24. Artemis
24 ARTEMIS
I was right.
Saint doesn’t like this.
He doesn’t like it when I dial a number by heart that isn’t a close friend’s, doesn’t like when the gruff voice on the other end of the line is a man.
Too bad. He said he didn’t know anyone.
“I thought you’d call the sheriff,” Saint says in a low voice.
He’s at one window, peering out through the slats of the blinds.
I’m at the other end of the house, angling to get a view up the street.
The lamp is off, and it’s been quiet.
But not good quiet, I’m talking unusual quiet.
No cars, no people walking their dogs before bed, nothing .
The plan is to leave out the back, cut through the yard, and exit through the gate that opens onto an access road.
And that’s where Reese Avery will be waiting.
He’s coming from the other road, though, so there’s no good way to see him coming.
He’s going to text Saint’s phone when he’s here, and our job is to wait until then.
But since Saint and I are equally bad at waiting, we’ve taken turns trading barbs and staring out at the road.
He pointed out the woman’s house, and I nod to myself.
That night, I hadn’t even realized I was so close to this one.
Not that I would ever willingly come here.
In fact, I’m looking forward to leaving it.
And not because I know what Saint’s dick feels like, and this is very much a Nyx-and-Saint place.
But because it seems like he’s trying to keep her memory alive by coming here, and that…
He’s going backward.
I suppress my concern.
“They have patrol cars, you know. They could just be… hiding.”
“Hiding?” He snorts.
“Hiding where, in the access road?”
The hairs on the back of my neck rise.
“Yeah, Saint, maybe .”
He considers, then swears.
I hate that I like how it sounds when curses come out of his mouth, especially when they’re not directed at me.
Or maybe even then. He lets the blinds fall shut and goes to the back door.
It creaks as it opens, and he leaves me alone.
“Sorry, Nyx,” I say to the air.
“Feel free to fight me when I join you.”
My throat closes, and I hurry after him.
I just touch the door handle when it swings inward, nearly cracking me in the face.
He pauses. “What are you doing?”
“I—”
“It’s clear. For now anyway. I didn’t see anyone.” His teeth score his lower lip.
“You’ve run into them before, then?”
Oh.
“I was out riding, and they hit my bike.”
He stops.
“What?”
I shrug. If he didn’t notice my bike has been out of commission, that’s his problem.
His phone chimes, temporarily pausing his questioning.
He scans it, then looks over his shoulder.
I crane around him, spotting the top of a truck moving down the row.
I grab Saint’s arm, ready to tow him back into the house, but he’s immobile.
“It’s your friend,” he says when the truck stops near the gate.
“Let’s go.”
He brushes past me back into the house.
I watch him for a second, then leave him there.
He might want to say goodbye to Nyx in private, or…
I don’t know, check that the front door is locked?
I lever open the gate and slip out, heading for the passenger side of the truck.
It’s an older model, with a single row in the cab.
Which will mean a tight fit between the two men and me.
The window is rolled down, so there’s no disguising who waits for us.
“Thanks,” I breathe, climbing into the truck.
Reese stares at me. “What the fuck happened?”
I open my mouth, but then Saint is here a second later.
The gate is closed and locked, and he urges me none too gently farther into the truck.
I slide in close to Reese.
He stares at me. The bandage on my head, the open wounds everywhere else.
I stare back.
Reese is in a white t-shirt and jeans, and a backward cap keeps his hair out of his eyes.
My gaze drinks him in, noting the holstered gun barely visible on his left hip.
I have a knife in my shoe.
Saint probably has some sort of something on him.
It seems like everyone in this town is armed.
“Reese,” he introduces.
He stretches his muscled arm past me.
Saint eyes him, then shakes his hand.
“That’s Saint,” I say.
“He doesn’t have any manners.”
Reese smiles.
His teeth flash in the darkness.
A low chuckle fills the cab.
Not Reese.
Not me.
Since when does Saint chuckle?
“You’re one to talk,” Saint says to me.
I glower.
“Artemis,” Reese says.
“You have an address for where I’m going?”
“I’ll give you directions.” I grew up in this town.
There’s only a rare street that I haven’t traveled down.
And from here, I can easily pick my way back home.
Except…
Roadblocks .
The first is two blocks down.
Three trucks are parked across the road, and guys loiter around beside them.
Only one remains behind one’s wheel, clearly meant to back out of the way to let approved traffic pass.
We turn.
Another one, this with concrete lane dividers dragged into the street.
Two men with guns stand in the only opening to pass through.
We turn.
It’s clear for a while, but then there’s another.
