Status Updates From Spark (Stronger, #3)

“Hey there, hot stuff. Miss me?” he barely croaked out with a gurgled chuckle.

“Is he your traitor?” I asked Darren, my eyes still on Jared.

“Yes.”

“Then why is he still alive?”

“Because I’ve decided his life is not mine to take. It’s yours.”

After finally forcing her to train with Scott, he’d never been so disappointed in his life. She was still able to complete every move and keep up, but her drive and power were completely absent. It was like she wasn’t even there inside. She was somewhere else.

“Your head. Where’s your head at? Your body might be here, but your head sure as hell ain’t.”

“I don’t understand. I did everything you asked,” I said.

He shook his head, and tore off the mitts. “Your body did. But you didn’t.”

“She had no idea the distance I’d go, the things I would do, the number of bodies I would stack to keep her mine.”

Jayden girl, you in danger

“Oh, my sweet little Jaden. You have no idea how much I plan to ruin you.”

“I knew something was up with that girl Darren’s brother had brought. I could feel it the moment she looked at Darren, and it only happened once. I caught the fear in her eyes immediately, recognized it like reading a fucking stop sign.”

“And I decided right then and there that making her smile would become one of my top priorities.”

“The only reason the two of you are still breathing is because Jaden very clearly wanted you dead, and she was betting on me killing you. I will not be giving her the satisfaction. But neither of you will be going near her again. You’re being transferred out. You should be fucking thankful.”

I was smiling. I could feel the pull on my cheeks, and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Christmas was my favorite holiday, and Darren was going to exploit the shit out of that for his benefit.

“I fucked you for nearly three hours. How can you not sleep?”

She scoffed. “Because my mind is stronger than my body,” she said.

“You may have a degree in psychology, princess, but you’ve never seen firsthand how easy it is to warp the mind. And how much fun it can be. I’ve already conditioned your body to respond the way I want it to, and I have to tell you… it didn’t take very long. I bet your fucking soaked right now.”

“I will never love you,” I roared.

“You act like you have a choice in the matter.” His voice was smooth, low, and laced with enough venom I could almost taste it.

Darren laughed again as he took a bite of his dinner. “Careful, princess. Your fuse is showing. Don’t make me light it.”

“I let them live for you because I know it’s what you wanted. It was either you or them, Jaden, and I knew you wouldn’t have the heart to make that decision, so I made it for you so you can continue to safely enjoy the woods that you clearly love so much.”

“You can hate me all you want; it won’t change anything. But you are not ever to hate yourself. You are worth more to me than my own fucking life, so don’t pretend for a second that the opinion of a dead foot soldier measures your worth. He was wrong.”

“I probably shouldn’t have brought something up as personal as his mother, but if she couldn’t survive this life, I wondered how long I could.”

“He’s not the only one who knows how to test people, Sid. He wanted obedience, I’ve been obedient. Like a goddamn robot, I’ve done everything he’s requested of me without argument like he expects. You want to know where my spark is? It’s in Darren’s fist, and instead of bothering to pry his fingers open, I’m waiting for him to grow tired and loosen his grip.”

“So Darren is bored with my compliance already, huh?”

“I never said that,” Sid replied quickly.

“You didn’t have to. I know what he wants. I’ve just been waiting for him to admit it,” I said slyly.

“You follow the rules without complaint, you tend to your own needs when required without prompt, and you seem to find some spectrum of enjoyment in your day, yet there’s still no spark left in you, Jaden. Where has it gone?”

“So Darren is bored with my compliance already, huh?”

“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.”

“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?”

“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.”

“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.”

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?”

All I could do was blink; blink and pray this wasn’t happening.

He baited her. Oh, my fucking God, he baited her.