Page 33 of Protected By Artemis

“Really?” Cade’s nose wrinkled. “And why would they need that kind of protection on their phone?”

“Because they have something to hide,” Hephaestus concluded. “I’ve only seen this kind of encryption on Fortune 500 company servers and devices. Corporate espionage is no joke, you know.”

Cade snorted. “Well, when billions are on the line…”

“Exactly,” Hephaestus said.

“Can you break the encryption, H?”

“Hell yeah, I can. But you’ll have to get closer, maybe less than a foot this time. And you can’t just use any ordinary phone. You’ll need an Olympus Network-enabled phone.”

“Like mine?” Artemis offered.

“Sure. I can install it remotely. Then you’ll just use it the same way.”

“And how long will it take to install?” Cade asked, glancing at his watch. “I have my meeting in ten minutes.”

“Not in time for that, I’m afraid,” Hephaestus said. “I’ll have it finished and installed in…about three hours or so.”

“Three hours?” Cade said, incredulous. “We’ll be done with our meetings. No, that’s too late. There has to be another way.”

“I have an idea,” Artemis said. “Isn’t there some kind of activity this afternoon after the last meeting?”

“The ATV tour?” Cade said. “Yeah, I think Daniel signed up for that one. Mallory doesn’t go to these things.”

Artemis chewed on her lower lip. “Well, we don’t need both their phones, do we?”

“Once I break the encryption on one phone, I should be able to get access to any other phone it’s connected to,” Hephaestus said.

“And if he is her heir, and Mallory’s pack is responsible for the bombing, he’s probably in on the whole thing anyway,” Artemis reasoned. “Cade, you really need to get going, or you’ll be late.

“Fine. I’m gonna get dressed and head out,” he said before padding over to the massive walk-in closet on the other side of the bedroom.

“He’s gonna get dressed, huh?”

Hephaestus’s voice coming from the speaker of her phone made her start. “Uh, it’s not what you think, H.”

“Uh-huh.” He snorted. “Anyway, after we hang up, just keep your phone connected to the network, and I’ll install the software.”

“Right. Thanks, H.”

“And Artemis?”

“Yes?”

“Be careful.”

But before she could ask him what he meant exactly, the line went silent.

Artemis huffed as she put her phone down. Hephaestus had never meddled in her personal life before. In fact, she was surprised he even picked up on small clues like he did just now. While the god of fire and the forge was brilliant when it came to all things technology, he tended to be, well, oblivious when it came to things like relationships and women. She couldn’tblame him, though, considering what he’d gone through with his ex-wife.

But that wasn’t any of her business. And she had more important things to think about.

After a quick glance toward the walk-in closet, she plugged her phone into the charger. She trusted Hephaestus would be able to update the app to work, but there was still something she had to figure out: finding a way to get close enough to Daniel’s phone to even start the process.

When Hephaestus called her back to explain how the updated app worked, Artemis quickly found that that getting close enough wasn’t the problem.

“… and there’s one more thing,” Hephaestus said. “The phones will have to stay connected for about thirty minutes.”

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