Reese swears. Saint closes his eyes.
My arms are crossed over my stomach, the painkillers not doing much against the growing tension in the cab.
The more opposition we hit, the more claustrophobic I feel.
How does the sheriff not know about this?
Reese’s hand touches my wrist.
I glance at him out of the corner of my eye and slowly release my hand from where it’s clutching my upper arm.
His fingers run along the bone of my wrist, down to my pinky.
I let him unwind my arm and take my hand.
He drives one-handed and changes directions again.
Avoiding again . I don’t know if these guys see us coming, since we can spot their lit-up checkpoints from blocks away.
But we hit the main road that connects with the one that exits Sterling Falls.
The only road that can be considered a highway.
He takes a right, and we head up toward the reservoir.
If we keep going and don’t turn toward the body of water, we’ll end up in North Falls.
We’ll pass right by Kade’s rented mansion.
My fingers tighten on his, and he glances at me.
A question in his gaze.
I release his hand and curl in on myself.
We follow that road with no incident.
Approaching Kade’s place, I nudge Reese with my elbow and lift my chin.
He takes in the mansion with a quick, disconcerting eye.
Saint glares at it, too, for an entirely different reason.
“Is that asshole still in town?” he questions.
Okay, maybe not.
Reese’s eyebrows hike.
“He knows Kade?”
“ You know Kade?” Saint asks.
“Who the fuck is this guy, Artemis?”
“I’m not answering that.” I sink lower.
“Can we just get back to my condo, please?”
Reese presses his lips together.
I can’t even fucking look at Saint, because I have a feeling he’d make some connections he shouldn’t make.
Like how Reese and I know each other.
I close my eyes. At first, it’s just a ruse to get out of talking.
But then real heaviness takes over, and I slump.
I wake up on Reese’s shoulder.
A cool wind lifts my hair, and I slowly sit up straight.
The passenger door is closed, but the window is open and Saint is gone.
My face heats. I wipe at my mouth and take note of where we are.
Parked in front of one of the late-night diners near Sterling Falls University.
“What…?”
Reese touches the corner of my lip.
“Saint went in to get us food.”
“Us?”
“I may have spun it to be payment for saving your asses.” His green eyes soften.
“But really, I just wanted an excuse to be invited up to your condo again.”
Oh.
My mouth is dry, and I should have a witty comeback.
But the only thing I can muster is, “I like pizza.”
He smirks.
“Who doesn’t?”
“Psychopaths.” I smile.
“Saint probably doesn’t like pizza.”
“Is he a psychopath?”
“Pretty close to one.”
He laughs.
But he doesn’t know the full story, so I just sit back and try to blink away the sleep.
Now that he mentioned Saint being inside, I can see the back of Saint’s head inside at the counter.
He collects boxes and exits, rounding the hood of the truck with three pizzas.
My stomach growls loud enough for both of them to hear.
Reese cracks a smile.
Saint remains straight-faced, although he looks for a moment like he’s about to put the boxes on my lap.
And then he sees my skin and thinks better of it.
At least he has some sense.
Reese backs out of the space, and I lean into Saint.
I ignore the way he tenses and crack open the top box.
Cheese, pepperoni, and spinach.
I don’t know who remembers my favorite pizza, but I don’t question it.
I take a slice.
Saint scowls.
“Wait?—”
“Can’t,” I interrupt, shoving the tip into my mouth.
It’s hot, but I chew and swallow quickly.
And then blow on the cheesy goodness before I try that again.
I can almost forget that I’m sandwiched between two guys I don’t particularly like.
Pizza makes everything better.
By the time my slice is finished, Reese has pulled his truck into my building’s parking garage and killed the engine.
Saint hops out with the boxes.
Reese glances at me, raising his eyebrows.
I take my time licking my fingers, and he groans under his breath.
Huh.
I mirror his expression.
“You’ll be the death of me.” He shakes his head and chuckles.
“You coming?”
I take his offered hand with my clean one, and he helps me down.
Let’s just be clear about something, though.
I don’t need help getting out of a truck.
But it’s nice to not be left in the dust. Cough, Saint, cough .
To have someone actually care.
But it is weird that it’s Reese Avery.
“I’m glad you called,” he says in a low voice.
Saint is already at the elevator, waiting with his back to us.
“I didn’t know who else to ask.” I squeeze his fingers and then release.
My fear-slash-nausea at being in close proximity to Reese has abated…
for now. But not knowing who else to ask isn’t exactly a compliment.
It just means there were literally no other takers.
I lead the way to Saint.
