Claimed Darker by Em Brown
Chapter 53
DARREN
Present
From my lounge chair on the white sand beach of The Placencia in Belize, I watch as Bridget chases Ethan through the shallow waves. He laughs like crazy as he kicks up the water.
“This wouldn’t be a bad place to live,” my mother says as she sips a tropical drink next to me. “It’s warm. They speak English. And there’s no Jing San hereto lure you back into the fold.”
“They’d find a way to reach me if they wanted to,” I reply.
But I know there’s zero chance of me going back to the triad. There’s nothing they can offer me that would change my mind. I have a huge imperative to never return, and I’m looking at it.
My mother follows my gaze. “You know, I was so angry with her. I missed out on over a year of my grandson’s life. Never got to hold him as a baby, see his first steps, hear his first words. I thought I could never forgive her.”
My mother knew better. She had no choice but to forgive Bridget or I would limit her access to Ethan.
“But I was wrong. She’s the right person for you after all,” my mom says.
Looking back, I knew that was the case. At a gut level. It’s why I didn’t give up looking for her. It’s why I’d do it all over again. Even though a part of me still mourns the loss of my cousin at my own hands. The other part of me may never forgive him for plotting to kill Bridget.
Marshall had taken care of things at Old Dog’s house. The story we put out is that Travis wanted more money from JD, and JD had refused. There’s no hiding JD’s death from the triad. I can’t pull a disappearing act like Bridget tried to do. Once I found her, I didn’t want to lose her again, but I couldn’t go on the run with her. Plus, there was our son.
I had to call in my favor from Hao Young, who was a little skeptical of the timing of my call with news of JD’s death.
If he found out I had lied, or if anyone wanted to dig deeper, I might be a dead man. But telling him the truth was also a risk.
I can face the music as long as Bridget and Ethan are okay. I can leave all my offshore accounts to Bridget. Cheryl will take care of everything for me and keep an eye on her. I can reassign Marshall to be Bridget’s security detail.
With that resolved, I decided to confess to Hao Young that I had shot JD. We had gotten into an argument and he all but dared me to shoot him.
“I never considered you a hothead before,” Hao Young said. “This must have been quite the disagreement.”
I paused before saying, “He wanted to take away pussy that belonged to me.”
“I guess you are your father’s son.”
His statement surprised me.
“I remember your father was very possessive of your mother,” he explained.
“Look, if you want to honor my father, I need out of the triad.”
“To lose both you and Jin Dao is a devastating blow,” he sighed, “but if you feel that strongly, and if I can trust that you—”
“Like you said: I’m my father’s son.”
“That, and we could always track you down if needed.”
The triad doesn’t like infighting, and it matters if a Vanguard like Hao Young supports my version of how things went down.
“So when are you going to pop the question?” my mother asks me.
I put my hands behind my head. “Do we have to get married?”
“Might make it a little harder for her to run off again.”
“Knowing Bridget, I doubt a marriage certificate will stop her. But she has no reason to run as long as I’m not an asshole to her. She knows I’ve left the triad for good.”
When I left the triad, I also decided to leave The Lotus, turning ownership over to Cheryl. Felipe was sad to see me go but also seemed a touch relieved. I suspect that he had more to do with Bridget’s disappearance than Amy. Amy might have overheard JD talking on the phone, but how much could she have known about my involvement in the triad? Bridget was convinced that I was as dangerous to her as JD. Could she really have reached that conclusion based only on what Amy knew?
But I let it go. If she did flee as a result of Felipe’s interference, then he probably saved her life. So I owe him.
“I bet there are nice places around here to hold a wedding ceremony,” my mother says. “You could fly that aunt of hers out here easily enough. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.”
“Not being fancy will be a requirement with Bridget,” I tell her. “She’d probably prefer to get hitched at Denver City Hall.”
My mom frowns.
I laugh and get up to walk over to Bridget and Ethan, whom she’s caught and is now swinging in a circle. Seeing me, she sets Ethan down and gives me the brightest smile. Suddenly, I rather like the idea of putting a ring on Bridget. To claim her as mine. Forever. Till death do us part.
* * *
Thankyou for coming on Darren and Bridget’s journey! If you enjoyed the chemistry between these two, try the wicked heat between Chen and Alena. Chen, a distant relative of Darren’s, is on the legitimate side of the Lee family, but that doesn’t mean he plays it nice in bed. He knows that Alena, a modern mail-order bride, is marrying for money, and he’s a billionaire who can’t stand gold-diggers. Click here to read the first installment of BOUND TO HIM for free.
