Daniel’s jaw was clenched so tight I thought he might actually crack it.“I couldn’t have known it would escalate this far.I was only trying to avenge our brother!”
Rage burned in my chest at his deflection for accountability.“What do you mean, you couldn’t have known?”I bellowed.“You knew what would happen if someone killed Regina.You just didn’t care when you pulled the trigger.You let your emotions control your judgment without considering the consequences, and now look where they’ve landed us!”
Thick silence followed, Daniel’s chest heaving up and down from the exertion as he glared back at me with hate in his eyes.Apparently, he didn’t like having to face one of his greatest mistakes ever made.
“Don’t act like you’re so innocent in this, Darren,” he sneered back as he struggled to his feet, the blood from his hand dripping onto the floor.“Your failure to apprehend Jaden’s ex has been a significant contribution to this war.I’m not the only one who has fucked up here thanks to their own ego.”
I felt my entire body tense from the vibrating lava sludging through my veins.This motherfucker really couldn’t see the large stack of dominos he’d kicked over when he pulled that trigger.
“Jason is anantthat has been able to sneak in and out of the cracks thanks to his wealthy and resourceful benefactor,” I growled.“A benefactor we just learned he was working with barely a few weeks ago, one he would never have known of if a certain someone hadn’t given him cause to try to destroy us!”
It could have been three against one, with far more money and resources than Jason could have ever imagined.But instead, it was two on two, and with Daniel’s rationality compromised, it was basically two against one.
It was a good thing I was a verybigone.
“Yeah, well maybe if you’d stop coddling your wife, she’d give us the keys to help bring Jason down, and therefore Matt.But you’re still too much of a pussy to confront her.”
This again.
I shook my head at him, disappointed in the man my brother had fallen to.What was once a mostly competent partner I could trust and rely on was now a wild and careless teenager with raging hormones to match.
“Careful, Daniel, your brain damage is really starting to show,” I sneered.
A low growl rumbled up his throat as he took another step toward me, an ill-advised move on his part.
“Fuck you, Darren.At least I have an excuse!”he retorted, tapping at his head with a half-hearted chuckle.“What the fuck is yours, huh?Who gave you that split lip you’re wearing?I’ll bet it was your wife since no one else would dare take a swing at you except for her.She’s always hated you since day one and knows you’ll let her get away with it.But its gotta be even worse now since you killed her dog, and on her own fucking birthday, no less.Bravo, by the way, it was seriously about fucking time you put that thing down.”I rolled my eyes at his petty complaints.Daniel couldn’t understand my love for Jaden’s fire, and I didn’t need him to.I just needed him to accept it and mind his own fucking business.“But at this point, Jaden can’t hate you anymore than she already does, so you might as well keep pushing her until she actually gives you something useful to help bring her ex down and finally end this war.”
Irritation scorched the back of my throat as I tried to rein in my barely controlled fury.“For fuck’s sake, Daniel, I’ve already explained to you why I don’t want Jaden involved or aware of the depth of Jason’s involvement.I won’t explain it again.”
She already knows too much as it is.
Daniel rolled his eyes as he threw his uninjured hand into the air.
“Why do you even care about hiding anything anymore when she’s already hidden plenty of shit from you!How long had she known about mom’s letter before telling us, huh?She held onto that massive destructive secret for years and you think there’s nothing else she could be hiding that might be useful?!Are you kidding me?She fucking hid Kayla, Darren!Helped her escape and LIED to you about it!You can’t possibly be this blind by pussy!”
“Shut the fuck up, Daniel!”I roared, damn near ready to rip his fucking head off.He may have been right about Jaden hiding shit from me, but that didn’t mean I needed to involve her in our business.“You don’t know Jaden like I do.She’s a lot smarter than you give her credit for and is far more manipulative than Regina could have ever hoped to be.She’s an opportunist to her core and I will not feed that beast to satisfy your irrational need to interrogate her for information I don’t even need.”
Daniel scoffed, the corner of his mouth lifting into a snarl.“And you thinkI’mthe liability here.You can’t even trust your own wife to be honest with you, let alone have your best interests in mind.She’s still too busy trying to figure out how to kill you.”
The tips of my fingers found a comforting rhythm against my pounding temples, my breath leaving my chest in a gust of irritation as I tried not to kill my own brother.
“Sure, Daniel.Any other pearls of wisdom you’d like to share before I have Sid sedate the fuck out of you?”
“Oh, fuck you, Darren!You know what?Maybe Mom really did get her wish after all when she faked that fucking war with her death to free us from Dad’s influence,” Daniel continued.“As it seems, you didn’t turn out to be the big bad monster Dad had hoped for.Mom would be so proud to see her sacrifice and clever manipulation had actually paid off.”
I shook my head at the direction this argument had turned to, no longer interested in throwing knives at my brother while he returned fire with chewed-up pencils.
“I’m officially done with this useless conversation.Pull yourself together, Daniel, and stay the fuck away from my wife before I have Sloane finish ripping you apart.”I then turned my back on the pissing contest I had no desire to continue and glanced at Sid.“Good luck with the surgery, Sid.Maybe you can sew his mouth shut too while you’re at it.”
Once I was back on the main floor, I took the stairs up to the security room to review the footage of Jaden’s encounter with Daniel.I knew Sloane would tell me the truth knowing full well I would eventually watch the footage myself.But the anger I felt when I watched Daniel take a swing at Jaden had me wanting to go back down to the infirmary and finish what I started.
But first, I needed to check on Jaden.
Heading up to our bedroom, I could hear her rummaging around behind the bathroom door.Sloane was sitting in one of the chairs near the window, clearly waiting for Jaden as she stared outside.
“Find something else to do, Sloane,” I ordered, ignoring her presence as she quietly stood and left the room.
Stopping at the bathroom door, I could hear Jaden moving around noisily on the other side.Turning the knob, I growled internally when I realized she had locked the door.