A/N: I am SOOOOO ready for Bellarke to finally get together . . . how about you? The heat is rising and these two are feeling each other. I think it's time they get some alone time. Enjoy the next chapter and don't forget to review and follow/fave for more updates!
OCTAVIA
Octavia sat down on the bed in her hotel room at the Hampton Inn and let out a long sigh of mixed relief and dread.
On one hand, things had gone much better than expected. When Bellamy had told her about the kidnapping and the target on Clarke's head she had imagined a much more dire reunion involving undercover cops revealing themselves with guns blazing.
On the other hand, her brother was an idiot. Not only had he aided a kidnapping but it was clear from the 2 minutes she spent in the same vicinity of the two of them that her brother was completely taken with Clarke.
Octavia's phone buzzed with a text from her brother.
:: Bell: O, will be late. Let's regroup tomorrow. ::
She rolled her eyes, smiling, and then dialed Lincoln.
"Hey." He answered cheerily.
"Hi, handsome." She greeted.
"How is everything going on your vacation?" He asked casually.
Translation: How did things go with Clarke?
Before she and Bellamy had left New York, they had made a few cover stories and code phrases to use while speaking with Lincoln just in case anyone was listening on the line or happened to overhear.
"Great, the girls and I had a happy reunion, no drama. Although I am pretty sure my two girlfriends have a thing for each other."
Translation: We found Clarke, the meet went well, no surprises. Although I am pretty sure Bell and Clarke want to bone each other.
Octavia could hear Lincoln let out a breath of surprise.
"Um, what? I can't wait to hear the story. At least there was no drama. Everything is pretty quiet here, no news to speak of."
Translation: Um, what? I can't wait to hear the story. At least there were no cops. Roan and Murphy don't seem to know of anything so all clear on this end.
"Good." She replied. "Lincoln?"
"Yeah, O?"
"When I get home, let's go out."
Lincoln gave a small laugh on the other end of the phone.
"I'm supposed to ask you that." She could hear his smile over the phone.
"Well, you haven't. So I am. You like me don't you?"
"Of course I like you, O. It's not that simple."
Octavia's temper began to rise. How could he always be so calm about everything?
"I am the opposite of complicated." She assured biting her tongue.
"You are not complicated, but your brother is one of my best friends and he would actually kill me. So, that complicates things."
"He'll get over it. Don't be a pussy."
Lincoln laughed. "How about we talk about it when you get back. Over a drink?"
"Did you just ask me out on a date?" Octavia smiled.
"No. Strictly a planning meeting." He said in as serious of a voice as he could muster.
"Deal." She said pleased. "Talk to you tomorrow, OK?"
"Yes. Goodnight, O."
. . .
CLARKE
Clarke sat in Bellamy's rental car taking in her surroundings. She looked at Bellamy's face, his strong jaw and brow were illuminated by the lights lining the streets and he looked gorgeous. She smiled slightly to herself and then took in a deep breath in and out. The realization hit her how much anxiety she'd been holding onto since she last saw Blake . . . Bellamy.
She couldn't believe he was here and that they were headed to her apartment to finish what had started in the warehouse bunker. She felt a sudden chill, excited with the anticipation of what was to come. She needed to calm herself down, she didn't want to be too nervous with him.
Grabbing the radio dial she turned it on and switched it to the local alternative station as the end of a Weezer song finished, within seconds "10,000 Emerald Pools" by BORNS started:
"I'll dive in deeper, deeper for you
Down to the bottom, ten thousand emerald pools
Down to the bottom, ten thousand emerald pools
Under water, time is standing still
You're the treasure, dive down deeper still.
All I need is you
You're all I need to breathe"
Clarke sat back, letting the music pour over her. She rested her hand on Bellamy's leg and tilted her head looking up at him. He placed his hand on top of hers and intertwined his fingers with her. She could see a small smile creep up the side of his face. He pulled her hand up to his mouth, lightly rubbing his lower lip against her finger, gently kissing it, then her knuckle, and then turning her hand over to kiss the inside of her wrist.
Clarke let out a small moan from the action.
"Can't you drive any faster?" She smiled wide at him and winked.
"I'm not pushing my luck tonight, Princess. I plan to take my time with you."
Clarke's eyes widened and she bit her lip to hold back the grin attempting to escape her mouth.
When they reached the apartment complex parking lot Bellamy walked around to her side of the car, she had already let herself out.
"You should have let me get the door for you."
Clarke laughed, her eyebrows raised.
"What's so funny?" Bellamy asked, brows furrowed.
"I didn't realize that kidnappers were so chivalrous."
Something sinister flashed in Bellamy's eyes and he pushed her up against the car, his arms on either side of her locking her in place.
"Oh I'll treat you real good tonight, Princess." His deep whisper tickled her ear and she immediately felt herself warm.
She tilted her head up to his and found his mouth with hers. They kissed slowly against the car, her hands finding their way into his hair, pulling at the roots gently. Bellamy's hands fell down to her waist and hips, then wrapped around her back pulling her against him. He bent kissing her neck and chest.
After several minutes Clarke pushed him away from her, taking his hand she led him into the apartment building.
Once in the elevator, Clarke pushed Bellamy up against the wall, kissing him again. He grabbed her leg and lifted it up around his hip, holding her against him, his hand on her upper thigh and ass. He grunted into her with hunger as they began to grind against one another.
The elevator door opened with a ding, and they rushed down the hall. When they got to her apartment Clarke pulled out her key, keenly aware of Bellamy's body towering over her, his warm breath on the back of her neck.
When she swung her door open everything changed.
Clarke froze as light spilled out into the hallway.
"What's wrong?" Bellamy asked, without thinking he had pushed her behind him and taken a protective stance.
