by J Marie
wanted and expected.
Darren glared at me, his tone harsh and unapologetic. “I want you to make a
fucking choice. Make a decision for yourself. You decide, Jaden, not me. Kill him or
don’t. It makes no difference to me. Jared will die either way. I just thought I’d offer
you the right of first refusal.”
My eyes went back to the gun he held in his hand. What do I do? I didn’t want to
question his motives any further. I needed to make this decision on my own, and
the thought had me conflicted as fuck.
And then the sound of gurgled laughter filled my ears again.
“Come on, Darren. You’re really going to let the little pumpkin kill me?” He
chuckled, blood coating his yellow teeth. “Surely, you can do better than that.”
My eyes turned to him, lit with instant rage at his words. How. Fucking. Dare.
He.
Soft chuckles and smiles from the men around us surrounded me, and I felt
myself coming undone, the stitches that held my restraint together slowly ripping
apart from the seams. I wanted to lash out, to fight, to maim, to full on fucking rage
until I was exhausted and satisfied, and as my body shook with fury, it became
harder and harder to contain it.
I could feel Darren’s eyes on me, his brow raised like he was waiting to see if I
would react. If I would take that kind of shit from Jared.
He chuckled again. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I just don’t think you have it in you.
Leave it to the big boys who can actually pull—”
I didn’t allow him to finish his sentence. Instinct took over as I swiftly turned
my body into a reverse sidekick and slammed my foot straight into his mouth,
knocking him right out of his chair. The moment my foot made contact, the most
beautiful sense of fulfillment washed over me. The taste of revenge lingered on the
tip of my tongue, its sweetness filling my mouth like honey. I hadn’t lost it. It was
still there, waiting to be found.
Jared grunted loudly, and I felt myself moving in on him, my clenched fist rising
to strike, but Darren grabbed my arm and held me back. Jared was instantly righted
back into his chair, coughing up blood and spitting out fragments of his teeth. I
didn’t think his mouth would be working properly after that. I moved toward him
again, my fists shaking to plunge them into his face, but again, Darren held me
back.
“Say one more fucking word, and I’ll make you swallow the rest of your teeth,” I
threatened.
Holy fuck, did I just say that? Were those my words that just came from my
mouth?
I looked back up at Darren, shocked and horrified at what I had just done, but the
look he was giving me did not suggest disappointment. It was pride. He smiled
down at me as if I was everything to him, and it filled me with hope.
Darren held the gun up again one last time, and it blew my mind that there was a
smile on my face. But then the moment was ruined by the soft laughter emanating
from Jared’s fucked-up, bloody mouth.
“I hope you enjoy the rest of your life, baby,” he mumbled with a cracked
chuckle. “You’re both so welcome.”
I suddenly felt something snap inside me, like a rubber band finally giving way
to its pressure.
I never wanted to hear that fucking sound again.
In one motion, I took the gun from Darren’s hand, pointed the barrel at the
ground to pull back the slide and push the bullet into the chamber, lifted my hand
to aim, and pulled the trigger without a second thought.
The sound that left the gun was nothing compared to the sound that followed.
Darren furrowed his brows in disappointed surprise. “He was three feet in front
of you, Jaden. How did you miss?” he asked me, irritated.
I smiled in response. “I didn’t miss.”
The bullet pierced into Jared’s neck, shattering his jugular, and causing blood to
spill all over him. His eyes went wide as he began to choke on his own blood, the
gushing, croaking sounds he made only drew the corners of my mouth up higher. I
didn’t take my eyes off him until I saw the life leave his eyes. It was fucking perfect.
Even Darren had a smile on his face with my slight deviation from his plan.
When it was over and Jared was dead, I released the slide to close again and
handed it back to Darren.
“We done here?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said gravely, taking the gun from my hand and holstering it at his hip.
“Go back to the bedroom. I’ll see you up there shortly.”
I nodded and then immediately turned to head for the door, but before I could
take another step, Darren snatched my wrist and pulled me to him. His hands
gripped my face tightly and then leaned down to kiss me with enough force to
strain my neck. But this wasn’t a simple good night kiss. This was passion mixed
with what felt like relief and excitement. Had I made him happy with my decision?
