Survival ( Book 2: Stronger Series )

12. Negotiate

Smack ... smack, smack ... SMACK. Sounds. Wooden sounds clashing against each other. Strikes—bo strikes. Pain. Screaming. Grunting. Blood. And then Darren's stormy gaze as he took my body from me. Over and over again.

I jolted from my bed, my breath coming in and out in heavy gusts, sweat covering my face and mixing with my hair while my hands flew out in front of me at the ready. Adrenaline and fear spiked through my veins as I tried to calm my heartbeat from the throes of the nightmare. I looked around the room, frantically searching for intruders. Thankfully, I found none, only noticing the soft light that peered through the windows. It must still be early morning. Glancing over at the clock, my thoughts were correct as it read 7:32 in the morning.

I took a single deep breath and sat up, resting my elbows on my raised knees, and placed my head in my hands. I needed to calm down. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe slowly through my nose, but all I could see was the fight I had with Darren in his training room—the fight that I lost. All I could hear were the sounds of our bos crashing against each other; the sound echoed in my ears, reminding me of my failure. I should have won that fight, should have been able to end him right then and there, but he was just too fucking good. He was better than I was.

What the fuck were the odds of being bought by someone who trained harder than I did? Who was obviously a better fighter than I was? I really hit the motherfucking jackpot of Murphy's Law.

I furiously tossed the sheets off my naked body, threw on a white silk robe, and walked out onto my balcony, deciding on some fresh air to clear my head. I stepped out onto the cement in my bare feet, the cold stone waking me with every step. The sun was beginning to rise, and it was already painting the sky with beautiful pale pinks, purples, and yellows. Of all the rooms in the house, I really did love the view from my room. I would have a perfect show of the sunset and sunrise every day ... but the thought of that only made my heart grow heavy.

I sat down on the cushioned bench and continued to gaze out at the water. The birds were chirping away to their morning song while the seagulls sang their own tune above the water. It was peaceful, serene ... and a total fucking lie. This was not a place of tranquility. This was a prison—my prison—and nothing more. With Darren as my warden, I didn't know exactly how my future would play out here, but now that I knew what he expected of me, I could learn to evolve.

I thought about the family he wanted to have with me. The fact he wanted me as his wife had me all sorts of confused, but I quickly realized it didn't matter what Darren thought or wanted because none of that was happening. This situation was only temporary.

Eventually, I would find a way out. I was determined and fierce, but the one thing I needed to learn most was patience. I wasn't going to escape him overnight. I probably wasn't going to escape him this month ... or even this year. Escape might not even be a one-time thing; it might come down to a few attempts here and there before I finally figured it out. But I feared Darren's retribution. I was afraid of what he might do to my family. If I wanted my compliance, then that was certainly how I would do it. Hell, that was how he'd gotten to me back at the warehouse with Kayla, but she wasn't a part of the equation anymore. My family was my Kryptonite now, and Darren had already threatened one of the most important members of that family. I had so much to lose, and he only had everything to gain.

I would have to remove my family from the equation. Thankfully, my family was small so hiding them might not be terribly difficult. I just didn't know how in the hell I'd be able to reach them without giving away their location. If I reached out to Jason, I was afraid he wouldn't listen to me and just try to find me instead. My mother would be too hysterical to contemplate anything I said, and Jason would be pissed if I called Jordan over him. I would have to figure something out eventually, but I had plenty of time to plot and prepare.