Come on, Daniel, spill that fucking tea, you bitch.
“You’re really gonna play dumb, huh?”
I shrugged my shoulders.“I guess I am.”
His mouth slowly morphed into something dark and wicked, the twisted smile suddenly looking uncomfortably familiar.
“Darren warned me you were smart,” Daniel commented as he took another step closer.“But I just don’t see what he sees.”
I gasped, dramatically laying my hand over my heart.“I’m devastated.”
Kicking an empty can of paint out of his way, he stepped near the window to glance outside.
“Somehow, he sees everything he’s ever wanted in you, which has clearly blinded him from seeing what a lying manipulative bitch you are.”
I paused for a moment, slightly amused.He really thought he had me all figured out.
“Mmm…no, he definitely knows that already,” I replied with a nod.He’s punished me enough for it as it is.
“Not like I do,” he countered.“I know you’re hiding a lot more than just that letter my mom wrote.”
My stomach suddenly clenched at the mention of the letter.Because he was right, I had hidden the letter for a long time.So what else did he think I was hiding?
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know a lot more about what’s going on than you should, and Darren is too much of a pussy to interrogate you himself.So I’m going to have to do it for him.And when I’m done, he’ll finally see just how deep your deception really goes.”
I could feel my head tilting as I narrowed my gaze at him.He was clearly planning on some kind of physical altercation here, which made the situation much more difficult to manage.But maybe that was exactly what I needed to make it look like.
“I’m not sure what it is you think I know or have done, Daniel, but I can assure you, it’s all in your head.”
“Bullshit!”he howled viciously.“You know something, and you’re going to tell me right fucking now.”
I shook my head at him, catching the aggression growing in his tone.“That bullet really did a number on your skull, huh?You used to be so pragmatic, and now you’re nothing but a goddamn confused mess,” I fired back, gesturing at him with my hand.
Daniel’s jaw ticked as he glared back at me, his gaze shifting into something menacing and feral.“I’ll show you a fuckingmess.”
And then he charged for me.
Sudden indecision flashed before my eyes, slowing the world down as two choices abruptly presented themselves.
I could stand my ground and fight this bastard until my knuckles were raw and my arms were stiff.I could stab him in the eye with the dull end of the paintbrush within my reach.I could trip him and smother his face in the puddle of paint he’d spilled behind my feet.I could even strangle him with the clay wire cutter he’d just haphazardly kicked in my direction.Everything was a weapon if you were creative enough.
Or…
There was another weapon at my disposal, a choice I had never sought the opportunity to use until now, something that would be far more effective than anything I could ever do myself.
Darren.
He was the live atomic bomb I had hidden away in my arsenal, and while he had detonated plenty of times on his own, I had yet to plant him in the direct path of my enemies.And now here was my chance toreallytest it.
I could fight Daniel myself and land my ass in a shit ton of trouble with Darren, or I could sacrifice my body for what I knew would result in a guaranteed well-deserved execution.And if whatever Daniel planned to do to me in this very second resulted in a miscarriage, it was two birds with one stone.I could spare my baby the horror of growing up in this life without fear of blame, while simultaneously ensuring the warranted death of Darren’s last standing family ally.
Darren had killed my dog.And for that…I was going to make him kill his own brother.
The choice was obvious.
So instead of maneuvering defensively to the side, I took a retreating step back to purposely slip my bare foot into the spilled red paint behind me.I moved to give the impression I was running for the door, fleeing just like Darren had recently ordered me to, but fell to the floor instead.