Hey guys! So, if I think you can guess my New Year's resolution. I do want to write more, and I want to get more out to you. So, right now Im focusing on one chapter a week, and then after I get used to it, 2 maybe? I dont know, we'll play it by ear. But I have been keeping up with the chapters so far. *Knocks on wood*
Artemis woke up the next day in his bed, stretching and sighing. He looked around the empty room and remembered the night before when he tied Holly down. With a shake of his head, he sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.
It was hard to do, but it had needed to be done. Now he was taking her to his employers, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was the right decision.
But he didn't have a choice. He had to bring her to them or they would kill him. And Holly, now that she were on their radar.
Artemis got up, taking a shower and taking his time before getting out. He put on a black shirt and jeans before going downstairs to where Holly was.
When he saw her on the couch, having not moved since last night, he sighed. She probably hadn't had any sleep the night before and, for a moment, Artemis felt guilty about it.
But it was only for a second. Then he snapped back to reality and sighed, going into his office and grabbing a knife from his desk drawer. He kept it on him as he exited his office and strode into the kitchen, grabbing some fruit from the bottom drawer in the fridge to make breakfast. She deserved that, at least.
The sound of a blender whirring loudly inside the kitchen startled Holly awake. She shrieked against her gag and struggled, trying to sit up on the couch. It wasn't as though she had been sleeping soundly anyway. Being tied up didn't really allow for a comfortable position to sleep.
She whimpered, trying to get as far away from the sound as she possibly could in her position. She couldn't see a single thing, and she was defenseless.
The sound intensified before it stopped, but Holly was never touched. She could hear footsteps of someone — probably Artemis — coming over, and she forced her body to calm. The next thing she knew, Artemis took off her blindfold.
Holly looked up at Artemis. The gag was still in her mouth, so she couldn't talk, but she sure as hell could give him the worst glare she had ever given anyone. Artemis was holding a clear plastic cup with a pink liquid in it and a straw sticking out of the cup. "If I take out the gag, will you scream?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She mimicked his look, raising an eyebrow back at him and staring at the man for a moment as she contemplated. Finally, she shook her head, giving him a small grunt as she sat back against the arm of the couch and raised her bound legs to her chest.
Artemis sat in front of her, one hand taking out the gag and placing it on the coffee table with the blindfold. "Good." He gave her a small smile, taking the tip of the straw and bringing it to her mouth.
Holly opened her mouth, leaning her head forward to take the straw in her mouth. But, upon doing so, found an even better option. She tilted her head to the side at the last minute and bit his hand. Hard.
"Dammit!" Artemis exclaimed, jumping up and dropping the smoothie. The last knuckle on his index finger was bleeding. Holly smirked at that, raising an eyebrow at him without saying anything. Artemis took one look at her and sighed, shaking his head. "Fine. I guess I deserved that."
Holly didn't respond, looking away as Artemis disappeared into his office to wrap his finger. He came back out in a minute. "Do you want breakfast or not?" he asked bitterly.
"Why not? If it's the last meal I'll get anyway," Holly grumbled, looking at him with daggers.
Artemis shook his head, exasperated as he went back to the kitchen across from the living room and poured the rest of the smoothie mixture he had made into a cup. He walked over and leaned over Holly. "Are you going to bite me again?"
"Maybe," Holly answered defiantly.
Artemis scoffed and took the knife out, pressing it against her throat. "How about now?" he nearly growled, getting tired of her not listening to him.
"Getting irritated?" Holly questioned, acting like she wasn't phased at all by the cold, sharp metal pressed against her hot neck. In reality, she wanted to panic and move away. She didn't know what Artemis was fully capable of anymore. "Fine," she said with a sigh after a moment. "I won't bite." Holly opened her mouth, and Artemis fed her the straw.
Holly drank her breakfast fast, glancing up at him slightly every now and again, but never for long. Artemis could tell she was extremely mad at him, given the look in her eyes and the bloody teeth marks on his finger. He took the empty cup away and looked at the mess on the ground, rolling his eyes and leaving it there. The housekeepers would clean it up later.
Artemis threw the cup away before going back to Holly, the knife still in his hand. He looked at her, twirling the weapon in his fingers expertly as he spoke. "So. I'm going to untie you." He pointed the tip of the knife at the bonds on her legs. "And we're going to go upstairs—"
"I'm not having sex with you, Artemis," Holly growled, still glaring at him.
He just rolled his eyes at that. "Don't flatter yourself, Ms. Short," he told her, giving her a small, smug grin. "I'm just going to get my bag ready before we leave, and I figured you would like to move those stiff joints of yours around before we do so."
