25. Kade
25 KADE
The club thunders around me, but there’s something missing.
Some one missing.
It’s evident in the way this place is run.
Not in a bad way—just different.
The staff here do an exceptional job with or without Artemis Madden in the building.
But there’s a spark that isn’t here, and I tie that to her.
After my drink, I hail a waitress and ask for Artemis.
Her lips flatten for a split second, then a practiced smile takes over.
“Sorry, she’s unavailable. I can pass along a message? Or if it’s a manager you need, Antonio is here tonight.”
Antonio.
Has Artemis mentioned him before?
I find myself nodding anyway.
I order a new drink, as well, and she leaves.
I sit back in the booth.
I was hoping she would see me on the cameras and come to me.
Short of breaking into her house, I haven’t seen her in a while.
Not since dancing with her at Bow & Arrow almost a week ago.
Her club is sexy. Dark.
Hot . There’s an allure that draws people back, no matter how many times they walk these halls.
I peer down to the dance floor two floors below.
There are caged dancers illuminated, their platforms hovering out of the second- and third-floor levels.
Has Artemis ever danced in one of those?
Some of the bars are neon, with lights that throb with the beat both above and below their bodies.
They wear paint that glows under those lights, too.
But those dancers only come out after midnight.
There’s a subtle shift, then.
It’s like the club takes a step deeper into the dark.
Sexier. More primal.
I’m hungry in a way I haven’t been in a long, long time.
Finding Reese has been my goal.
Finding Artemis just seemed to happen.
Now, I have to actively consider why I want to see her.
And that’s not to get an update on her search for Reese.
I’ve taken it into my own hands, too, well on my way to tracking down those numbers.
Not just the ones the sheriff highlighted, but the rest, too.
No stone left unturned.
But with limited resources in this town…
Reese has to call his mother, and those two highlighted lines are my best bet.
He loves her as much as he hates her, and I’d bet anything that she’s the only tie he keeps to his past.
Too bad both numbers have since been disconnected.
Back to Artemis—she’s who I keep seeking out.
I almost don’t want to do it, almost wish she had been uglier or younger, something to convince me that she’s absolutely not worth chasing.
Wrong.
She’s fucking beautiful.
She can dance. I bet she can fight, too, because her body is corded with muscle.
Even though she’s soft, she’s strong.
What a fucking dichotomy .
It’s been six days, and she’s been off the radar.
Similarly, Reese has been a ghost, too.
“You asked to see me?” A short Italian man stands at the edge of my table.
His dark hair is flecked with silver, especially at his temples.
His uniform—I’m assuming of his own choosing—is a white dress shirt and vest, slacks, Italian loafers.
His style is at odds with the rest of Bow & Arrow.
Everything about him screams in charge , but also, that he already doesn’t like me.
Interesting.
His trimmed goatee is more silver than what’s on top of his head.
His hands are in his pockets, and other than the subtle sharpness in his expression, he appears relaxed.
This is his element, clearly.
“Are you Antonio?” I lean back in the booth, very nearly kicking my feet out and crossing my ankles.
But with the table in the way, it wouldn’t have the desired effect.
“I am.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr.…?”
“Antonio Greco,” he supplies.
“And you are?”
“Kade Laurent.”
He inclines his chin.
“What can I help you with, Mr. Laurent?”
“I need to get a message to Artemis.”
His brows furrow.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“Why?”
“Because Ms. Madden was in an accident.” His expression turns severe.
“She’s indisposed until she recovers.”
My annoyance flares.
“An accident. Indisposed. Pretty little cover-up words to disguise wherever she actually is. If she doesn’t want to see me?—”
“Rest assured, she doesn’t,” Antonio snaps.
“Now, Mr. Laurent , our waitstaff have been serving you under a different name. I do believe you’ve been banned from our establishment.”
He steps back and motions.
From the edge of the room come two bulky security.
They wouldn’t be a match against me, not if I wanted to put up a fight.
But finding Artemis…
well, I want to find her.
Need to find her.
An accident implies she’s been injured.
Antonio didn’t back away from that claim, didn’t fold and tell me she was just in a stupid meeting with investors or whatever the fuck she does to keep this place afloat.
Every other time I’ve been here, she’s sought me out.
Or her brother has.
Something has distracted them—and her being hurt strikes a chord in my chest.
Worry .
Reese can wait.
I get up and let the security escort me out.
I glance up at one of the cameras, hoping that she’ll know I was here.
But even then, she’ll misinterpret it.
She’ll think I wanted to follow up on Reese again.
I do.
I did.
Now…
Now, it’s not the only thing I want from her.