Page 18 of Never Enough

“No. No distractions. Rest. Contact Mythos. Back to work. You promised.”

Cherry nodded. “I did, and I’ll keep my promise, but I had to ask.”

Cherry made to move out of the car, but Haskell stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Cherry. I was in a hell of a mess. You saved me out there.”

“Pfft. You saved yourself, girl. You always do.” Cherry clapped her hands. “I think I’m having two éclairs to celebrate a successful mission of rescuing you.”

Haskell sat frozen in the car, staring at the now-empty space Cherry had been sitting in. Calling Cherry had literally been her only option, or she wouldn’t have done it. As the handler of the men at Tribe Corporation, Cherry had resources Haskell didn’t, which was helpful. Contacting her, though, meant that Haskell was officially in dangerous territory by being in Los Angeles and near Nemo. Oddly enough, she wasn’t sure which option was worse—running for her life from the Kaders or running into the temptation of Sawyer “Nemo” Newton. Either was a recipe for disaster. And while the first might see her dead, the second would most definitely see her broken.

She jumped in her seat when the rapping knuckle came at the passenger side window. “C’mon, Haskell! Let’s eat!”

Shaking her head to clear it of her conundrum, Haskell departed the car and followed the bundle of hungry energy into the café. Today was shaping up to be another crazy day.

7

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Nemo

They’d just gotten off yet another frustrating conference call with Mythos, neither side gaining any sight or sound, not even a breath of a rumor, on the location of Haskell or her alter ego, Le Chatte Noire. Nemo was starting to fear the worst.

It’s been five weeks since they told us she’d been missing, but she’d already been missing for one week by then. She’s good, but how did she disappear so completely? Even from Midas?

Scheherazade on his heels, he was storming off to the gym to work off his frustrations yet again, a place he was spending way too much time in when the emergency line rang simultaneously on everyone’s watches. Each of the team and the women had their own ringtone so that everyone would know if there was a true emergency. Everyone was in the office, so whose code was it?

Cherry’s not here!

“Fuck,” Nemowhispered. “Guys! I think that’s Cherry’s code!”

Demon snapped. “I’ve got it.” He clicked his alarm button and put it on speaker. “Where are you?”

“I’m at the café on Fifth and Rodeo. There’s a pressure-plate bomb. It’s packed here, and this is above my skills.”

“Goddammit!” Demon glanced at the other men in the hallway. “You on it or someone else?”

There was a slight pause. “A… a friend.”

Nemo swore he heard a cracking sound. Probably the enamel on Demon’s teeth as he ground them together rather than yell at their handler.

“Okay, stay calm, Cherry. We’re on our way.”

All of the men began checking personal weapons as they moved with purpose to the elevator. Nemo grabbed the sweater on the back of Cherry’s desk chair in the lobby, then he punched the down button while Waters alarmed the building except for the underground garage. Their team leader immediately began to dial God on his cell phone.

No answer.

What the hell? God always answers.

Demon snarled, “Cherry, tell him to remain perfectly still.”

“It’s a her,” she corrected.

There was a pause where obvious relief showed on Demon’s face, followed quickly by guilt. “Feck. Okay. How’s she doing?”

“She’s okay. Freaked out. Didn’t believe me at first. But she’s calmer than I would be.”

“Is she sitting or standing?”

“Sitting. It’s under her chair. I heard the click when she sat down.” There was a catch in Cherry’s voice. “Please get here and get her out of this!”

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