Page 71 of Never Enough

She shook herself. “None of this applies to what’s going on right now, though. Nemo, I knew exactly what I was getting into when I hooked up with Medusa, Loki, and Gilgamesh. A target painted on my back isn’t anything new. Yeah, it’s a little disconcerting to know there’s a monetary value attached to me now, but nothing has really changed in terms of the danger level than what was happening before.”

“If you’re not scared, then what was with the look? Because you looked scared.”

“I was. But not because someone is gunning for me. I was scared because now it seems to matter to someone that there’s someone gunning for me, and I don’t like being responsible for anyone else’s happiness. Been there, done that already. For years, I lived to make Da happy, and it meant I was doing things I didn’t really want to do.”

“But you’re so good at what you do.”

She chuckled. “Being good at something doesn’t necessarily mean you like doing it, now does it?”

Nemo thought about how he’d been living his life. The stealing? The chase? He enjoyed those things. The women? He was exceptionally good at that, but she was correct. He did not enjoy that. It hadn’t stopped him from continuing to try and drown out his need for Gem with anyone he could charm into substituting for his pixie.

He brushed the rebel curl out of her eyes, and once again, it bounced right back over them. “No, it doesn’t.” He traced the perfectly arched eyebrow to the small star tattoo at its end. “Rest, pretty baby. You’ve got heavy lifting to do later.”

He started to get out of his seat, but her hand on his armstopped him mid-stand. He sat back down, their fingers laced together again.

“Thank you, Nemo.”

“For what?”

“For not trying to keep me out of the loop. For letting me do what I do.”

“I know better than to try and stop a speeding train.” He smiled and ran his knuckles down her cheek. “You’re good at what you do. Better than me. And tinier.”

Together, they laughed at his reference to his first nickname for her.

“Still. Thank you for not hulking out over it.”

“Oh, I am on the inside. I can’t promise there won’t be moments of worry that slip out like earlier. But the harder I hold on, the faster you’ll try to run. I can’t have you running on me again.”

“No promises, Nemo. It’s not in me to make that promise. I go where my jobs take me,” she warned.

“Work is one thing. Running is another. And if you run, I’ll just chase you down.” He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “Rest.”

27

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022

Haskell

An hour later, she woke to Nemo’s mouth ghosting along the side of her face. “Hey, pretty baby. Time to wake up.”

Slowly and stiffly, she sat up with a stretch and a yawn. She knew her shirt had risen up to bare her belly button because Nemo’s eyes automatically tracked to it. She wondered if he knew how hungry his eyes appeared. Probably not.

“See something you like, burglar boy?” she teased.

His eyes traveled up to her face. “Every time I look at you, sugar cat.”

“Why does the name change? I’m starting to feel like I have multiple personalities,” she grumbled.

He chuckled at her grumpiness, and his face lit up with a smile. “When we first met, I couldn’t get over how little you were. Almost like a child. So that’s why I called you ‘tiny.’ ‘Kitty cat’ is for when you get all cute and hissy. ‘Pretty baby’ is when you’re looking all adorable.”

“And ‘sugar cat’?”

“‘Sugar cat’ is for when I want to bury myself so deep in you and kiss you so hard that you forget everything, including our names.”

“Oh.”

“Oh,” he confirmed. He held out a hand to her. “We’ve got your survey of the tunnels. Time to start planning.”

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