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“I’ll just place the sedative...here...on the nightstand...Travis.” He eyes her warily. He doesn’t like violence of any kind; the man has never handled it well.
“Sounds perfect, thanks, man,” I say sarcastically, seeing how that’s what I’d asked him to do in the first place.
He looks at Julianna and hesitates, as if he wants to say something to her. He shifts on his feet, and not knowing what to do with his hands, he slips them in his pockets. I see his hesitation, and I nip it in the bud. “Jared, get the fuck out. Now.”
“Yeah...okay.”
As soon as he turns on his heels to leave the room, I feel her body start to relax. I turn my attention back to Julianna and begin softly stroking her hair. I hate to see the pain and anger on her face. I know she hates me right now, and she has every right to. I am the manipulative bastard Jared painted me to be.
“Don’t touch me!” she hisses, jerking her head away from my touch. “Don’t worry, Travis, I can see through all of your deceptive ways now. You should be in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the Master of Manipulators.”
I never give anyone free reign—especially not captives—to talk to me like that. So why the do I find myself allowing her to? On top of that, why the hell do I feel the need to explain myself to her? “Julianna, it’s not like that.”
“Oh, really? Tell me, Travis, ‘cause I’m curious. What is it like then?”
I sigh and close my eyes briefly, not answering her question because we could go round and round all day with our arguments. “I’m tired of fighting. We’ve had enough of it for one day, don’t you think?”
“Hmph...that’s easy for you to say. You have the luxury of being tired of fighting and the ability to just stop. I don’t. I’m the one with my future on the line here. I could be sold at any minute to God knows who, and wind up God knows where! I could become a slave to some kind of vile creature who’ll abuse my body, shattering my soul to pieces. How would that make you feel, Travis?”
“I want to give you more sedative, Julianna. I really don’t like seeing you this upset and stressed.”
She bursts out with bitter laughter. “You are unreal; you know that, right? You have a great way of twisting things around so I see the skewed benefit of what’s being falsely portrayed as being best for me. It’s the ole ‘what’s in it for me?’ mentality.” She shifts her head to the side to pierce me with her icy-blue glare.
“Just save your bullshit for someone else and cut to the chase. Tell me I’m an out-of-control pain in the ass because I miss my home, my father, my fiancée, and my life, and that you’re sick of my fighting and complaining, so you want to drug me, because you don’t feel like hearing it anymore. Go ahead, you’re going to drug me anyway. You always get your way. Just next time, do me a favor and don’t insult my intelligence,” she says with conviction.
I keep my face unreadable, the usual stone wall I so easily erect, while I lay by her side. I stay silent as I stare her down, waiting for her to calm down. When she’s had her say, I twist my body around and reach over to the nightstand, grabbing the syringe full of sedative. I twist back around and move my legs over hers, straddling her hips and leaning over her with a somber stare. “Despite what you may think, Julianna, I do have your best interests at heart.”
She scoffs. “Please, don’t say another word. Don’t patronize me,” she says in a cold and bitter tone. I nod my head once in acknowledgment and gently grab her arm.
I can feel her heated stare as I rest the sharp needle on the outside of her shoulder. She doesn’t flinch or put up a fight, thank God. Before I pierce her soft skin, I glance back into her baby blues, silently communicating the fact I do care for her wellbeing, whether I understand why or not.
She almost-imperceptibly shakes her head. I let out a small sigh, knowing she doesn’t buy it, and there is nothing I can do or say at this point that won’t be perceived as a lie or an ulterior motive. Even though I’m wearing my emotionless mask of stone, my heart is suddenly overcome with a sadness I don’t recognize. I’m not sure why it bothers me, but it does.
I curse and shift my gaze back to her arm. It’s going to take some time to regain her trust again, but mark my words, I will get it back. I break the barrier of her skin, injecting the liquid sedative into her body. I can only hope Jared used a large enough dose this time, knocking her out quickly. I turn and place the needle on the nightstand and lay back down by her side.
