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I reach the door, my hand trembling as I grasp the knob. It turns easily, almost too easily, and I grip onto it hard so I don’t pitch forward.
My instinct is to crash through, going into attack mode to save Juniper, but I don’t know what’s on the other side. Breathing through my mouth seems to steady me and I force myself to move slowly so I don’t fall over, but more importantly, so I have the element of surprise.
The door opens silently, or my ears aren’t working right, but I can immediately see the kitchen and living area beyond are empty. I always leave lights on inside when I’m gone and while they provide me with a clear view, they also hurt my eyes and distort things via my concussed brain.
I take a step forward, then another, driven by a single thought: I have to save Juniper and I don’t even fucking know if they’re in the house.
Noises catch my attention, seeming to punch through my plugged-up ears. Voices… male and female… coming from our bedroom.
Juniper is in there with that monster.
I lurch into the kitchen, intent on getting to the bedroom as quickly as possible but I’m brought up short by a very important thought.
Turning to the kitchen island, I move to the edge and open the drawer that holds the knives. A sparkling array of sharpened cutlery greets me but that’s not what I’m after.
Instead, I reach for the Glock43X I stashed there. It’s not my favorite pistol but I put it here because its size is more suited to Juniper. I don’t know why I assumed that if she needed a gun at the ready, the kitchen was where she would be. She spends as much time in the living room or my bedroom these days, but I don’t waste any energy reasoning it out. All that matters is that I’ve now got a weapon and oddly, I feel stronger with it in my hand.
I don’t forget for a minute though… Joshua has a gun too.
I intend to creep silently their way, saving the element of surprise, but a huge crash from the bedroom followed by a cry of pain from Juniper has me bolting into action. I take off through the living room, the thick rug underfoot softening my steps. I ignore the pounding in my head, the dryness in my throat and the nausea rolling in my belly.
“Stupid bitch,” Joshua says, but it’s done almost gently and I stop in my tracks to listen.
“What are you going to do to me?” That has me moving again. Juniper is terrified.
“I’m not sure yet,” Joshua murmurs, and once again I freeze, this time just at the end of the small hallway that leads to the master bedroom. I pin myself against the wall to the right of the door and rest my finger ever so gently on the safety embedded in the Glock’s trigger mechanism so I’m ready to act if necessary. “Maybe I’m just going to scare the shit out of you, maybe I’ll use all this stuff.” My blood turns cold, my imagination kicking into nightmarish overdrive at what he has in that room with her. “Hell, maybe I’ll just shoot you and be done with it. I’m figuring this out as I go.”
His tone sounds lackadaisical, as if he has no concern in the world that I might not still be lying on that garage floor. His arrogance shines through.
“Jesus Christ, Joshua.” Juniper is attempting to reach him rationally. “You’ll go to prison for the rest of your life. How can you throw your life away over this?”
“I’m not going to prison,” he replies calmly. “They’ll have to catch me first and I’ll be long gone by the time they find you and Callum. But if they do find me, no way I’m getting taken by the police. I’ll end it myself.”
And it hits me then… I think Joshua knows he’s going to die. He probably doesn’t think it would ever be by my hand because he’s discounted me as a threat, but whatever he has planned for Juniper, he knows it’s an end to his existence.
This scares me more than anything because he has no boundaries to keep him in place. I try to think of the best way to handle this but the pounding in my head makes it difficult.
Juniper’s voice is strong… cold. Almost taunting. “You selfish, arrogant bastard. You don’t care who you’ll destroy in the process for a little revenge, do you?”
There’s no emotion in Joshua’s words. Just a finality. “Nope. Not really. Well beyond caring.”
I have no fucking clue what the right play is but I know that every second I wait, Joshua could decide to end the conversation and hurt Juniper.
Inhaling softly, I let my breath out slowly and bring the Glock up. There’s a small lever embedded in the trigger itself that must be depressed along with the trigger for the gun to fire. This design ensures I don’t have to fiddle with disengaging a safety. It also ensures that the gun will not discharge unless the trigger is deliberately pulled.
I intend to deliberately pull it.
“You used to love me at one time,” Juniper says softly, and I hear the sadness in her voice. I know there’s not one bit of remorse inside her for what she had with him and what was lost. She’s attempting to play on any bit of conscience he might still cling to.
Clever girl.
I take stock of myself. My head wound throbs and I’m nauseated, but my fear for Juniper has garnered the strength to push past all that.
“Joshua,” Juniper implores as I inch closer to the door. “Please put that down. You don’t want to hurt me.”
“Oh, but I do,” he says with a chilling laugh. “Always enjoyed it, you know.”
There’s no more time to waste. I swing around the corner of the doorjamb, my gun poised to aim at Joshua once I locate him. It takes a millisecond for me to assess everything.
