Page 43 of Artemis

Luna answered on the second ring. “I’m so sorry I’m late, Artemis! I’ll be there in half an hour, I promise. Save me a slice of cake?”

Artemis told her the whole story, and was very proud of herself for her voice only wobbling a little.

Luna was devastated. “If I’d been there, I might have seen something! I’m so sorry, Artemis!”

“It’s okay. There’s no guarantee that it would have gone any differently if you had been here.” Artemis sniffed and took the tissue that Finley held out for her. “I won’t be in the office until this is resolved. Please arrange my appointments accordingly on Monday morning. I’ll keep you posted, okay?”

“Yes. Yes, of course. Whatever you need,” Luna said. “I hope you get him back before then, though. Do you want me to come over? Do you want to come to my place?”

“No, no, I’m going to Lee’s.” Artemis used the name Alexander had been calling Finley because she’d been talking about him to Luna for the past couple weeks. Did she ever have a lot to fill Luna in on once she got back to the office! Artemis couldn’t find the optimism inside herself to agree with Luna’s hopes. Maybe if they knew who had taken him... but they didn’t. “I’ll be keeping my phone handy. Call if there’s an emergency.” They hung up.

Finley nodded at her. “Ready to go?”

“Yes. Sorry for the delay.”

“No worries. We’ve got time.” Finley opened the front door for her before stopping suddenly.

There was a man in uniform with his finger raised to push the doorbell. “Good afternoon. Medusa, I presume?” he said, looking at Artemis.

“No. Maddie?” Artemis called over her shoulder into the kitchen and then made room for her to talk to the cop.

“How can I help you?” Maddie asked, supporting her belly protectively with one hand and leaning on the doorframe with the other.

The cop handed her a business card. “I just wanted to make sure you had the correct number for the mother of the kidnapped child. She’s been told to call us immediately once they’ve contacted her, right?”

“I think you should be talking to the mother herself,” Maddie said, handing Artemis the card.

Artemis barely glanced at it. “Yes, I make note of all the pertinent details and then call right away.”

The man nodded and ruffled a hand through his hair. Her eyes were drawn to where his sleeve rode up, exposing a snake tattoo on his hand that continued under his sleeve. “They’ll probably demand money. Get it together as quickly as you can to pay them. The most important thing is for you to get your son back safely.”

“I can earn more money. I can’t survive without my son,” Artemis said.

“Right. Do you have any idea who could have done this? Any enemies? Anyone who has threatened you lately?” The cop pulled out his phone and looked up at her expectantly.

“Well...” Artemis trailed off, uneasy. The cop raised his eyebrow questioningly. “I did have a verbal altercation with Mercury at the office recently. He was the reason I was late to pick up my son when the first failed attempt at kidnapping occurred.”

“Good to know.” The cop tapped on his phone, writing the information down. “We’ve been hearing shady rumors about that guy for a while. He’s bad news. Definitely someone to look into.” He snapped his phone closed and slid it into his pocket. “Do keep in touch.” He tapped the card she was still holding in limp fingers. “We’ll do everything we can to get your son back to you safe and sound.” He gave a small salute before turning and walking down the front walk.

Artemis sagged a little and Finley caught her by the elbow, strong and sure by her side.

“Let’s get you somewhere a little more comfortable,” Finley suggested. “Somewhere that isn’t full of memories and you can just be you.”

“Okay,” she whispered in reply.

They left without further fanfare, walking the short distance to Finley’s house.

Artemis wasn’t sure what she’d expected to see when they arrived. It was a bachelor pad for three very large, in both forms, dragon shifters. The cute little two-storey house with a white picket fence surprised her. “You live here?” she asked.

“Yup, we have ever since we moved to Purgatory,” Finley said, holding the gate open for her. “It’s close enough to the surrounding forests that we could easily go there to stretch our wings, back before we felt comfortable shifting in public. Dragon shifters had a bad rap back when we were put to sleep, and we didn’t really know what to expect when we woke up. So we moved around topside, never staying in one place for too long, until we heard about Purgatory, and then we came here.”

“I’m glad you did,” Artemis said shyly. She pushed her glasses up her nose as she walked up the pathway to the door. “Alexander talks about you all the time, you know. More than Gus, who I assume is Augustine?”

Finley chuckled. “I call him Auggie sometimes, to get on his nerves. Yes, the kids call him Gus. I’m actually surprised by how much I’m enjoying my time at the daycare. I wouldn’t have volunteered if it hadn’t been for Jaden and his mate, but it has been an enriching experience.”

“I know what you mean,” Artemis confided. “I didn’t want kids, you know. I was terrified that I would be a horrible mother. I almost had an abortion.”

Finley stayed quiet, unlocking and opening the front door for her.

---