawled.

Son of a bitch. He did have them everywhere, probably all over the island. In the house, I knew for sure, but in the damn trees?

“Please don’t hurt her,” I nearly pleaded, unable to take my eyes off the screen.

“She brought this on herself,” he countered coldly.

“You baited her.”

“Yes, I did. To see if she would dig, and she very clearly did.”

“That’s not fair,” I said through gritted teeth. “She’s only ever tried to help me.”

“I never said I was fair. I told you what would happen if Holly didn’t mind her own business. You did a piss-poor job at convincing her you were happy with me, which only served to increase her suspicions.”

“I did everything I could,” I croaked, fighting back my tears as my chest filled with emotional agony.

“I’m sorry that it wasn’t enough,” Darren said, almost sounding regrettable.

I turned in his lap, suddenly desperate to change his mind. I wouldn’t be responsible for another innocent person’s life. Not again.

“Please, Darren,” I begged, my eyes wide as they searched his, hoping to swim past his icy barrier. “Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything. You don’t have to kill her. We can—”

Before I got a chance to finish my groveling, Darren’s lips assaulted mine, crushing me to him with a powerful kiss. Locked in his embrace, I pressed my lips into his, giving him exactly what he wanted, hoping to placate him before he violently tore himself away. Grabbing my hips, he shoved me off him while he instantly stood, groaning in irritation as I hit the floor.

“What’s done is done, Jaden. You failed to keep her blissfully in the dark, and now, I have to take care of it. Again.” His voice was cold and harsh as he walked past me without even a glance in my direction. He was going to go kill her. I couldn’t let him. I had to do something. Anything.

Before I could even register what I was doing, I launched from the floor and leaped onto Darren’s back, my legs swinging around to clench his waist while my arms slung around his neck for a rear-naked choke.

“You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” I screamed as I pulled with my all my might, trying my hardest to plant my feet between his thighs to dig my hooks in for the choke.

Grunting, Darren stopped mid-stride, reached up to grip my arms, and began to pull them away from his neck. I held on as tight as I could, pushing out my hips to extend my body to increase the strength of the choke, but it did nothing against Darren’s strength. Inch by inch, my arms finally gave way and allowed Darren to pull me off him completely. I wasn’t giving up, though. The moment he had my arms locked in his hands, I released my legs around his hips, and kicked my feet into the back of his knees, causing him to bend down in hopes of getting him to the floor, but Darren was already ready.

The moment his knees buckled, he had already pulled me around his body and nearly threw me off him to the floor. I rolled against the hardwood and stood up quickly, my body now blocking the doorway thanks to where he tossed me.

“Get out of my way, Jaden. You should know better than this by now,” he growled, those cold eyes narrowing on me. I felt a shiver roll up my spine from the look he was giving me right now; the look that told me I would regret my decisions if I didn’t heed the warning in his eyes. I was so scared of him, so scared of what he could do to me, but the terror of what he would do, what he was about to do to Holly, outweighed it all. I’d suffer for it later, but I would suffer more if I stood by and did nothing.

“I’m not going to let you hurt her.” My voice lacked its usual conviction, but I would still fight him for as long as I could.

“Not your decision. Now, move.”

“No!” I shouted angrily, my eyes faltering to the floor. I didn’t want to look at him, afraid I’d lose too much of my nerve. I could see Darren shake his head, disappointed as usual.

“Have it your way then,” he said and charged forward.

My heart skipping a beat in a panic, I grabbed the first thing I could reach, which happened to be a big blue ceramic vase and hurled it at him. Without missing a step, he blocked it, causing the vase to crash to the floor, shattering everywhere. I felt my body immediately ready for a fight, my knees bending slightly, while the heel of my back foot lifted for optimal movement. My open palms quickly raised to protect myself while my upper body shifted defensively.

On a single blink, Darren’s hand quickly reached out for my throat, but I blocked it, turning my body and wrapping my hand around his wrist in an attempt for joint manipulation. His wrist in my hold, I kicked up, hoping to land one on his face, but he blocked it with his other hand, shoving my leg back down with such force, I was sure it would leave a bruise.

Jerking his wrist from my hold, he made another move for my neck, but I blocked, countering with a strike at his face, which he, in turn, blocked as well. Adrenaline coursing through my veins, I exchanged a few more strikes and blocks with him before I quickly became winded and Darren’s grip at my throat was finally a success. Shoving me back against the door, his fingers tightened around my neck while my hands struggled against his wrist.

“You’ve gotten slow,” he drawled, his breath even and his demeanor calm as his face closed in on mine.

“No thanks to you,” I said through gritted teeth. His grip was tight; it was not tight enough to inhibit my oxygen supply, but the threat was still there.

“A conversation for another time,” he quipped. “Now, if you don’t do as you’re told, Holly’s death will not be quick. It’ll be slow. And you will watch. Is that what you want?”

I nearly screamed in frustration. He was such a bastard.