Page 56 of Protected By Artemis

“Guys!” Artemis shot up from the couch and waved her phone in the air. “It’s happening.”

“What’s happening?” Apollo asked through a mouthful of chips.

Artemis clucked her tongue. “What else? Arcane is going viral. Turn on the news!”

Xavier grabbed the remote and switched the TV to a national cable news network.

“… and once again, we’re coming to you with breaking news,” the anchor on the screen said. “An anonymous whistleblower has leaked several documents supposedly taken from executives from Arcane Corporation, including the CEO. These documents allegedly show a pattern of malfeasance perpetrated by the company to obtain land and assets from….”

They watched in silence as the anchor detailed many of the crimes Arcane committed all over the world against poor and oppressed people. Xavier changed the channel several times and nearly all the major news networks were covering the document leak. Artemis had only mentioned a few of their exploits, but apparently, it was much worse. Cade’s stomach turned, thinkingof all the lives Arcane had destroyed over the years to feed their seemingly endless greed. He couldn’t help but feel a gleeful satisfaction as they turned to a business channel and watched Arcane’s stock price tank as the arrow on the graphic on the TV turned red as it pointed south.

“Yes!” Artemis cheered. “The government has to investigate them now.”

“Which one?” Apollo said. “They’ve committed crimes on nearly every continent on earth, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve evicted some penguins from Antarctica.” Rising to his feet, he let out a sigh. “Geri’s gonna kill me if she finds out I didn’t give her the news right away. Hey, Artemis, you coming? I’m sure Geri would love to thank you for your help.”

“Uh, sure.” Her gaze briefly landed on Cade. “I’ll follow, okay? I just have something to do.”

“Sure thing, sis. Cade, I’m so glad to put this to rest, but if you need anything, just call, okay?” The two men shook hands, and Apollo disappeared.

“I should get going, Alpha. Tell everyone the good news,” Xavier said. “I’ll have a new phone sent over, by the way.”

“Thank you, Xavier,” he said.

As soon as his second in command was gone, Artemis let out an excited squeak and jumped into his arms. “Oh, I’m so happy, Cade,” she cooed, rubbing her cheek on his chest. “We did it.”

Cade remained frozen, unable to move. Her sweet scent teased at his nostrils, her sweet body rubbing against his tempted him to hold her and take her again, to mark her and make her truly his.

“Yes, we did.” He curled his hands into fists at his sides, refusing to budge.

“I can’t believe it.” She took a step back and smiled at him. “We brought down an evil corporation! I kinda feel like Amazing Man fighting Dr. Marduk.”

“Uh-huh.” He swallowed the growing lump in his throat. “Tell Geri I said hi, will you.”

“Geri?” Her blonde brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

“You said you were going back to Mount Olympus. Give Geri my regards and tell her I’ll see her in a year.”

“Of course, I—” Her mouth clamped shut. “I mean, I don’t have to leave right now.”

“Apollo’s expecting you.”

“Yes, but…Cade?” She clasped at his forearms. “What’s wrong? Did I do something? Say something? Was it Apollo…”

“Nothing at all.” Gently, he pried her hands off him. “But you should head back home. Now that we’re done with this investigation, there’s no reason for you to stay.”

“Yes, about that. I mean, yes, we’re done with the investigation. But I-I thought…that is…” She paused, waiting for him to speak, but only silence stretched between them. “Cade, what are you trying to say?” she asked, staring blankly at him.

A vice-like grip wrapped around his chest, making it a struggle to breathe. “What do you think I’m saying?”

“C-Cade…” The way her voice shook sent daggers stabbing at his heart. “Cade, you can’t mean…I thought we…” She inhaled. “I thought maybe there was more…”

“More to what? We were having fun, right? I thought that’s what you wanted when you asked me to take your virginity.”

“Y-yes, but…”

“And now we’re done.” The words sounded final to his ears. “It’s over, this thing between us.”

She wrung her hands together. “But, Cade, I thought…th-that you…after you were hurt…that we…” She gave a defiant shrug of your shoulders, then lifted her head to look him directly in the eye. “You can’t mean that.”

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