Holly looked down, pursing her lips. Maybe she could escape once they leave the suite, and her legs needed to be in a condition to run to do that. "Fine," she told him. "I won't fight you." Yet… Holly added in her mind.
Artemis nodded and cut the bonds off of her legs. He took her ankles gently and stretched her legs down.
"Artemis…" Holly looked at him before pushing off the couch. She made sure not to hit him however, no matter how much she wanted to. Getting tied back up was not something she wanted to achieve.
With a roll of his eyes, Artemis stood up and grasped her arm to lead her up the stairs to his room. "What? Are we at the beginning again? You don't trust me?"
Holly shot him another look. "Yes," she answered plainly. "You insult me, tie me up, and gag me the exact same way you did before. The way you told me you wouldn't do again, and you think everything is going to be alright between us?" Holly scoffed. "Not to mention, you're taking me to my own slaughter later today."
"I'm not getting you killed," he told her, pushing her on the bed and grabbing his duffel bag. "I'm rehabilitating you."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Fowl." Holly rolled her eyes, not caring about being careful with his name anymore. It wasn't like he believed her anyway.
"Don't call me that." Artemis finished packing a little from his drawers and went to his closet, grabbing a coat. "Stand up."
Holly did as he said, still frowning as he circled around the bed and draped the coat over her shoulders so the handcuffs on her wrists couldn't be seen. "You're not going to take them off?"
That earned her a harsh laugh as Artemis adjusted the coat. "I'm not stupid, Holly. I'm a trained assassin. If I let you out of these, if will be a lot easier for you to try to escape."
"I look stupid with your jacket and coat on!" Holly protested, looking at him. Her plan to get away was smashed to little bite-sized pieces, and she was trying everything to put it back together again.
"I don't care." Artemis walked over to the drawer on his dresser that was locked and pressed his left index finger on it. After a quick scan, the drawer popped open and Artemis pulled out a small handgun and a handful of syringes. He put the syringes in the bag before swinging the black duffel bag over his shoulder and going over to Holly.
With wide eyes, Holly looked at Artemis. Or, more specifically, the weapon now in his hand. She didn't recognize the make or model of it, since it had been ages since LEP officers used actually bullet-wielding guns, but she knew it was deadly.
"Come on." He took her shoulder, leading her down the stairs again. Holly bit her lip, holding back the small whimper that wanted to come out of her mouth as her eyes whipped into her peripheral vision to see the gun in his right hand.
Holly was jostled down the stairs, trying to go slower than Artemis wanted to. She looked around the suite as he walked her to the front door, knowing that she would probably never see it again.
Artemis opened the door and led her out, making a point to press the gun against her side so she was fully aware of its presence, but concealing it under the coat so no one could see. Down the stairs and through the lobby, they walked. Holly counted about a dozen people that they passed by on their way out that she could run to for help… If she didn't have a gun jammed against her ribs. No, to them, the two most likely seemed like a normal couple.
He led her to a garage in the back of the building, going up two flights of stairs before going through the parked cars. He opened the back seat to a black sedan and gestured to it with the gun. "Lay down."
Holly did as he said silently, lying down in the backseat of the car. Artemis leaned into it, pulling the middle seatbelt around her waist and strapping her in. Wordlessly, he took the blindfold he used last night out of his pocket and wrapped it over her eyes again. Holly didn't protest, knowing that he did that so she didn't know where she was going.
She heard the car door close and the front one open before the car came to life. Holly settled in for what would seem to be the longest car ride of her entire life.
Holly tried to take in how many turns they took and how long it was to get there, but she ended up losing track after about 50 turns and 30 minutes. Most likely, Artemis wasn't going straight there anyway, just to make sure she didn't figure it out.
When the car finally did stop, Holly's heart pounded in her throat. Artemis came around and helped her out of the car, his hands gripping her arms tightly as he led her. When he stopped, Holly took in a deep, shaky breath. "Can you take off my blindfold now?" she asked softly.
Without answering, the blindfold fell off and Holly blinked. She expected to be in a building, or a bunker, or...something. Instead, the wind made her hair cover her eyes and Holly shook it away, taking in their surroundings.
They were in an aircraft hanger, and there were tons of jets and planes around them, big and small. She and Artemis were standing in front of one with its door open.
Holly looked at Artemis, who was standing behind her and a little to her right. "You take a jet to work everyday?" she asked. That seemed tedious.
Artemis smiled slightly at her, shrugging. "Only when I'm going to Ireland."
:) I know. I'm sneaky.