Page 48 of Nemesis

My gaze goes back to his face, and I slowly push the blankets off my lap. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed. He doesn’t move, but I slide out around him and head to the bathroom. My phone is still at the condo, leaving me clueless about thetime until I pass the kitchen. The glowing green stove clock informs me that it’s almost ten. At night, judging by the darkness pressing up to the windows.

The faintest hint of music coming through the walls.

I lock myself in the bathroom and lean against the wall.

It’s time to help me.

Does he know I already found Reese? Although, if we’re going on technicalities, he found me.

I brush my teeth and rebandage my arm. It’s not too bad, the skin around the cut pink and shiny. It’ll be healed in no time, with only a scar to serve as a memory. Once that’s done, I brush out my thick hair and let it swing free. I’ll braid it if he makes me get on another bike—but I’m not eager to do that.

I’m not eager for anything.

Dread fills me up, and the dead man attached to the club wall flashes in my eyes. I left Antonio to deal with Nathan Bradshaw and everyone else. I left him to open the club or keep it shut, and…

I think I should just go back to bed.

“Artemis.” Kade knocks on the door. “Are you okay?”

A strangled laugh slips out. I shake my head and rummage through my makeup bag. Makeup usually helps me feel better. It’s as good as my gold mask. I swipe on mascara, then concealer and foundation and bronzer that deepens my already tanned skin. Secure gold bow-and-arrow earrings in my lobes. Paint my eyelids with kohl and shimmering gold powder. A gold-hued highlighter on my cheekbones. Deep-red lipstick.

There.

No one would think I was run off my bike last night, that I made a narrow escape through West Falls, or that I was awake for twenty-four hours before I crashed.

I look fine.

But when I open the door, Kade’s brows furrow.

“I’m going to work,” I inform him.

He sighs.

I go to the closet and pick out a flowing gold shirt and black leather pants. My leather boots are by the door, ready to go. Ignoring him completely, I strip off my shirt and drop it to the floor.

He’s so silent, he might as well not be here. But his hulking presence isn’t that concealable. Even if he’s quiet, I feel him in the doorway.

Watching, waiting.

I take off the sports bra next, my back to him. I slide my arms through the straps of my new bra—tonight seems to call for underwire—and hook it behind me. Then the shirt.

“You don’t have to watch me,” I call over my shoulder. “I’m not going to climb out of the window.”

“And miss the show?” His voice rasps.

“Didn’t take you for a pervert.” I tilt my head, still facing the wall. “Didn’t take you for anything, really.”

I change into my pants faster, then socks and my boots. He trails me out the door, into the stairwell that takes me up to the offices. Out here is louder. Not like inside the club itself, but definitely not as soundproofed. Bussers with trays of glasses use this stairwell, along with managers and bartenders. Dancers tend to stick to their dressing rooms on the lower floors.

Kade becomes my shadow, and I can feel his frustration growing.

“Maybe you should ask for something different the next time you fight,” I suggest. “Something from the guys actually offering favors.”

He growls. “I just?—”

“I know.” I whirl around, two steps above him. It puts us at eye level. “You want to find Reese. He’s been missing for two years. You were in Emerald Cove before Sterling Falls, so Ican only assume you’ve been tracking him for some time. But you didn’t saywhy, and quite frankly, you haven’t offered me anything in return.”

His expression… well, I can’t lie about how handsome he is. He’s clean-shaven now, but I feel like stubble or a beard wouldn’t be out of character for him. He seems like the type to be perfectly fine surviving a year in the wilderness by himself.

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