The elevator chimes right as we approach, the doors sliding smoothly open.
Once we’re in, I realize that this might be worse than the car.
They’re eyeing each other now, with nothing like driving or evading capture to distract.
It’s a miracle we made it here in one piece.
“So.” Reese hits the button for my floor without prompting.
“How do you know Kade Laurent, Saint?”
Saint frowns.
“He won our fight at Olympus. Apollo shared his name.”
Reese’s gaze cuts to me.
“Apollo, your brother.”
“That’s the one.”
“He won a fight at… where?”
Oh, boy.
“Where have you been?” Saint’s tone is incredulous.
It’s a bit warranted.
Stay in Sterling Falls for any amount of time, and you’re bound to hear about Olympus.
The fighting, the masquerades.
Hell, even the cliffs.
“Living under a rock,” Reese says.
“What is Olympus?”
Saint and I trade a look.
This weekend… I mean, what could be the harm?
Doesn’t really matter that Kade and the sheriff are now searching for Reese.
Or that I was supposed to find him for Kade.
I seem to have switched sides.
The sheriff is acting weird, and Kade pulling some sort of scheme…
“I don’t trust him,” Saint says under his breath.
“Who?”
“Kade.” He pushes his shoulders back.
“He shouldn’t be staying in that house.”
That, again.
“And he was too presumptuous with Artemis.”
I open and close my mouth.
But… maybe that’s fair?
Reese frowns. He’s about to retort when the elevators open, and we’re saved from further questioning.
I make a beeline for my door, then register that I don’t even have my keys on me.
Reese takes the pizza boxes from Saint, who unlocks the door.
And then we’re in.
I am in desperate need of new clothes.
I grab stuff from my room and lock myself in the bathroom, slowly stripping out of my ruined shirt.
I toe off my shoes and undo the ankle strap that holds the sheathed knife, but I don’t know how to get the sweatpants off easily.
There are scrapes across my upper chest and stomach, the backs of my forearms and elbows are torn to shit.
Everything hurts. I wet a washcloth and try to dab at the cuts, tackling those before my legs.
Blood is soaked into the shredded edges of my sweatpants, down past my knees even.
It takes a long time to peel them down, and I kick the ruined fabric into the corner.
Ten minutes later, ish , I’ve doused myself in antiseptic, wrapped what I could in bandages, and slipped into new clothes.
Unable to delay any longer, and partially driven by the smell of pizza, I slowly limp out of the bathroom.
Reese sits on a barstool.
Saint leans against the counter across from him.
They both have beers, but they’re not talking.
This is weird, right?
It’s weird .
Them together…
At least they’re not spilling secrets.
“You live here?” Reese asks Saint.
“Yep.”
I help myself to a slice, going the same route as before and shoving it into my mouth as fast as possible.
It feels like an eternity since I’ve eaten anything of substance.
Not that pizza is the be-all and end-all of foods.
Well, it is in terms of deliciousness.
But not health-wise.
“Do you hate pizza, Saint?” Reese asks.
I choke.
Saint has a single slice on a paper plate like a true gentleman, and he’s taken maybe two bites.
He scowls at me—for my reaction, I’d bet—and shakes his head.
“I don’t mind it.”
“But it’s not a top-ten favorite food?”
Saint narrows his eyes.
“Why?”
“Only psychopaths don’t like pizza.” Reese smirks and takes a big bite.
Proving a point?
Some would say that Reese is the biggest psychopath of them all.
At that thought, I shiver.
My analysis of Reese could be entirely wrong.
Especially if he was forced into the situation by his parents.
My stomach turns, and I touch the bandage on my head.
Maybe I was concussed, because I don’t feel right.
I blink, and the room shifts.
Not a tilt or a spin, just…
a little wobble. Barely noticeable.
Besides that, I’m thinking rationally about Reese.
Since when does that happen?
“Are… okay?” Reese’s voice goes in and out.
“What?” I drop my pizza crust and grab the counter.
“…she’s…”
I shake my head, trying to clear the cotton suddenly filling my ears.
“…was fine…”
“I am fine,” I mutter.
I’m not.
Hands grab at me.
“Not the couch,” Saint says.
“…damp.”
Ugh, yeah.
Asshole .
“…shouldn’t have slept…”
Hands touch my cheek.
“Stay awake, Tem.”
Neither of them call me that.
I drag my eyes open, but I’m fighting an uphill battle.
My lids are so heavy.
After a long minute, I give up.
But then something occurs to me.
Something I should’ve told Reese a while ago…
“Don’t go home.” Kade can probably find you.
That’s the last thing I remember.