In The Darkness (Project Artemis #1)(11)

Persephone had pegged them correctly. Nick continued, “I suspect only people like them are entitled to their brand of equality. They’re angry about everything. From what I read about them, they claim that everyone else but them have been helped in this country and they were left behind. So they formed this group and started picketing news stations that didn’t tell their story the way they wanted it told.”

She frowned and shook her head. “The news is about the truth. Or at least it’s supposed to be. That’s what my father always believed anyway. Ironic that they took me, the daughter of the one man in the news business who demands his media tell the truth.”

Scooping the grey, chunky liquid up into the spoon, Nick let it drop back into the bowl with a plop. “They aren’t interested in anyone telling the truth. They just want people to hear their opinions and give them what they want. There’s very little truth to what they believe. The fact that they can be unemployed and still afford to have all those guns and have the time and money to pull off an operation like this kidnapping shows they have pretty easy lives, comparatively speaking.”

For the first time, Persephone smiled and Nick saw that beautiful woman he’d seen in the picture Marshall Gilmore had shown him. Only now, she sat in green scrubs she’d worn for weeks, her hair hung in a tangled mess down past her shoulders, and her face and neck had bruises that showed the misery she’d endured.

But still, she was beautiful.

“You don’t sound much like a revolutionary, or whatever they think they are. You better work on that.”

“Oh, don’t worry. When you see me around any of them, you won’t even recognize me. It’ll be pretty damn horrifying, so brace yourself. And not like I was with that guy a few minutes ago. I just need you to remember that whatever I do, I’m doing it to save you. Don’t forget that.”

The smile slid from her expression at his promise that he’d be just as evil as the men outside the room. For Nick, he knew what he had to do and he knew why he had to do it. He just didn’t like how that truth made her look at him.

“I better get going before they think something is going on in here. I’ll be back later to feed you dinner. Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

“No. But how do you know it will be you who has to feed me again?” she asked.

As he placed the bowl of slop on the table nearby, he smiled. “Because I’m the new guy and they think that’s giving me the dirty job. Up is down in these people’s world, I guess.”

Turning back to face her, he knew he had to put the gag back on her, even if he didn’t want to. The pretense had to be kept up or her captors might figure out he wasn’t who he claimed he was and they’d both pay the price for that mistake.

He crouched down next to her to pick up the rag they’d used on her and stood up to stuff it into her mouth again. Holding the cloth in his hand, he looked at her and tried to soften the news the best he could.

“I have to put this back on you. I’m sorry,” he said, hanging his head.

“Why? Couldn’t you just forget? I’ve had that thing in my mouth every day and night. I have to breathe through my nose the whole time, which starts to really hurt after a while. Can’t you just leave it off for now, and if someone comes in and sees, then you can just say you forgot to do it?” she pleaded.

He hated the answer he had to give her. He truly did, but neither of them could afford any slip up that might endanger them getting away from there alive.

Clutching the gag in his hand, he frowned. “I’m sorry. I am. But I have to do this.”

She shook her head violently as he attempted to gently push it into her mouth, so he took hold of her head to stop her. Looking up at him with those deep brown eyes filled with complete and utter fear now, she begged one more time for him not to do it in a voice that made his chest hurt.

“Please. Nick, please. Don’t do this. You want me to trust you, but how can I when you insist on sticking that thing back in my mouth?”

Damnit, he hated who he had to be sometimes.

“I have to. We can’t afford for them to think that I’m treating you any better than they are. I promise that I’ll come back before dinner, if I can, and remove it for as long as possible. I promise.”

He held her head still as she tried to push back against his palm to escape what he had to do. The more she fought him, the more he wanted to stop and do as she so desperately wanted, but he didn’t have a choice.

No matter how much he wished he did.

As gently as he could, he pushed the cloth into her mouth as she tried to push it out with her lips and then clamped down on his fingers with her teeth. She caught his forefinger and bit down hard, nearly drawing blood. Yanking his hand away, he shook it to ease the sting as she stared at him with hurt in her dark eyes that caused him more pain than any bite ever could.

“I’ll be back. Remember what I said. Don’t fight them. They’ll hurt you if you do.”

As he walked toward the door, he heard her say something that sounded like, “Like you just did.”

In her eyes, he was no better than those bastards who’d hit her and choked her. Hopefully, gagging her would be the worst he’d have to do to her. But he wouldn’t count on that.


The men of the National Equality Militia spent most of their time playing video games as far as Nick could tell in the day he’d been with them. When he left the room where they were holding Persephone, he walked directly into the group of five grown men arguing about whose turn it was to do whatever they did in the game that seemed to revolve around some kind of zombies taking over the world.