Page 55 of Protected By Artemis

“You have friends?—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” he hissed at Apollo.

“That should force the government to look into all their dealings and charge whoever’s responsible. At the very least, it’ll tank their stock price.” Artemis turned to Cade. “What do you think?”

It wasn’t their kind of justice, but Cade supposed it was good enough. No one died in the bombing or the fire, plus he could rest easy, knowing that there wasn’t another pack out there looking to take him out and take over his territory. “Let’s do it,” he said to Hephaestus.

“I’m on it,” the god said as he placed his laptop on the counter and began to type furiously. A few minutes later, Hephaestus declared that he had all the evidence packaged together. “I’m blasting it out now.” He gave a final tap on the Enter key and then dusted his hands. “Now we wait.”

“How long?” Apollo asked.

“I don’t know when they’ll pick it up.” He closed the lid of his laptop. “But once it does, it’ll be bigger than that bomb they sent you.”

“You’re the best, H.” Artemis flashed him a smile. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I appreciate all your help, really.” Cade stepped forward and offered his hand. “Thank you.”

Hephaestus’s expression turned grim at Cade’s outstretched hand. “Don’t thank me yet.” He cast a meaningful look at Artemis, then turned back to him. “I’ll keep in touch.” And with that, he disappeared.

“Hmm, what can we do while we wait?” Apollo asked. “Hey, Cade, don’t you have an amazing man cave down in your basement? Like with the eighty-five-inch TV, Blu-Ray player, and the newest consoles and games?”

“Yeah? And?”

“Well, why don’t we watch a couple of movies, have a few beers, and get some snacks while we wait?”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Artemis agreed. “Why don’t you guys head down there, and I’ll go buy some snacks?” She didn’t even wait for an answer as she disappeared.

“She really is hiding something,” Apollo said, scratching at his chin. “I?—”

“That new Amazing Man movie just came out on streaming,” Cade interrupted.

“Really? The one where he fights that giant lizard created by Dr. Marduk?” Xavier said. “Awesome, I’ve been wanting to see it but didn’t want to make the drive to Anchorage.”

“They’ve been releasing so many movies in the Optimo Cinematic Universe, it’s been hard to keep up,” piped in Apollo. “But I always did like Amazing Man the best.

Cade stood up. “Let’s go then.”

“Wow, I’m so annoyed I didn’t get to see that in the theaters,” Xavier said as the credits rolled in. “It would have been so fun to see that lizard rampaging through San Francisco on the big screen.”

“It was pretty sweet,” Apollo said. “Hey, Artemis, can you pass me the chips?”

“Sure thing,” she said, reaching over to the bag next to her and handing him a bright yellow plastic bag. “Do we need any other snacks? How about something sweet, like ice cream? I put a couple of tubs in the fridge.”

Apollo laughed. “Did you buy out the store or something?”

“I just didn’t want to have to go back if we needed anything.” She met Cade’s gaze. “Do you want something to eat?”

“I’m fine.” He took a sip of his beer and leaned back in his recliner.

Artemis had arrived sometime after the movie began, carrying several grocery bags. After she put out the snacks on the table, she settled down on the spot of the couch closest to whereCade reclined on his armchair. A few times, she tried to catch his gaze, but he ignored her or pretended to be concentrating on the movie. Guilt nagged at him, seeing her so eager to smile at him or send him reassuring glances, but he reminded himself that he needed to put a wall between them.

I just can’t go through that again.

What happened with Eleni had been painful, but he had a feeling the fallout from his affair with Artemis would be even worse.

I shouldn’t have slept with her.

Did he somehow forget that he would never be able to completely avoid her, not when they were linked through Geri and Apollo? It was too messy.

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