Fuck, I hoped.
“Welcome back, princess. Fuck, have I missed you,” he whispered against my
face. I didn’t know what he meant by that, but I didn’t deliberate much when he
released me, and I was escorted back up the stairs.
Each step I took brought me deeper and deeper into the understanding that I had
just killed someone. For the very first time, I had personally taken a life. And
Darren was right—there was no walking away from that.
I found my breath coming faster, weariness fogging my brain while the contents
of my stomach twisted and churned inside me. Bolting forward, I grasped a tree,
bent over, and threw up all over the bushes.
“Miss Jaden, are you okay?” Owen asked, his voice full of concern while Clive
came to my side.
I spat out the nastiness on my tongue and wiped my mouth with my sleeve, the
horror of what I had just done leaving me like the contents of my stomach just had.
“I’m fine. In fact … I’m great,” I said, meaning it.
My hands were officially dirty now, bloodied with darkness and death. I was no
longer innocent in this game. I was officially a legit player. No longer the sheep
among wolves, but finally a fucking wolf with the marks on my arm and blood on
my hands to prove it.
I suddenly felt alive now more than I had in a long time. I didn’t know how to
explain it or where it had come from, but knowing I had finally, after all this time,
succeeded in one small portion of my need for vengeance was enough to ignite
something I’d forgotten was there to begin with.
To see blood spilled in my honor by my own hand was a treasure to behold, and I
planned to extort the shit out of it. I would not shy away from this; I would embrace
the hell out of it. The goal was to become a wolf, and I was officially inducted, and it
felt fucking fantastic. I hadn’t felt this elated in so long, and I didn’t want to let it
go. After all the shit I had gone through, I’d somehow found myself again, and it
was in the most unlikely place.
After seeing how pleased Darren was with my decision, I instantly knew he’d
wanted that. During my retreat, I had forgotten why Darren chose me to begin with.
I’d forgotten it was because of how strong I was, how resilient, and how goddamn
challen
ging he loved me to be. That was the girl he wanted. And when I had pulled
that trigger, he couldn’t have confirmed it any better than the kiss he gave me
afterward.
Sid’s words suddenly echoed in my head from our conversation on the island.
“You can choose to be a victim, or you can choose to be something else
entirely.”
I was finally that something else entirely. I was the fucking phoenix rising from
the ashes of her despair and taking flight into victory. From within the shadow of
death, I was ready to breathe fire again.
I lifted my head from the bushes with a wide smile and looked into the darkness
of the woods, seeing for the first time all the stars between the branches in the
distance. Light could be found in the dark, and I was going to extract that shit like
diamonds from a mine. I wouldn’t lose myself in this. I’d conform, but I wouldn’t
forget. Not this time. That mouse of a girl Darren had tamed was irrevocably gone
and would never be heard from again.
The bitch was back. And she was thirsty as fuck …
To be continued …
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a
review on Goodreads or on the site of where you bought it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Marie has been writing since she first learned the alphabet, but it wasn’t until 27 years later that she finally
decided to take the deep plunge into the depths of independent publishing. Her written work conveys the
darker side of writing, bringing in to light what most may shy away from and she loves every moment of it.
Her inspiration comes to her in the form of a minefield on top of a snow-covered mountain. One step and a
new idea explodes in her head, and then before you know it, it's an avalanche of ideas rushing through her head
and it does not stop!
When she's not writing until the late hours of the night, she's working as a legal assistant at a personal injury law firm in Michigan and studying hard as a night student in law school. She also likes to spend time
with her fiancé, ride her little Honda Grom motorcycle, shoot guns, and make messes around the house.
CONNECT WITH J. MARIE
If you'd like to learn more about the author, her series, or to donate to charities for
victims of human trafficking, check her out below:
Website: www.jmarieseries.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JMarieSeries
Goodreads www.goodreads.com/J_Marie
Document Outline
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Author’s Note
About the Author
Connect with J. Marie