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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Reid
“Everything ok?” I asked as Holly paused in the front entrance of the plantation house, her eyes locked onto the landing at the top of the stairs.
“I’m fine, just a little déjà vu. It’s nothing.” I stared at her exposed arms and watched the goosebumps rise to the top of her skin as she tried to deny being bothered by the memory of her dream last night. We both know she’s not lying to me; she’s lying to herself. She’s bothered, but she’s too damn stubborn to admit it, so we push forward, fear be damned. We don’t have the luxury of time to devote to it anyway.
She scared the shit out of me last night. I’m no stranger to nightmares, I wake from them myself on a regular basis, but when the panic in Holly’s voice registered in my brain, when I knew she should have been sleeping, I was immediately put on alert.
Her skin was cold and clammy, covered in sweat, and the elevated panic in her voice rang through the quiet room, piercing my ears and my heart. My first instinct was to protect. My hand was on my gun before I inhaled a second breath. I could read the fear in her eyes when she woke, but it wasn’t me she was fearful of as I stood over her with a gun in my hand. No, she was fearful of what she saw in the depths of her slumber. Evil is like that; premonitions, the unknown, it will find a way to permeate your subconscious and take over your mind.
That’s why so few are cut out to handle this lifestyle. That’s why I was always ok with the idea of not having a life partner. There are only so many Emily’s of the world. And maybe, I might be concerned about bringing Holly into this life, but the truth is that she’s stronger than both of us. She holds a power so few possess, and it radiates from inside of her. She is the light in the darkness.
“Where do you want to start? I might suggest the elevator, but…” I allowed my voice to trail off as I attempted to lighten the atmosphere that has followed us around like a dark cloud since I told Holly the truth about her background and my own.
I’ve spoken with Alex on and off since yesterday and kept him up to date on most everything as it unfolds out here, but things have been exceptionally quiet from his end. He’s giving up minimal information, which makes me think that there is something the Bureau is holding back. I’ve been a part of this organization long enough to know that if they are holding something back, there is a valid reason. Alex is well aware of where Bennett’s loyalties lie as well as the Bureau. Past that, I trust every other person on this team with my life. What’s more than that, I trust them with Holly’s.
I’ve been reviewing information with Holly non-stop over the last twenty-four hours, and we’ve trained as much as is allowable in such a short time frame. Now we bide our time, and we plan escape routes and back-up plans. Plan A is easy, but in this line of work Plan A will fail, it’s inevitable. It’s Plan X, Y, and Z that we need to be prepared to initiate.
“You know, now that I think about it, every single time I’ve been in an elevator with you, something utterly insane happens. First with the kidnapping, then with the whole near-death experience. You really aren’t to be trusted in a lift. I think we’ll take the stairs.” She brushed her jean clad ass past me, and her scent lingered as she walked, momentarily intoxicating me.
I let her walk ahead, until her sneaker hit the first stair and I was on her, hands gripping her hips and teeth grazing the skin of her delicate neck. “The kidnapping was fun though, no? You like to be chased Holly; you get off on the fear.” She stopped her ascent as she leaned her head back onto my shoulder and gave my mouth more room to work.
“Mmmmm…” A soft moan escaped her lips, the sound bringing the sexual tension that constantly lies beneath the surface of my skin when I’m around this woman to life.
“Admit it, admit you like it when I scare you.” I squeezed her hips, my grip hard enough that I knew it hurt. I was bruising, but she didn’t fight my hold.
“Only you, Reid. Now get the fuck off me, and let’s go look at the rest of this house.” Her lips curled into a smile as she yanked her hips from my grip and swayed her gorgeous ass up the steps in front of me, leaving me to trail behind her. She might admit that she loves me now, but her mouth is still fire, alive with the sass that I’m infatuated with.
Turning a corner at the top of the landing, I continued to follow Holly to an open doorway, a room that we unsuccessfully attempted to enter yesterday before the elevator sent us plummeting into the tunnels.
???
“Oh my God. Do you think those are the same chains?” Holly stopped in the doorway to the grand master bedroom and covered her mouth with her hand, her smile gone.
“What do you think?” I asked, realizing the grave answer to my question before the words finished leaving my mouth.
Slowly, she walked into the room, examining it closely but careful not to touch.
The original four-poster bed sat in the middle of the room. The bedding was long gone, only leaving a mattress covered in dirt and dried blood. Stepping in front of Holly, I walked closer to the bed to get a better look. This blood is fresh, days old at most.
My eyes darted to every corner of the room, looking for things that appear out of place. Searching for the danger. I can feel it in the air like a living, breathing thing.
“Holly, be ready.” I barely got the words out as I watched an old original vinyl record player seemingly shift on its own and come to life.
An old scratchy song played over the speaker, but it didn’t take me long to recognize the familiar words…
Have a holly jolly Christmas
And when you walk down the street
Say hello to friends you know
And everyone you meet
Ho Ho the mistletoe
Is hung where you can see
