Page 47 of Protected By Artemis

“I’m pouring over every single piece of information I’ve copied from Daniel and Mallory’s phone, even stuff that might seem insignificant. I’m also monitoring all communication going in and out. So far, I haven’t found anything that links them to the bombing or directly to Arcane.” He stretched to full height, his hand going down to his thigh, massaging the muscles just above where it connected to the prosthetic. “However, I did do some research into Arcane Corp.”

“And what did you find out?”

“That Arcane Corp. is one evil organization. And I thought the Titans were bad.” The scowl on his face deepened. “They’ve been linked to a lot of dirty stuff. Corruption, graft, bribery,slavery.” He tapped on the keyboard, and various news sites popped up. “There, see? A village burned down in the Amazon, destroying dozens of homes and farmland. The people can’t afford to rebuild, so who shows up with a generous offer to buy? Arcane. Then there’s this eco-sanctuary in Indonesia where dozens of endangered species live. A forest fire decimates the entire place, and tons of animals are displaced or dead. Less than six months later, a subsidiary owned by Arcane starts a palm plantation in the same spot.” He pointed to the screen. “Africa, China, Polynesia…I could go on and on.”

“That’s horrible.” Artemis covered her mouth as she gasped. “Is there anything we can do? Any credible evidence that links Arcane to these and the bombing in Alaska?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Not yet?” She perked up. “So, you have a plan?”

“Yeah.” A slow smile spread across his mouth. “I’m going to hack into their systems and see what I can find.”

“When will you be done?”

“It could take a while,” he said. He tapped on the keyboard a few more times before stepping back. “There. My decryption program needs a couple of hours to work on their firewalls, but it’ll get the job done. We only need to wait. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

He walked over to the other side of the table and picked up something long and curved. Artemis immediately recognized what it was.

“Oh, is that a bow?” She peered over his shoulder. “Nice.”

“Yeah, I’m fixing it for someone.”

She was about to ask for whom, but then she spied the wing symbol carved onto the handle.

The symbol of the god of love and desire, to be exact.

It is not surprising, though, that despite it being thousands of years since the divorce, Hephaestus had remained close to his ex-stepson, Eros.

“Dammit!” Hephaestus cursed. “Irresponsible idiot.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The limb bolt.” He held up the bow. “It’s missing the locking screw.”

Artemis frowned. A missing locking screw was something a seasoned archer like Eros could definitely fix himself. “Do you have any around? I might have a few extra at home.”

“Top drawer.” He nodded toward the large desk in the corner of the room. “Should be in a small plastic box. Would you mind…?”

“No prob.” She hopped over to his desk but saw two sets of drawers under the desk. So, she reached for the closest one on the right side but found it bare—except for a single, pink and white seashell sitting in the middle.

Artemis blinked. Only one goddess used that particular symbol.

Maybe it wasn’t just Eros he was still attached to.

“Did you find it?”

She quickly closed the drawer and opened the other one, then grabbed the plastic box with the screws. “Yes!” She cleared her throat. “Uh, here it is.”

“Thanks,” he said as he took the box from her, then quickly replaced the screw into the bolt. “There you go. Now”—he turned to Artemis—“anything else you need?”

“No, I should go back.”

“To your Alpha?” he said without missing a beat.

“He’s not my Alpha,” she replied with a nervous laugh.

“Isn’t he?” Standing up straight, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not an idiot, Artemoula.”

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