Page 13 of Nemesis

“It’s been a year, Tem.” His voice is soft. “You both?—”

“Don’t,” I whisper. “It’s not me, Wolfe. Jace put Saint?—”

“You and I both know Jace askedyoubecause you were her best friend.”

Were. Why is one word so painful?

I get in my car and throw my head back against the seat. Because when I think about Nyx, my insides go all funny. Kind of numb and nauseated all at once.

“I don’t want to talk about it. What I do want to talk about is Antonio.”

Antonio, who is taking the appearance of Reese a lot more seriously than I am. Antonio, who loves me like his child, whowould do anything to keep me safe. He’s not going to let me handle this on my own. Not after what happened last night.

“Right.” Wolfe sighs. “I’m getting on my bike now. I’ll meet you at the sheriff’s station.”

I allow a tiny smile. “Yeah?”

“I can’t let you interrogate Brad alone.”

More like, he can’t pass up an opportunity to help interrogate him.

“See you there,” I manage before he hangs up.

Nathan Bradshaw has been the sheriff forever. Wolfe, Jace, and my brother like to call him Brad to irritate him. The sheriff holds an elected position, and I kind of thought he might lose it—or retire at the tender age of thirty-something—after Sterling Falls slipped back into a time of peace. Wartime leaders are usually replaced once the war is over…

But peace doesn’t usually last either. It has reigned for a year, though. A year of rebuilding. Sterling Falls has been putting itself back together, and I’ve watched tourism come back. Shops that were boarded up and closed out of fear have reopened. The oppressive curfew that forced Bow & Arrow, amongst many nighttime businesses, to temporarily close was lifted.

Now… thatofffeeling is back.

Maybe it’s just a vibe, but I have a suspicion that something bad is about to happen.

I leave the parking garage and drive through the financial district. The buildings here are tall, all glass and steel, but it’s the only area of the city that truly feels this way. The rest of it is older, more spread out. The buildings outside of the financial district were designed to savor the views of the tree-covered hills to the west and the ocean to the east.

Olympus is all the way east. The sheriff’s office, however, is around the corner from the university in the center of town. It’sonly a ten-minute drive from my high-rise, and I pull into the parking lot a few minutes before Wolfe.

He turns off his bike and flicks down the kickstand beside my car. When he yanks off his helmet, he rakes his hand through his dark hair and grins at me.

“How’s the family?” I ask him.

His blue eyes gleam. “Busy, per usual.”

“Of course.”

He sets the helmet on the seat and gestures for me to lead the way. We go up the wide marble steps and into the building, skipping the elevator in favor of the stairs. First floor is reserved for the officers and detectives under Nathan Bradshaw’s command. Second floor houses the city council and his offices.

The sheriff’s secretary takes one look at us and goes pale. She presses a button, murmuring something through her intercom system.

And thirty seconds later, Nathan Bradshaw himself strides out of his double-doored office.

“Artemis,” he greets me.

His hair is so short, it appears light brown. But his beard is shockingly orange-red. He’s in his regular dark-green uniform, sans hat, and I can’t help but glance at the gun strapped to his hip.

“And Wolfe,” he adds.

“Brad,” Wolfe says.

I make a face. “We’re here about Antonio.”

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