Part 46

Part 46
“Tomorrow, we’ll get you some better clothes and then we’ll head back to Seward, off the grid. Nobody can know I’m back in town until I’ve completed what I’ve set out to do.” Adrian made himself comfortable on the chair as Juniper’s eyes snapped up to his.

“Seward?” she asked, hesitantly. She was banished from Seward.

“What’s for dinner?” Adrian’s question threw her off.

There was definitely something wrong with him. How could he think of food when he’d just told her he was planning on massacring an Alpha family. Was he insane? Did he think he’d be able to kill them all? She’d seen how calm Malachi Sinclair was under pressure. He was going to get her killed.

“There’s no food here, I buy as I earn.”

“Slow night, huh?” It made sense to Adrian now, the cheap clothes, the scuffed shoes, the worn out look on her face.

“I’m not a prostitute, you asshole! I eat at the bar after my shift.” Juniper said, furiously.

She jumped up from the couch, her anger pushing forward, but he aimed the gun at her again, and she sat back down. Adrian just laughed at her. He found a menu for a Chinese take-out place that delivered and ordered food.

A knock on the door brought Juniper out of her reverie and Adrian glared at her before opening the door. They ate in silence and she was surprised that she could eat. Her sense of self-preservation had always been strong, she shouldn’t have been surprised.

Juniper got up from the couch as Adrian leaned back against it. “I’ll sleep on the couch. You don’t have to worry, you’re not my type.”

“I wasn’t worried about that.” Juniper headed to her bedroom and she heard Adrian move around the apartment as she undressed and climbed into her bed.

Adrian made himself a cup of coffee as he felt disgust rise up to his throat. The kitchen wasn’t really dirty, but it still made him cringe, and he fought the urge to disinfect the entire apartment.

Adrian stopped in front of Juniper’s bedroom and knocked on her door, once. “If you try to run, I’ll find you, then I’ll kill you slowly, like I did the others.” His voice held an eerie authority and he whistled as he walked back to the couch.

He sat in the darkness for a few hours and then decided to sleep. If she ran, he would hunt her down and kill her. He didn’t think  she would be so stupid as to try and run. The next morning, Adrian woke up as Juniper put  the kettle on to boil.

“You didn’t run.” He watched her make two cups of coffee but deep inside he was glad  she hadn’t run.

Juniper turned to look at Adrian and shrugged. “What’s the point? Like you said, you’ll just find me again and kill me slowly.”

Adrian smiled at her. “You’re a fast learner. I like that about you.” He settled back down on the couch with his coffee and wondered if he really would let her go or not.

“So what do you want me to do exactly?” Juniper asked him. Juniper was under no illusions that the man in front of her was not insane; he was certifiably insane. She wasn’t the smartest person in the room, ever, but she was far from stupid, and she knew that Adrian Peters was a very dangerous man indeed.

“You’ll phone Adara and ask her to meet you. I’ll take it from there.” Juniper instantly shook her head from side to side. The look on Adrian’s face didn’t need interpreting. She wouldn’t have much choice in doing exactly what he said. She also had no doubts that he would kill her if the fancy struck him.

“Adara won’t meet with me. She hates me, and I don’t blame her for that anymore.” Juniper looked down wondering what her life would look like now, if she’d never mistreated Adara.

“Well then, you’d better make it interesting enough for her to want to meet you.” Adrian’s underlying threat was clear as he tapped the gun with his finger. Juniper sighed, knowing  this was going to be near impossible to pull off.

Adrian gulped down his coffee and gave her a stern look before heading to the bathroom with a backpack she hadn’t noticed earlier, slung over his shoulder. She sat down on the couch again and she slumped forward as she thought of something that could lure Adara to her.

Juniper heard the shower and she stood up; she was tempted to make a run for it. Where would she go? It had been hard enough to find this crappy apartment, and the guy she worked for at the bar. She barely made enough to get through the week. She sat down and accepted her fate. She was now Adrian’s to command.

Adrian came out of the bathroom looking refreshed and all smiles. Juniper got up slowly and took a tepid shower. He had used all the hot water. Her shower was quick and she dressed in jeans and a thick jacket.

“Pack your shit.” Juniper just nodded her head and walked to her bedroom.

She took everything she still owned as she had no idea when and if she would ever come back here. If only Adrian had taken a bit longer to find her. Two more weeks and she would have been gone. She thought about that money the fence still owed her and she almost burst into tears.

“Come on, let’s go.” Adrian said, and took her by the elbow, leading her downstairs to his car.

She got into the car meekly, it wouldn’t help to fight. Everything was a mess already. They drove towards Seward and Juniper worried more and more. She was sure  she had never been this afraid before in her life. This was what her life had become. First, she’d been Ramos’ pawn, now she was Adrian’s pawn. Life really wasn’t fair. She just needed one chance to get away and she’d disappear.