Damned (14 page)

“Mark my words Jade, you will do what I ask, when I ask. I have control here, perhaps you should watch your tea.”

Then he storms out, leaving me laughing to myself.  Gods he drives me crazy, how on earth I would ever spend the rest of my living days with him, is far beyond me. I walk out of the house and into the gardens to meet Keegan, a friend I had made in the last six months. Well, we were more than friends, but I had not been intimate with him. I guess he was like my Celeste. If that made sense. James had her, so I had somebody too. Though nobody…nobody compared to Jax. I chose not to think of him unless I absolutely had to.

Keegan
sits
on the small concrete bench with a basket sitting on his lap. He is a sweet, gentle man who I know is probably a better choice for a lover. I smile as I approach; he stands and waves. He is also an attractive man. He has that professional look about him. His hair is long and light brown; his eyes are hazel. He is tall and lean.

“Good morning Jade, how are you?”

I sigh. “Ok, James is pushing the children thing again.”

Keegan’s face tightens. “He is?”

“Yes and I am over it. I don’t know how to deal with him right now.”

“Talk to your parents, perhaps they can help.”

I frown. “Keegan, they want me to have a child. They won’t help.”

“Right.”

I notice then; Keegan seems to be tense.

“Keeg’s is everything ok?”

“Jade, I have to leave.”

I gasp. “What? Keegan, no.”

“I don’t have a choice, your father needs me to go and sort out some issues in America. I will be gone for a few years at least. It’s good money; I honestly need the opportunity.”

“Keegan, please. You’re all I have left.” I cry, feeling that old pain of loss rising up again.

He strokes my cheek. “Then come with me.”

“W-w-what?”

“Come, run away with me and let’s make a life. Together.”

“They will find me, pull me back…”

“Not if we are careful.”

“God’s Keegan, I can’t, you know that.”

He slams his fist against the picnic basket. “Jade, I don’t want to leave you but…I do not get much choice.”

“I wish it were different too, do you think I want to be alone with James again?”

“Oh baby.”

He pulls me into his arms and holds me tightly. I know my life as I know it is over, once again and it rips my heart into a thousand shreds. I am falling for Keegan; I doubt I would ever fall madly in love again but he makes me smile, and that is something. My tears slide down his shirt, god in heaven how could I lose somebody else I cared about?

CHAPTER 8

Keegan leaves a week later, and I cry for a good twenty four hours. He swears to visit often and ring me all the time, but I know as well as anybody that long distance just never works. I spend two days arguing with James about the baby issue, to which he refuses to budge. A week or so after Keegan left, I am wandering through the gardens when I hear voices. I recognize them as James and Celeste, so I sneak over, my curiosity burning.

“James, it’s risky.”

“I know, but it could work. If we planned it right, nobody would suspect a thing. It would be all tragic; I would fall into the throne and name you as my bride. They can’t outcast me now; it’s been done, and Jades parents adore me. They want me to lead, her father speaks about it often with me. If it looked like a tragic accident, they would never suspect it. Think about it, we could live together, be together all the time.”

“Oh James, I wish for that each day.”

“Then help me Celeste, she rides her horses each day. If we spooked one and she fell off, hitting her head so hard she died, nobody would ever question it.”

“What if she didn’t hit her head James?”

“We would hit it for her Celeste, nobody would ever know. Are you in, will you help me?”

“We are killing your wife, if it goes wrong…”

“It won’t, I swear to you. She is a thorn in our sides; it’s about time we got rid of that thorn.”

I turn and hurry off, sweat pours down my cheeks. They are plotting to kill me? My god, they are plotting to kill me. I rush into the castle and into the meeting room where my mother and father are talking.

“Jade, what is the problem?”

“J-J-James is plotting to kill me.” I scream.

“Oh nonsense love, you’re being dramatic.” My mother laughs, waving her hand around.

“I just heard him, he is plotting to kill me and marry that gardener.”

“Jade calm down, you heard no such thing. You’re emotional about Keegans leaving; you are stressed. Perhaps you need to see somebody.” My father snaps.

“WHAT?” I shriek. “You can’t be serious? I heard them.”

“Macy, call the doctor.” My father says to the maid in a very gentle voice.

“I am not losing my mind.”

My father nods and says, “Of course honey.” As though he is speaking to somebody about to shoot themself.

“Oh my god, you think I am going crazy?”

“Sweetheart…James loves you. He would never plot such a thing.”

“I hate you.” I scream, running out.

I run into James on my way through the front door. He grasps me and actually has the nerve to look concerned.

“What is the matter love?”

“You are trying to kill me, you freak. I just told them, told my parents what you are doing.”

He goes pale. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You, will go down for this.” I hiss.

I run once more, flying past him before he can answer and rush to my room. Oh god, I have to get out of here. They will lock me up like some sort of crazy, which is what James wants. I throw some clothes into a suitcase before dressing and grasping the old gardeners key I still had. I pick up my phone and dial.

“Hey Jade?”

“Keegan, I need your help.”

“Whoa, love slow down.”

I tell him in a hurry what has happened and what my plans are.

“Shit. Ok, are you coming to me?”

“You’re the only one I can go to.”

“How will you get over seas?”

“I will figure it out, I have to go. I will call soon.”

I run into my parents bedroom, grasp their cheque book and fill out a cheque for a hundred thousand dollars. Then I run downstairs, quietly sneaking past the dining room. I hear my family talking and slow.

“She doesn’t need to know, we just need to get her some help.” My father says.

“Steffan, this has been coming for a long time. As soon as anybody assesses her, they will know of her gifts and questions will be asked. If they find out she isn’t yours, hell will break loose.”

