Page 104 of Nemesis

“How you make enemies everywhere you go.”

“Ah.” Reese squeezes my hand. “Time to go, then.”

Absolutely. We just have to make sure we don’t run into an angry Kade Laurent on the way out.

29ARTEMIS

Reese,Saint, and I arrive back at my condo, and I’m struck by howweirdit is. I know I’ve said that before, but it bears repeating. Saint and Reese don’t really hate each other, although they argue. And Saint hasn’t tried to get me to kick Reese out…

It’s probably just because Reese came to our rescue and saved us.

And Saint saved me.

Who have I saved, lately?

A big, fatno one.

But I’m not going to dwell on that.

I saved my brother and Wolfe plenty of times, and then the vigilante shit kind of dissipated as we moved out of the gang war and into peacetime.

This is peace, isn’t it? The gang leaders were dispatched—a nice way to say killed—and Jace, Wolfe, and Apollo reestablished themselves as in charge. The Hell Hounds got Malik, who plays nice with my brother and his friends.

Well… itwaspeace.

Now, I’m not so sure. I have been so caught up in my own shit, I haven’t stopped to actually feel the vibe of the city. EvenBow & Arrow is usually a good barometer for what’s happening, and I’ve been absent from there.

Removed from everything.

I’ve been off. I’ve said it for weeks, maybe months now. Saint to Reese are both just… existing. They take off their shoes, put their masks away. Reese grabs a frozen bag of veggies and presses it to his face.

“Did you tell them about the Cyclopes?” I ask Saint, setting my mask back in its box on the counter. To be worn another day. “When I was talking to Kora?”

He frowns. “No. I thought you were going to.”

“I—”

Reese glances between us. “So, the so-called rulers of the Sterling Falls underground world don’t know about the gang that’s moved into West Falls?”

“That’s what it sounds like,” I admit. “My brother hasn’t mentioned anything.”

“Then it’s up to us,” Reese declares.

“Up to us to what?” Saint counters. “Kill them all? Negotiate for our city back?”

Reese doesn’t reply, which typically means the worse of the two options. And that would definitely bekill them all.

I plant my hands on my hips. “We are not going out and murdering people.”

“I didn’t say that,” Reese counters.

Saint grumbles something under his breath and heads for his room.

I stare at Reese. “Who needs help in Emerald Cove?”

“An old friend.” He gives me a weird little smile. It seems a bit sad. “They’ve been stuck for a while, but maybe your brother and his friends can help.”

Uh-huh.

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