“You know I don’t like to be benched, Sid,” I warned sardonically.
He paused again to stare out into the ocean, the water licking at his ankles as he looked on toward the horizon.
“Yes, I do know,” he commented lightly.“Which is why I left you a little something in the top right drawer of my desk, in case things go south and you need one last Hail Mary.Something I’m sure you’re more than familiar with.”
I looked at him with confusion, about to ask him what he meant when he started to suddenly lean forward and stumble in place, wincing and groaning in pain.
“Sid,” I called, reaching out to catch him before he lost his balance.But his weight was too much for me to hold and we both fell into the wet sand, the waves crashing into us.“Sid!”
Response was quick as the sound of guards mobilized into action, Sloane calling my name from the distance.
A pained grimace twisted Sid’s face as his hand moved to clutch his chest, his breathing becoming erratic and short.“I’m sorry, Jaden,” he gasped between groans.“I’m so sorry.”
“Help!”I shouted as I held his trembling body close, trying to keep him elevated.Sloane reached me before the rest of the guards did, but by then, Sid’s eyes had closed and his hand had fallen at his side, completely limp.
The guards took Sid from my hold and quickly began performing CPR.When the chest compressions and oxygen mask proved useless, the guards trained as medics brought out the defibrillator.They tried reviving Sid for a good ten minutes before they finally called it quits.He was pronounced him dead right there on the beach.
I knelt in the wet sand in stunned silence, watching as they collected Sid’s body and carried him off to who knew where.At this point, I was in a state of shock, so much so I could barely register Katherine and Sloane calling my name.
“Jaden, look at me!”Sloane growled, her Russian accent flaring to life and finally drawing my attention.I blinked up at her, focusing on the healing angry scar on her cheek as she held my face in her hand.“Are you alright?”she asked.
I sucked in a deep breath and nodded.“I’m fine.Just shocked, I guess.The man just died in my arms.”
But he had done so much more than just that.Sid’s efforts had abruptly set in motion something I had never anticipated—a real fighting chance.Of all the people I’d come to know in this wretched life, I never expected Sid would be one of the many keys to my potential freedom.
My eyes closed with a silent gratitude I would forever struggle to appreciate, given all the harm he had contributed to.But in his final moments, I was grateful for the acidic bite of guilt that could eat away at our misplaced loyalties and fears, and make us commit one final act of redemption.
Goodbye, Sid.Better late than never, I guess.
Now that I knew I wasn’t pregnant, the floodgates of possibilities rushed open.I was no longer bound to the limits of pregnancy and the sudden relief that I was not currently carrying Darren’s child brought on a feeling that left me breathless and hopeful.
Given what happened last time, I shouldn’t be this optimistic that another attack would be successful.But they were coming after the estate this time, which meant they had better have a damn good plan for bypassing all of the security measures and dozens of armed guards that patrolled the property.It seemed almost impossible, and the more I thought about it, the worse my anxiety got.
Tomorrow might very well be the end of the road for everyone.And I needed to do everything I could to ensure there were no more detours.
17
SAVAGES
* * *
My knuckles leisurely dragged along the hard wood of my office conference table, its smooth glossy surface reflecting the comparably polished expressions of my current guests.Bored, my fingers eventually stopped near the edge to drum with the kind of rhythm that would suggest my patience was about to snap.
It was quite a performance to maintain the appearance of interest and focus as Ricardo droned on and on about where he believed his profit margins would increase if I would relinquish my hold on the southern docks.
I controlled all the imports and exports in the southern region.There was only one channel that led to those incredibly exclusive docks, and nothing got through it without my knowledge or permission.And apparently, Ricardo Sativa wanted unfettered access to the route so he could smuggle his people through a much more direct point, shorten the travel time, and avoid the police traffic.Blah, blah, blah…
Maintaining my focus was unusually difficult as I tried to carry on the conversation with an audience of fifteen extremely volatile men.At least none of them were armed, having checked their weapons at the door as my one requirement to enter this meeting.The last thing we needed was bullets flying because someone’s mouth got out of hand.
But in my boredom and disinterest, all I could think about was Sid and the puzzle of his final moments.
With his sudden death yesterday, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had felt deceptively off about its abruptness.That the old man might have actually somehow planned his own demise.Given his prognosis, it wouldn’t exactly come as a shock to me if he had decided to shorten his own sentence.
But if that was the case, the deeper question was why he had chosen to live out his final moments with Jaden, of all people.He could have gone off anywhere to die alone or be with anyone else, but he chose her, and the why was driving me insane.
I hadn’t had the time to address it with Jaden and remark on the dying man’s last words with her.I’d been too busy prepping with Scott for this fucking meeting that would not stop dragging.
Feigning my undivided attention, I glanced around the conference table, taking note of all the strongest families who felt the most slighted by my mother’s actions.And now that they all had clean slates thanks to the destruction of the servers, they were free to renegotiate every fucking contract we’d ever established without fear of retribution.