I’m not his? What?

“She hasn’t known for this long, she doesn’t need to know now. We will get her help, she isn’t injured so there is no way for them to know of her gifts.”

“What if she blurts it out? She is unstable.”

“Grace, nobody will know Jade isn’t my daughter.”

“This is too much. I have kept it from her so long, but she is getting to an age where it is going to come out. What if Mack comes back and decides to try and see her, then what?”

I feel tears pouring down my face, I wasn’t his daughter? Oh god, I should have known. All those years he treated me so badly, I never looked like him and he never loved me the way a dad should. This is too much. And who the hell is Mack? I bolt out, running towards the gardeners gate and slipping through. I haven’t dared look at the old run down pub for so long. I peer at it; nobody has brought it so it sits alone, dead.

I don’t pause long; I run faster towards the busy road. Throwing on a pair of sunglasses and tying my hair up in a bandana, I flag down a cab. He stops, and I tell him I want to go to an airport, midway there I realize that is stupid. I would never be able to book a flight out; I have no fake ID. Nothing. I couldn’t hire a car either. Then an idea dawns.

“Take me to the docks.”

The taxi driver peers at me. “Are you sure?”

“I am sure.”

He drives in silence until he pulls up at a large shipping dock. I peer at the huge ships lined up; some are being filled, and others unloaded. I get out, pay the man with what little cash I have and thank him. I run towards the main shipping office, and as casually as I can, stroll in. The woman at the counter looks up at me with a sharp glare. When she speaks, I realize she has no idea who I am. Thank god.

“Yes?”

“I am a student from a nearby university studying ships. Could you tell me; do these ships go all over the world?”

“They do.”

“And how do you tell the difference, for example, how do the men know which to load for different countries?”

“They are sticker coordinated.” She says, in an impatient voice.

“Ok, so what colour is America?”

“Blue.”

“Oh, right. Well thanks for your time.”

She mutters something and looks back down at the stack of papers in front of her. I walk back out the door, peering at the large ships. I see three lined up with huge blue stickers. Bingo. Rushing over, I peer around, it seems as though they are empty. I glance over my shoulder, realizing nobody is watching; I run onto the closest ship.

Large doesn’t even cover the size of this ship; it is absolutely massive. I run down hall after hall, getting lost in the maze that the internal walls hold. I finally find a sign saying “Ship Basement” and slide the door open. Yes! I am so happy for myself; this ship would take me to America and I could start my life fresh. I walk into the darkest, deepest part of the basement and sit down on a couch, which looks like it has seen better days.

I pull out my bag; I have enough food and water for a few days. After that, I would have to show myself; hopefully by then we are too far away from shore for them to toss me off. If not, I could always pay them out. That cheque could come in handy. I lay down on the couch, exhaustion racking me. I have to make one more phone call to Keegan before this ship takes off into the land of nothing.

“Hey Jade, are you ok.” He says as soon as he answers.

“I am on a ship to America.”

“You are?” He cries, happily.

“I am, I am not sure how many days or weeks it will be, but I will keep you updated as I go along.”

“It’s really happening then?”

“It really is, I will see you soon Keegan.”

“Oh Jade, you won’t regret this. Stay safe.”

When I hang up, I feel the ship jerk to life. Here goes nothing, I hope to god I know what I am doing. After an hour or so, I can tell by the change in movement that we are out further out in the ocean. Afternoon is upon us, and the sun beams through a small window on the ship. I walk over, sliding it shut before curling back up on the couch and falling into a deep, yet oddly restless sleep.

I must have slept for a long, long while because when I wake my phone tells me it is three am. I rub my eyes and almost instantly hear voices. They seem close to the basement, when I hear them begin to shout and sound panicky; I know something is off. I slide out of my hidey hole and slowly creep
up on the top level. It is quiet; the rooms seem empty. Where are all the people? This ship is too big to be so quiet.

I creep down the halls, closer to the voices. I peer around a few corners, where are they? I tip toe closer, wondering what all the fuss is about. When I round the next corner, I freeze. I see an older man with a goatee, tattoos and kind eyes. I yelp and he stops walking, spinning around quickly with his gun drawn. He stares, squints and then lowers his weapon.

“No…” He whispers. “I am dreaming.”

“Rusty?” I croak.

“Good lord, it is you. Jade what are you doing on this ship?”

“Oh god, Rusty. Oh god.” I stammer.

Then something clicks, hard. If he is here…he doesn’t get to say another word because in an instant, Jax rounds the corner.

“Rusty we are loaded lets….”

His voice trails off when he sees me, and suddenly my world freezes. Not a single thing has changed, expect his attire. He now looks more rugged, with a gun belt slung around his hips and a bandana on his head. He looks, like a pirate. For the first time, I see him completely and utterly as nothing else. He blinks, once or twice, then his face changes.

“Your face looks familiar, have we met?”

I can’t believe my ears. He is pretending he doesn’t know me; he can’t be bloody serious? Rusty snorts rudely and shoots Jax a glare so nasty; it should have melted him on the spot. If I wasn’t so angry, I may have fallen into a heap on the ground. How dare he pretend he doesn’t know who I am.

“Really? Is that honestly your maturity level? Wow pirate, you never cease to amaze me. What after the little ‘you changed me’ letter, you are actually trying to pretend you don’t know me? I honestly thought your IQ was so much higher, but apparently it’s not. Either that or your age has given you some sort of disorder to make you forget,
Alzheimer’s
perhaps? Wouldn’t surprise me with all the diseases you probably have….”