"My lights weren't on when I left. I know because I double checked them when I left thinking I'd be crashing at Echo's tonight." Clarke's intuition was screaming at her but she still began to doubt herself. "Well, maybe I didn't"
Bellamy glanced at her and then back in the apartment. "Always trust your gut." He said as he slowly made his way inside. "Wait here."
Things moved very fast after that.
Bellamy walked through the kitchen dining area in the front of the house. As he made his way toward the living room in the back, two figures jumped out at him from the hallway that led to the bedroom.
One threw a punch that connected with his jaw, knocking him sideways.
The other man kneed him in the stomach and pushed him to the ground.
"STOP!" Clarked screamed as she ran toward the figures. In an attempt to protect Bellamy, she threw her body toward him but was suddenly immobile. Someone had grabbed her around the waist and was holding her back.
"Clarke, get out of the way!" She recognized the voice but couldn't place it. She looked up into the shadow of a face but it was too dark.
The other man switched on the living room light and Clarke looked into the eyes of her assailant.
It was Charles Pike, the head of her mom's security detail.
"Pike? What the hell are you doing?" She yelled in angry confusion.
She broke away from his grasp and placed herself between him and Bellamy. She leaned over him.
"Are you OK?"
Bellamy couldn't respond, he just nodded his head.
She gently slid her hands down his side and back trying to locate his phone.
"Clarke, we believe this man was one of your kidnappers."
Clarke froze. She obviously knew this but didn't want Pike to know. She kept her hands on Bellamy's side as she'd managed to locate his phone in his right pocket.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Clarke responded. "You've made a mistake!" She said more desperately.
She quickly turned to Pike feigning disbelief while she slipped her hand into Bellamy's pocket and snagged his phone. Then she stood up, backing away from Bellamy.
The second man, who Clarke recognized as Bryan, another member of her Mom's security detail, bent down and slapped handcuffs onto Bellamy's wrist.
"Pike, is this for real? Was he really part of the kidnapping?" This time she feigned innocent confusion.
When she had escaped and returned home 3 months ago she had told her mom and Pike that the men had worn masks the entire time so she could not help with identification.
Pike seemed to soften, "Yes, we are going to take him to a secure location. We have a lot of questions for this one. Don't worry, we will find out who else was involved and they will all pay."
Clarke made eye contact with Bellamy. "You are disgusting."
Bellamy lowered his gaze in shame.
Clarke turned to Pike. "I want to come with you. I have my own questions I want to ask."
"That's not a good idea. It's better you stay home." Pike insisted.
Clarke thought desperately, sure that if they left without her it would be the last time she saw Bellamy.
"What if there are others that came with him? I'd be safer going with you until we get things figured out."
Pike ran his tongue against his teeth under his lip in thought.
"Ok, let's go."
Clarke didn't look at Bellamy as they made their way to the car.
Bellamy was loaded into the back of a black van, Bryan followed him in.
It wasn't missed on Clarke how ironic this was.
Clarke got into the front passenger seat next to Pike.
"Tell me everything you know. And why are you in LA in the first place? How did you find out about this guy?"
Pike nodded, "After you escaped in New York your Mom asked us to track down your kidnappers. She has a connection in the police force that can take care of these pieces of shit."
"How?" Clarke asked.
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, we've been investigating anyone even loosely connected with the man Miller that your Mom released for your ransom. There were several people that came up who we've been looking into. Nothing solid came up but then Mr. Blake booked a plane ticket for L.A. and it got all of our attention. We booked a flight and the plan was to follow him from the airport to his destination and keep tabs on him. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed and we lost the trail. We came directly to your apartment in case he showed up."
"I guess I owe you a big thanks." She spit out. "Did he come with anyone else?" She thought of Octavia.
"Not that we know of."
He glanced at her. "Clarke, what I can't figure out is why you were with him when you showed up at your apartment tonight."
Clarke had to think fast.
"He was in the parking lot when I got home tonight. He said he was with apartment security and that there had been complaints about a drunk transient harassing tenants. He offered to walk me up to the apartment so I agreed." Clarke had no clue where that story came from but was thankful to her inner voice.
"You should know better than that." Pike scolded.
"You have no idea what it's like being a woman, never knowing where the next threat is coming from." She said seriously. "Sometimes you just have to follow your intuition."
Pike shook his head in disappointment which pissed her off. Clarke knew he would never understand the fear that women live in every day from the invisible monsters that threaten them.
They arrived at a house in Venice that Pike had rented. Clarke quickly memorized the address.
"Pike."
"Yeah?" He seemed annoyed.
"I want to speak with the guy. What's his name again?"
"Bellamy Blake. Why?"
"I went through a lot when I was kidnapped. And I have some things I want to say to this asshole about it. But I don't want an audience. I haven't had enough therapy for an audience."
It was obvious from Pike's reaction that he didn't like the idea but he nodded his head as an 'OK'.
Once inside the house, Pike and Bryan took Bellamy to the basement.
Clarke quickly took out Bellamy's phone to text Octavia but his password screen came up and she had to bite her tongue to avoid screaming with frustration.
She put the phone in her purse.
Pike and Bryan returned to the upstairs after half an hour.
"He's secure, and a little weak. We questioned him a bit." Pike said matter of factly. "You can see him but if anything goes wrong you call us OK?"
She nodded.
"You sure you want to do this?" He asked.
She nodded again.
He opened the door to the basement and closed it behind her as she started down the stairs.
A/N: Welllll . . . What did you think?! The tables have definitely turned. Bellamy is now the one in handcuffs. Will Clarke be able to get him out? What will happen to Octavia? What will Roan & Murphy do when they find out? IS ALL HOPE LOST?! What do you guys think? Should I keep going? Please review & follow/favorite for more updates.
