Survival ( Book 2: Stronger Series )

32. Trouble

"Five minutes."

I hung up the phone and headed out into my room. Jaden was still sitting on the bed, staring out the window.

"Go get dressed." I pointed at her as I headed for the door.

She gave me a strange look but didn't argue as I left the room, closing the door behind me. I didn't have time to deal with her questions; if something was up concerning her, then I needed to know right fucking now. I gathered Scott and together, he and I and two other guards made our way out to the front of the house. Hagen was just pulling up in his sheriff's vehicle.

He stepped out, nodding in my direction as he began to head toward me while his men pulled a man from the backseat. They dragged him over to where we stood and dropped him to his knees in front of me. I looked down at the man and instantly recognized him. He was one of the gardeners I'd hired to care for the grounds of my estate. The fuck was this shit?

"What the fuck is this?" I waved at the man as I looked at Hagen.

"Well, you see, this gentleman right here claims you've got a girl locked up in your house who's been missing for months. Says you abuse her and won't let her leave," Hagen said casually.

If I hadn't been so pissed off, I would have started laughing.

"Is that so?" I said, looking down at the man who now cowered in fear. "And what evidence does he have to support this wild claim?"

"Says he's seen her several times on the news and recognized her. Says he knows she doesn't want to be here and that she's in trouble. He wanted to help her."

I felt my shoulders bulge with pure rage as I looked down at the puny fuck who actually attempted to have Jaden taken away from me. And what's more, she probably played a part in this. She probably fucking begged him to.

"Please, señor," the man began to plead in a heavy Spanish accent while his hands remained cuffed behind his back. "Please, it's misunderstanding. I-I'm sorry. Please, I have family."

I just glared at him, unconsciously baring my teeth while I thought about ripping his throat out, but I had to confirm something first.

"Get Jaden, now," I told Eric, one of my guards, and returned my attention to Hagen. "Has this fucker told anyone else about this?" I asked Hagen.

"Doesn't seem that way. Otherwise, I'd have a lot more phone calls to answer this morning."

"Clean it up if you do. I don't need anyone else snooping into my business."

"Will do." Hagen nodded.

I heard the front door open and the sound of struggling caught my ears. I turned to find Eric dragging Jaden by her upper arm as she fought to keep up with him in her little flats. When they reached us, she yanked her arm out of Eric's grasp and turned to me.

"What is this? What's going on?" she asked me with a much harsher tone than she should have.

"Do you know this man?" I asked sharply, pointing at the gardener who began to shake uncontrollably.

She looked down and her eyes lit up with fear, shock, and recognition. Oh yeah, she knew him. She knew him far more than she should.

"No, I don't know him," she said with an attitude. "Why would I know him? You don't let me talk to anyone."

"Well, he certainly thinks he knows you. In fact, he knows you so well that he seems to think you're a missing person," I said very lightly.

"Well, I can imagine why he would think that," she replied.

Without even thinking, I grabbed her throat and roughly pulled her to me. Her little hands wrapped around my wrist as she fought for balance and ground. "This stupid fuck decided to take it upon himself to report you to the police." I watched her for a minute to see how she reacted. "But for all I know, you could have told him to go to the police for you. Is that what you did, Jaden? Begged this man to help you escape?" I practically roared at her. Her eyes lit up in panic.

"No! No! I swear I didn't do anything!" she pleaded back. "Why would I even bother to tell him that when I know the police can't help me?"

"I don't know, Jaden, someone obviously put the idea in his head," I growled menacingly.

"I swear I've never spoken a word to him!"

"You expect me to believe that?" I snarled. I was so close to snapping, it almost felt inevitable.

"Yes! I swear to you I never asked him to do anything. Please, Darren, don't hurt him. He didn't understand what he was doing."

"Oh, no. This little fuck knew exactly what he was doing. He was trying to take you away from me, and that, princess, simply will not do."

I released Jaden's throat, watching as she stumbled back only a little before Scott caught her shoulders and forced her to still. I then hauled around and kicked the stupid Mexican fuck right in the face.

"No!" Jaden screamed behind me. "Darren, stop it!" I sensed the lunge of her body as she moved to stop me, but I ignored her, knowing full well Scott could handle her.

The gardener fell back with a grunt as I got on top of him and started pummeling his face with my fists. Fury flowed through my blood as I released my rage onto the guy's flesh. Just who the fuck did he think he was? Her savior? I didn't fucking think so.

Jaden continued to yell and cuss as she began to fight with Scott to get at me, but he was steadfast. I punched the guy several more times, shattering his nose and cheekbones before standing up and addressing my guards.

"Kill his family. And bring him to the shed."

"What?! No!" Jaden screamed and fought harder with Scott. "You can't fucking do that, Darren. They're innocent!"

"And you," I roared as I grabbed her throat a second time and began dragging her backward with me to the shed. I was so pissed; I could have snapped her in half with ease. "You can kiss your family good-bye."

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Omg! Omg! Omg! things are going so bad.