Page 57 of Never Enough

TB reached across the table and picked up one of the pebbles. He held it up to the light, his fingers crushing some of the packed dirt around the stone. “This little thing right here is worth tens of thousands uncut.”

Everyone stared at the unassuming piece of pebble in his hand.

“That means,” Loki began, “that if this mine happens to host all three of these rare gems, the Kaders have found themselves a possibly never-ending financial boom to fund their activities. Those stones are heavily monitored by their respective commissions. Finding all three of them in the same location? That should be impossible. Something catastrophic happened at that location in the distant past to allow for that.”

“Why is that?”

Haskell spoke up. “Because the mine isn’t all that deep yet. The original owners gave up on it early.”

Nemo explained, “These three stones are all formed at various levels in the earth, and each has unique chemical compositions required for them to form. It’s part of what makes them worth so much.”

“If the Kaders are in control of that mine,” Medusa added, “unlimited funds equals unlimited resources and power.”

“Which means they’ll be near impossible to stop.” Nemolooked to Haskell. “What are you doing chasing these stones, kitty cat?”

“These days, my skills are used a lot more widely.” She reached into her pocket again and pulled out another packet. She opened the packet to reveal several larger stones. “Black diamonds. These are what I originally thought I was going to find. Clearly, I did. But when I ran across the other stones, I realized something bigger was going on. Mythos hired me to go into the mines and see what was what. While I was able to gain access to the mine, I ran into trouble and had to abort the assignment or become a permanent resident of the mine. Six weeks later? Here I am.”

Loki focused in on Haskell. “Haskell?—”

Haskell put her hand up to stop him. “No need to ask, Loki. You know I never quit. This was just a necessary retreat. I’ll regroup and head back out.”

Loki nodded.

“Oh, hell no!” Nemo slammed his hand down on the table. His eyes shot daggers at Haskell. “You are not going back into those mines. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is for you, especially since you were discovered once already?”

She looked at him like he was a small child. “Nemo, you have no say in where I go or what I do. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I know exactly what I’m getting into.”

“This isn’t like breaking into a museum,” he argued, rubbing his chest where his heart sat. She noticed he did that regularly. While she was touched that he was concerned, he clearly was overinvested if her actions were giving him palpitations or other physical pain. It also didn’t squelch her anger at being told what she could and could not do. She’d had enough of that nonsense in her life already.

“No, it isn’t,” she agreed. “But every site comes with risks. Some are riskier than others. I get that. I’m not stupid,” she spatback. “Just because I recently needed help temporarily does not give you permission to be the Grinch to my Cindy Lou Who where you pat me on the head and send me on my way. Everyone needs help sometimes, and I’m not the too-stupid-to-live girl who refuses to take help when needed. So I suggest you take all that alpha male shite that’s overloading your brain and stuff it back down. Considering you house your brain in the cock you so often seem to be stuffing back in your pants, you should be well-practiced at that!”

A low whistle came from Demon. “Feck, that was low.”

“But frighteningly accurate,” TB commented.

The stare-down between Haskell and Nemo was hardcore. She refused to give him so much as an inch. When her voice came again, it was softer but no less firm. “This is what I do, Nemo, and I’m fucking good at it.”

Nemo pleaded with her, “Kitty cat, I’m not saying you’re not capable. I’m saying it’s too dangerous to do this on your own.”

“Which is why you’re going with her,” Waters injected. He looked at Haskell. “We all are.”

21

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Nemo

“How many times do I have to tell you people?” Demon bitched. “If you use the last of something in a first aid kit, replace it immediately! If I had opened this out on a project, someone would have bled out because the kit didn’t have a tourniquet.”

From his worktable in the armory, TB responded with a bored tone as he laid out his weapons and ammunition. “Relax, Florence Nightingale. You’re so anal-retentive, you check all of our work three times before you let us pack it in the vehicles. Then you check it again before we pull out. And then you check it again when we arrive. There’s no way we would have ended up anywhere without a fully stocked kit.”

“That’s not the point, fecker. I shouldn’t have to check all those times. You’re all adults. Check your goddamn kits and make sure they’re stocked.” He slammed the lid down on one ofthe metal box kits the SUVs had underneath the front seat on the passenger’s side. “Think how much time I’d save if I didn’t have to check everybody’s work.”

TB shoved his primary gun into the holster at his right side. “Seriously? Even if we never ever forgot to stock our kits, you’d still check them five times. Fuck, pop a pill, would you? It would improve your mood.”

Demon stomped away, muttering in Gaelic. Nemo didn’t know the language at all, but he definitely knew that the medic was either calling TB’s parentage into question, or he was calling down pagan curses on the man. Maybe both. Nemo smiled to himself, then went back to inventorying all of his standard tools that he’d laid out to make sure he had everything.

The air-conditioning blew a sugary wave in his direction, and the skittering of Scheherazade’s toenails followed. He inhaled deeply.

---