Chapter Twelve-Lucky winner.
ARTEMIS’S POINT OF VIEW
I head out of town and park my bike on the rich green grass by the lake I like to come to when things get too much.
The clearing is like ripped from a fairytale. The water is clear, reflecting the blue sky, and the surrounding trees are thick and tall. They look alive, like old people, wise and patient, ready to listen to me no matter what I want to talk about.
I take off my boots, pull my pants higher, then sit on a round rock and dip my feet into the cold water.
Small wildflowers are popping up around the rocks, and as I close my eyes, the cheerful chirping of the birds makes me smile.
So simple, so beautiful...
I start thinking about my life, my past, my present, and my future, and he pops into my head again, making me doubt my rules.
If I were to pursue whatever this is and find out who he is, I would probably be happy for a while, but I know that everything will fall apart and end the minute he finds out what I do and who I am.
My ex didn’t know, and it was tiring to constantly hide, and I don’t have the energy for that anymore.
Besides, I have major trust issues thanks to the men who have been in my life, starting with my father.
He said he would never leave us, but he did.
My mother’s boyfriend, who raised us after my dad left when we were six, promised he would never let anyone hurt us. Well, that wasn’t a complete lie. Nobody harmed me except for him, but fortunately, I was able to protect my sister.
I told him that as long as he left my sister alone, I would do everything he wanted and keep my mouth shut. He was a big man, so I couldn’t defend myself, but I could protect Riya, and that’s what mattered most.
I couldn’t tell anyone because he threatened to kill all of us, and I know that he would’ve done it.
My mother started to take drugs, so we had nobody, and when I was almost 18, I took my sister and ran away in the middle of the night.
I remember how scared I was, how my whole body was trembling, but not for me, for Riya. I had no idea where we would go, or what we would eat, all I knew was that we had to run.
Far and fast!
As we had no place to sleep, we slept on the streets for a while. It was hard, she couldn’t understand why, and I couldn’t tell her, I never even said it out loud to myself, but we are one, so she followed me blindly.
Then it was my boyfriend, who cheated on me.
The only exception was Knox and my ex-boss, who trained me to become an assassin.
I was always the stronger one. I had to be in order to protect her. Then, I met Knox. He was working as a bodyguard at a club. I went there to find a job as a waitress, and as I started working, we slowly became friends. I told him my story, only that I didn't get into details when I mentioned the abuse. He thought it was only physical. Anyway, he didn’t judge me. He never did, and he never does.
The money I earned as a waitress wasn't enough. We lived in a small studio and could barely move around. I didn’t want my sister to work, because I was afraid that something might happen to her. Thanks to our past, I became overprotective. Sometimes she would get angry, but I didn’t mind as long as she was safe.
So, I needed more money, a second job with better pay, and I talked to Knox about helping me.
At first, I was smuggling drugs. It was okay, but not enough, so we also had to pay for school because I was determined to finish school no matter what.
One day, I stopped by the office to get my refill, and somehow, the door to my boss's office—usually locked and only accessible by him—was slightly open. I heard my boss talking to a man, which caught my attention.
My ex-boss, Marvin, was telling the guy that he had a new target, and at first, it confused me. Yes, I knew that my boss was not a saint, obviously, but I never thought he was involved in assassinations.
He told the guy that his target was a child molester and the man who hired him had some preferences on how to end the fuckers life, or better yet, how to torture him before he died from blood loss.
To say I was more than excited would be an understatement. I loved the idea of getting rid of monsters like that, and getting paid to do it? A fucking dream job!
It took a lot of persuasion because he didn’t want to admit that what I heard was right. He tried to play it off, but I wouldn’t relent. When he saw I was serious, he agreed and sent me training with his friend, who showed me everything I needed to know about this job. I learned to fight, use every kind of gun, and my favorite—how to use all kinds of knives. He even gave me an anatomy book so I could kill somebody with a needle if I had to.
I trained for a year before I had my first hit.
The guy was a child abuser, so I enjoyed killing him more than I enjoyed a beautiful Christmas morning.
Marvin gave me my official name, ‘The Red Demon,’ because I always wear red lipstick, and well... I’m an evil demon when I want to.
I would get my jobs through him, and he would provide me with information about all my targets, so everyone thought I was a man. And they still do.
Now I only have Knox, and because Marvin forbade me from telling anyone that I work for him as an assassin, I only told Knox what I do after my boss passed away. But again, he didn’t judge me. He even said that I was cool and helped me a couple of times, not with killing, but with info. He is as crazy as I am.
I lost track of time thinking about the past, and right now, the present is driving me crazy.
I feel things I’ve never felt before, and honestly, I don’t remember those feelings well because, after my sister’s accident, my heart turned as cold as an iceberg.
I cried so much that I became a shell of the Artemis I used to be. Empty. Cold. Cruel. I can’t feel anything anymore. No sympathy, no mercy, no love. No smile is a truly genuine smile. I died on the inside that night.
And now, this man enters my life, making me feel all kinds of new emotions, and I am fucking terrified of them.
The sun had set, and I still couldn’t get the handsome idiot out of my head, so I decided to call it a day and go home.
I showered and put on some comfortable clothes, poured myself a glass of wine because, God knows, I needed to relax a little, then went into the entertainment room to look for a movie. But as I was about to sit down, I heard my work phone ring.
A new target. Maybe this one will make me feel alive. I look and I see the information.
'Adonis Vincenzi-34 years old-Closed.'
I wonder why they want to be closed, because closed means 'do what you want, but fuck his face so bad they can’t have an open casket'.
I take my laptop and start checking.
I always make a background check on my targets. I want to know if the reason is a good one because I never kill without a good reason.
I don’t want innocent blood on my hands.
And, the lucky winner is.....