Part 59

Part 59
Christian was sitting on the bed, looking around. He hadn’t yet touched the water and he just sat there, quietly holding on to the tattered blue rabbit like his life depended on it. Satisfied that everything was going according to plan, he headed back to his car.

He drove the car out of the warehouse and left it running while he pulled the big doors to the warehouse closed behind him and drove off. A while later, he stopped at the campground and unlocked the cabin’s door.

Juniper still sat on the chair, her mouth taped shut, and her hands handcuffed behind her. He pulled the tape off roughly and Juniper winced when he pulled the cloth out of her mouth, then uncuffed her hands.

“Pack your stuff, we’re leaving.” Adrian never asked her to do something, he just gave instructions.

“Where are we going?” Juniper asked him.

“Just do what you’re told!” Juniper jumped in fright as he snapped at her.

She got her suitcase and packed her clothes. In fifteen minutes, she was ready to leave and saw that Adrian had packed his clothes as well. He put their suitcases in the car and they drove to a store.

Adrian grabbed water and crackers, instant noodles, potato chips, energy bars, coffee and sugar, long life milk, and a kettle. He bought cans of food, mostly spaghetti and meatballs, and they paid for everything. Juniper got back into the car while Adrian loaded it all into the trunk.

They drove in silence and Juniper noticed they were heading out of Seward. She relaxed a little bit and she hoped that Adrian had given up on his plan to take Adara. He turned the volume on the radio up, and Juniper closed her eyes.

When they arrived, Adrian woke her and she saw they were in front of an abandoned warehouse. He drove the car inside and closed the doors of the warehouse behind them, casting them into total darkness. He took her to a smallish room where two cots had been made up.

Adrian dumped the bags in what looked like a small kitchenette. “Unpack the food, then make a packet of noodles for the kid.”

“What kid?” Juniper felt alarmed at this new information. Is that where he’d gone that morning, to pick up his child?  

Juniper followed Adrian out of the kitchenette and into an office. He switched the screen on and Juniper saw the little boy sleeping on another cot holding a blue rabbit. It was old and worn.

“Who is that?” Juniper asked him worriedly.

“He’s the little boy Kiran so dutifully takes to daycare every day.” Adrian’s grin was maniacal and Juniper instantly feared for that little boy.

“Kiran has a child?” Juniper asked, flabbergasted. “Why did you take him?” She hadn’t waited for an answer and Adrian didn’t answer her.

“He’s the next best thing. When you said that Kiran gets back at two from daycare, it got me thinking. I did some digging and found the boy. It’s so obvious that Kiran loves that kid from how he holds his hand and kisses him goodbye every morning.”

“What are you planning to do?” Juniper was now more afraid of Adrian than she had ever been.

“I’m no longer interested in getting Adara. This way it works out even better than I originally thought. I’ll trade Christian for Kiran. Malachi loves his whole pack but he loves his son the most. Killing Kiran will break Malachi.”

Juniper wasn’t so sure about that. She’d heard that Ramos had killed Karani, and it hadn’t weakened Malachi; it had enraged him, and nobody knew where Ramos’ body had ended up. Adrian had no idea what wrath he’d face once he killed Kiran. She was a wolf and even she didn’t ever want to face an enraged Alpha.

Juniper hated the smile on Adrian’s face. He was a psychopath, she truly believed that. She looked at Christian’s face again. This was so wrong. She didn’t know why she felt this way, but a sudden and painful feeling of regret flowed through her as she realized she was no better than Adrian.

She had done horrible things to Adara, just like he planned on doing to Christian. Back in the kitchen she made the instant noodles and unlocked the door where Christian still lay on the cot. He sat up and rubbed his eyes as she opened the door.

His eyes were slightly swollen and red-rimmed. He’d stopped crying at one point, but the streaks were still visible on his cheeks. Juniper could see that he was a handsome little boy and it was clear he loved his family and they loved him. He was well looked after and she felt a tinge of hurt. Adara was raising this little boy and caring for him better than she had cared for Adara.

“I want to go home.” Christian’s voice was soft but there was a fierceness in it that Juniper hadn’t expected. She placed the bowl of noodles down on the cot and sat down. She noticed that he still hadn’t touched the water.

“Hi, Christian. My name is Juniper. Are you hungry? I made some noodles for you. I’m sure we will get you home very soon.” She hoped her voice sounded soothing because she didn’t want to scare him more than he already was.

Christian warily took the bowl and sniffed the noodles. He ate it quietly and when he was finished he handed her the empty bowl and grabbed the bottle of water, which he emptied as well.

“Thank you.” It was barely a whisper but Juniper heard it.

“Is Kiran your daddy?” She had no idea that Kiran had a son, he must’ve been sixteen when Christian was born.

“He’s my new daddy now.” Fresh tears rolled over Christian’s cheeks as he looked at her. “Is he going to kill me too?”

“No, he’s not going to kill you.” Juniper had never before been more determined than right in that moment.