Chapter 20 #3
“I hated it at first," Juniper admitted. "It wasn't the lying or even the eavesdropping on conversations. It was the dealing with people all day long. But a month into it, I started to love it."
“I told you attachments were bad,” Bea said.
"Funny thing about that," Juniper began. She’d been thinking long and hard about all the ways in which Bea had been playing both sides.
Don't get attached. Become part of the community.
Become their friends, but don't get too close.
Get to know him. Be in his circle, but be careful.
But oh, Juniper, honey, you need something to ground yourself.
Dive into your work. How's the pub? Do you like it?
Is it fulfilling? "You wanted me to get attached to this place.
To the town. To the pub. You wanted me to care.
And now, you're telling me I care too much. You've been contradicting yourself."
"You've been misinterpreting my words," Bea said. "You've needed to have your mind busy with something other than conspiracy theories." She arched a brow. "But we’re getting you out of here.”
“I'm not going anywhere.”
“This assignment has been compromised.”
“I said no.”
“You don’t get to refuse,” Bea said.
Juniper leaned forward, resting her arms on the desk, lacing her fingers together. “Watch me.”
“You’ve lost perspective—again.”
“It's not me that's done that.”
“I've seen you like this before," Bea said.
That wasn't a true statement. Bea had seen "Junie" fall apart after her husband died.
But that person no longer existed. Juniper had replaced her with a better version of herself.
One that was focused. One that could see clearly when she was being manipulated. When she'd become a pawn.
“You can’t make me leave,” Juniper said.
“I’m your superior officer.”
“I don't believe you are. At least, not in this moment."
"Oh, honey. You've become delusional."
“Don't honey me. You don’t get to come into my bar and tell me we’re leaving like I’m a bad asset you can shove in a trunk.”
“You’re proving my point.”
“Am I?” Juniper pressed her hands on the desk and stood. “Because from where I’m standing, you’re not here to extract me. You’re here to make sure I look incompetent enough to discredit anything I say, and to make sure you get what's in Sterling's head."
"You have really lost it," Bea said.
“I know you’re playing both sides,” Juniper said. “I know Pike is dirty. I know Doyle is dirty. And I know Shrike didn’t send me here to protect Sterling. They sent me here to watch him and there's a big difference between the two.”
“You have no idea what you’re standing in.”
“I know enough.”
"I suppose you do." Bea reached into her handbag and pulled out a gun.
The barrel was pointed at Juniper's chest. “Hands on the desk,” Bea said.
Juniper slowly lifted both hands and set them on the edge of the desk. “Whatever this is, you're not going to get away with it.”
"Yes, I am." Bea reached into the bag again, pulled out her phone, and tapped the screen with her thumb.
"You're going to hand over your weapon, and your cell.
Then we're going to walk out of here, nice and easy.
You're going to tell your friends that you're going to spend the rest of the day with your aunt.
If you fail to do that, Nick dies. And then, Sterling dies.
It's that simple." She turned her cell toward Juniper.
The first image stole the air from the room.
Sterling’s truck on its side, frontend crushed against cypress roots, steam rising from the hood. Glass scattered through shell and mud. The passenger-side door hanging open.
The second image brought tears to her eyes.
Sterling and Nick, hands zip-tied, sitting on a concrete floor somewhere dim and ugly. Both alive, but Sterling had blood at his temple, and Nick’s cheek was split.
Juniper’s throat tightened. Carefully, she opened the top drawer and pulled out her service weapon. "You're going to pay for this."
Bea took one step closer, snagged the weapon, and dropped it in her purse.
"Now, the cell."
Juniper complied.
“If you make noise, if you fight me, if anyone in this bar decides to be a hero, Sterling and Nick will be dead before you take your next breath.”
"What's going to happen to me?"
“You help us get what we want from Sterling, and you're free to go back to your life. Here. Or with NSD."
"At what cost?"
"Same cost as you've been paying for the last few months." Bea smiled. "You work for us. It's simple work. You do as your told. No one gets hurt. Or, you're collateral damage.”
Juniper tasted the words and wanted to spit them back in Bea’s face. “Why come here now?”
“Come on, you can't be that stupid." Bea tapped her temple. "Sterling knows way too much. But we don't know half of what he does. If he tells us, we're good. Hell, he could even be one of us. It's up to him," Bea said. "You might be able to help with that."
There was only one thing Juniper figured she could help with, and Bea wasn't going to like it.