Page 10 of Protected By Artemis

Apollo snorted.

“Oh, and by the way?” Artemis leaned over and poked a finger at her brother’s chest. “I am definitelynotsecond best.”

Cade couldn’t suppress a groan. The sound drew amused looks from those around the table.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. “Not thrilled about the idea, Alpha?”

“She does have that effect on people,” Apollo chuckled, giving Cade a sympathetic pat.

Cade sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s not that, Artemis. It’s just…this is pack business.”

Geri reached over and placed a hand on his arm. “Cade, please. This will help me feel better knowing you have someone else to help you.”

Cade exchanged a look with Xavier, who shrugged. He took a deep breath and turned back to Artemis. “Alright. Let’s work together on this.”

Artemis smiled. “Thank you, Cade. And Geri, we’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.”

Geri looked relieved, and Apollo gave Cade an appreciative nod. “Artemis will be a valuable asset.”

Cade managed a small smile.

“Oh,” Artemis said, rubbing her hands together. “I love a good hunt.”

Geri nodded, still looking worried but more at ease. “Okay. I trust you both. Just…be careful.”

“We will.” Cade gave her a reassuring smile. “Go and start your new life, Geri. We’ve got this.”

As Geri and Apollo rejoined the celebration, Cade turned to Xavier. “Alright, let’s get to work. We need to find out who’s behind this and why. Good job today. Get some rest or at least enjoy the party. I want to meet first thing in the morning.”

“I’ll be there bright and early,” Artemis said.

“Sure,” he said. But deep down, he hoped she would forget about helping out.

Chapter 3

Artemis

Artemis rubbed her hands together as she admired her handwork.

“Hmmm.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “Not quite there yet but?—”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

The familiar baritone made her heart stutter. Composing herself, she turned to face the door. “Ah, there you are.”

“Answer my question.” Cade stalked toward her, dressed in his usual jeans and flannel shirt, though his hair was tousled like he’d been running his hands through them.

Or he’d just gotten out of bed.

The thought sent a small thrill through her.

“I’ve been preparing for our meeting. And you?”

“Our meeting?” A dark eyebrow went up. “And what in the world isthat?”

“Oh, this?” Whirling around to admire her handiwork, she said, “It’s our suspect board.”

Artemis pointed to the large whiteboard behind her. The first thing she did when she had any project was to get organized. However, she wasn’t satisfied with having just a plain, boring whiteboard. No, that wasn’t quite good enough. And so, sheadded her own flair to it. First, she added the title “Bombing Suspect Board” in big block lettering on top. Of course, it was pretty much empty for now, but she was prepared. Aside from the different colored markers—each suspect would have their own color to make it easier—she had magnets to put up suspect’s’ photos, string to tie them to pieces of evidence or other persons of interest, and a variety of sticky notes in different colors to write notes on. Using her magic, she could also expand the board as needed.

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