Page 3 of 3013: Wonderland
While it wasn’t common knowledge, it was obvious to Juliet that The Donut Shop was now under new management. The fact there were Tarin females working in the shop was a dead giveaway that it was somehow connected to the sanctuary, but she couldn’t be sure that would be enough to keep her safe.
Luckily, Beatrice and Willard didn’t seem to notice. Or if they did, it hadn’t alarmed them. It had taken several visits to the bakery before she had gotten the opportunity to secretly pass a note to one of the servers. Not only did she have to make sure her guards were distracted, but she’d also had to figure out who she could trust to make sure the note got to Emma.
Once the cure for infertility had been announced, she knew she was running out of time. Seeing how excited James had been when he’d heard the news had chilled her to the bone with fear. There was no freaking way she wanted to have a child with him, so it became even more urgent for her to escape.
The rumors about a cure had been spreading throughout the city for months, though they’d been having difficulties perfecting the formula. Many claimed that it would take years before aworking cure would be available to the public. All of that had changed when a few Xenon had traveled to Earth to help with the project.
When they announced that the cure for the virus that caused infertility had successfully been created, excitement had swept across the planet. The cure was being offered to elites, citizens, and rebels. There was some grumbling about that, but since the pharmaceutical company had refused to hand the cure over to the Alliance, it was their decision to make.
Juliet had taken a risk by acting like she didn’t want the cure. At least, not until she had a few more years of being a principal dancer at the company. The reverse psychology had worked on James. He enjoyed forcing her to do things she didn’t want to do, so he took pleasure in making her an appointment to get the cure. The beating she had received after she tried to explain why she wanted to wait had been well worth it.
Now, the day she could escape from the hell she’d been living in had finally arrived, but she couldn’t rush it. Timing was essential. If she tried to get away too soon, she could fuck up her one chance at being free. But it was so damn hard to stay calm now that it was really happening.
She could practically taste freedom.
Sense it like an imaginary finish line that was only inches away, yet still out of reach.
Juliet hadn’t been able to visit the bakery again since she’d slipped the Tarin female the note to give to Emma. Since she’d had to write it in the bathroom out of view of any cameras, the note had been brief. All it said was she needed help and that she wanted sanctuary. Then, she’d listed the date and time she would be getting the cure, and that she was wearing a shock collar that was controlled by others.
The massive coliseum next to Exodus had been designated as the main distribution center for the cure, but there was noway James would allow her to be that close to the sanctuary. Instead, he’d made her an appointment at the med-center a few blocks away from the company. While the initial surge of people clamoring to get the cure had died down a bit over the past few weeks, it was still pretty crowded in the med-center.
Half of the medicals in the med-center were serving those who had signed up for appointments, while the other half were helping anyone who was willing to wait in line. The medicals and staff members were all wearing bright purple shirts to help them stand out in the crowd. There were a few treatment rooms reserved for medical emergencies, but most of them were being used to distribute the cure.
There was a large tent set up outside the side exit manned by techs ready to help anyone who wanted to remove their star mark tattoos. Juliet had noticed the tent when they had arrived, and she’d heard several people inside the waiting room mention how excited they were to get their marks removed.
She hadn’t been sure Emma had gotten the note she’d sent until Juliet saw her standing next to a broad-shouldered Helios male. They were leaning against the back wall in the large waiting room, and both of them were wearing the bright purple shirts that indicated they were members of the staff. She figured the Helios must have been Emma’s mate, Trip, by the way he scowled every time anyone got close to them.
Juliet wanted to break down and cry the moment Emma’s gaze met hers. Even from several feet away, she could see the sympathy and determination shining in her friend’s blue eyes. She finally had help and knowing that was a gift beyond measure. She ruthlessly fought back the tears that stung her eyes.
It wasn’t time to show weakness.
Not when she wasn’t free yet.
She watched as Emma murmured something to Trip, then he nodded and scanned the crowd as if looking for someone. He tapped the earpiece he was wearing and held a hand over his mouth to hide whatever he was saying to whoever was on the other side of his communicator.
A hard jab to her side distracted Juliet, and her gaze immediately swung back over to Beatrice. “Yes?”
“What’s wrong with you? What are you looking at?”
“Nothing, really. I’m just nervous,” Juliet declared. Since it was partially true, she didn’t have to worry about sounding sincere. “You know I don’t like needles.”
Beatrice snorted out a mocking laugh as she shook her head. “It will only take like two seconds. Deal with it.”
Over the past several months, she had given Juliet plenty of jabs with pressure syringes to know just how much she hated shots. There were even a few times when she deliberately used old-fashioned needles just to torment Juliet more.
While most of the shots had been for healing purposes, she had been given other drugs to help force her compliance and make sure she behaved whenever there was a social event she’d had to attend. James liked to show her off, but he couldn’t risk her causing a scene around a crowd of people.
However, today was different.
Because the medicals would find traces of any drugs in her system when they screened her before administering the infertility cure, James hadn’t wanted to risk it. He’d made it clear that Beatrice and Willard would be close by watching her every move. As if confirming that for herself, she glanced toward the main entrance and saw Willard standing near the sliding glass doors. He might have looked bored and disinterested, but she knew he had the controller to her shock collar clutched in his hand and was ready to shock her stupid if she did anything he didn’t like.
Even if she had to make a run for it, at least Emma knew she was wearing a shock collar. If they dropped her, they couldn’t explain it away as a medical condition or say she had simply passed out from exhaustion like they had in the past.
Glancing back over at Emma, Juliet wondered if she should make her move. As if she could read her mind, Emma held up a hand signaling to wait. Juliet wasn’t sure what for, but she did what she was told, even though every muscle in her body practically trembled with the need to move.
“He’s going to get tired of you,” Beatrice murmured softly.
“Excuse me?”