Chapter Text
Adeline sat in The Cellar, watching her friend Elizabeth, who was pacing up and down the terrace outside, on the phone to the man who had just broken up with her. Next to Adeline, sat the darkly handsome owner of the bar, Jasper. Adeline knew that if Elizabeth looked in right now, even with her own heartbreak, she would be intensely excited.
“You said it had been a long week?”
His voice was like velvet- Adeline pushed her drink away at the thought. She had spent such little time with Jasper, she knew nothing about him except that he felt dangerous, and according to Sabrina and Clara, he most definitely was. And yet, a part of her couldn’t help but feel at ease with him.
“It was just a tough week at work.”
“What do you do?”
He was turned to fully face her now, like he was completely interested in what she had to say. A part of her was taken aback, they were talking about such mundane things and the dark aura she had felt since first meeting him was slowly slipping away.
“I’m an Apprentice Policy Consultant, at James & James in town.” Adeline smiled softly.
She had been so proud when she had gotten the apprenticeship role at the policy company. James&James was one of the largest and most sought-after policy consultant companies in the country. The roles were elusive, some years the company took no apprentices on although they had hundreds of applicants. Adeline could tell that Jasper understood the weight of her role at the company; his eyebrows had perked up when she had told him where she worked.
As he asked her more about herself; her life, her friends, her day to day, Adeline couldn’t help the smile that remained firm on her lips the entire time. She hadn’t realised how long Elizabeth had been outside on the phone, she hadn’t realised that she and Jasper had unconsciously slid their chairs closer together, both leaning closer to each other on the table.
Adeline laughed when Jasper told her about his brother, who he had already had to bar from the Cellar Club twice and he was only a year older than Adeline. In that moment, she could see his eyes twinkling. Her chest swelled with the love she had for her own siblings, that she could clearly see reflecting back to her in Jasper’s eyes.
She could tell that The Cellar was a huge part of Jasper’s life, she could see his pride in the bar and club when he spoke about it, but she could also see that his family- his brother- meant more to him than anything.
“Your parents must be incredibly proud of what you’ve done here.” Adeline said, “I remember you saying you want this place to be a sanctuary.”
Jasper smirked, that smirk that Adeline was beginning to really like, “I’m not sure my father would be proud of ‘sanctuary’, but he does appreciate what I have built for our community, and how well I lead it.”
“What about your mother?”
Jasper’s chest froze as he sucked in a breath. Adeline was sure that if she hadn’t been looking at him so intently, if she hadn’t been so immersed in their conversation, that she would have missed it.
“My mother passed when I was young.”
“Oh.” Adeline breathed, “I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.” Jasper shook his head, taking a large gulp of his drink.
“It doesn’t take away the loss, though.”
Adeline felt Jasper’s eyes on her, as if they were searching deep within her soul and reading her mind. His presence wrapped around her once more, warming her. She felt the tips of his fingers brush against hers.
“You understand.”
There was no question in his words. He knew. Adeline had found that only people who had felt the grief of losing a family member could truly understand it. It was all encompassing, it was constant, and it hit you in the biggest ways over the smallest things. Adeline had hated her 19th birthday that year, all she could think of was that her sister hadn’t made it to her own 19th birthday.
“Addie.”
Jimmy’s voice startled Adeline out of the moment she had been in with Jasper. She had all but forgotten they weren’t absolutely alone. Adeline had been so lost in the conversation with Jasper, that she had only been aware of him. She had seen in Jasper’s own eyes that he had been shocked too, and now she couldn’t tell exactly what he was thinking or feeling. He looked shocked, confused… angry.
“What is it, Jimmy?” Jasper all but snarled at the barman.
“I’m here for Addie.” Jimmy replied, his voice wavering slightly before focussing back on Adeline, “Elizabeth has gone. She said her boyfriend was picking her up? And she didn’t want to… interrupt. Do you want me to call you a cab?”
“Oh. Erm, thank you Jimmy, but that’s ok. I can walk, it’s not too far.”
“No.”
“It’s too late!”
Jasper and Jimmy’s voices intertwined as they both rejected Adeline’s idea of walking home. Jimmy’s voice, telling her it was too late, was worried. She had heard it from him before; he never let the girls leave the bar to go their separate ways without knowing they both had a ride or someone else to walk with.
But Jasper’s voice. Jasper was hard, serious, commanding. She knew in that moment, that one single word, that he would never let her put herself in danger. Even danger as simple as walking from the bar to home by herself. Looking back at him, Adeline could see the electric darkness of his aura that rippled across him.
“I will drive you home.” Jasper replied, standing up from his seat, “I’ll get my keys, don’t leave the bar without me.”
“I can get her a cab.” Jimmy replied once again.
“There is no need.” Jasper answered resolutely, leaving no room for argument.
As he moved around the table, he stopped by Jimmy, “And if you weren’t being protective of her, there would be serious repercussions from your tone. Don’t forget what I am.”
Adeline watched as Jimmy tensed. His eyes flickering from her to Jasper and back again, his breath became shallower, and she was sure she could see him beginning to shake. Even as Jasper walked away, Jimmy didn’t relax. He just watched her intently. When Jasper disappeared down the stairs, Jimmy moved quickly closer to Adeline.
“Do not get involved with him.” He whispered, hurriedly, grasping at her hands, “Stay away from him. Do you not remember what I told you when you came here asking questions last week?”
“Jimmy…”
“No, Addie.” Jimmy spoke just as quietly as before, but somehow even more urgently, “I mean it. He is not a good man. He is dangerous. They all are. You need to protect yourself; you need to stay away from him.”
“Jimmy-”
“Adeline, listen to me.” Jimmy gripped her shoulders tightly, “You have no idea of the danger you are near when you are near him. You have no idea what he is, what he has done, what he will keep doing just to survive. Stay away from him. Please, Addie, please stay away from him.”
Adeline didn’t know what to say in reply to him, his fervent tone in his speech and tense hands gripping into her shoulders almost painfully told Adeline more than his words ever could. In the moments she had been speaking to Jasper, she had almost forgotten Clara and Sabrina’s words, their own looks of fear when Jasper had been mentioned.
When the pair heard footsteps coming back up the stairs, Jimmy wrenched himself away from Adeline. She could still feel the pressure of his fingers gripping her shoulders on her skin when he retreated to behind the bar once again. She could feel his eyes still on her though, even when Jasper returned to her, holding out his hand to help her stand up.
As they walked out the door, Adeline could feel herself getting light-headed. She could still feel Jimmy watching her as she left the bar with Jasper, and Jasper’s hand resting lightly on the small of her back. Both men’s energies swirled around her, attacking each other and her own, like they were fighting for dominance.
Jasper led Adeline to a sleek looking car parked right outside the bar, and as she slipped into the leather seat as he held the door open for her, surrounded by the scent of him, she could still see Jimmy watching her through the window of the bar, his expression sombre.