Page 75 of Nemesis

Creative-ish.

Eventually, I have to get back on the same road and just keep about a block behind him. The smart move would’ve been pilfering some tracking equipment and planting it, letting him get well and truly ahead of me.

But I didn’t let anyone know where I was going, and getting that sort of equipment probably would’ve required advanced notice. So… here I am.

My phone vibrates, and I hit the button on my helmet. It’s the only thing I managed to save from my bike’s violent death.

Don’t think about violent death.

“Where is my bike?” Apollo’s voice comes through the Bluetooth in the helmet.

I smirk. “Where did you leave it?”

“Outside of Olympus—but your car is here and my bike isn’t.”

“Oops.”

“Artemis—”

“Ooh, you’re full-naming me. What next, my middle name?” I grin.

“I can literally hear you riding?—”

“Good point, I shouldn’t drive and chat at the same time.” I hit the button to hang up the call. I’m sure he’s got this thing tricked out with GPS and whatever else. He could be tracking me right this second and come find me within minutes.

Since the sheriff is heading through West Falls, maybe I have more than minutes. Apollo would be coming from the opposite end of the city, especially if he’s only just leaving Olympus now.

A prickle of unease slides down my spine at being in West Falls. It’s not nighttime, which means Ishouldbe relatively safe. I don’t know if this bike is marked the same way mine was.

They didn’t really elaborate on that.

Well, actually, she said thatIwas marked.

I check my mirrors. There are a lot of cars out and about, people coming home from work or heading downtown for dinner. Still, the hair on the back of my neck rises.

We’re working our way toward… the reservoir?

Once we’re out of the tightly packed neighborhoods, I let the distance between us grow. And sure enough, he heads toward the reservoir. It’s a huge lake that supplies the town water. It sits up high, and one of its waterfalls is a frequent destination.

There are also more unsavory things hiding in the woods up here.

I round a corner and cut the engine. The bike rolls silently now, coasting on my momentum, toward the parking lot for the waterfall. There’s a hike here, too.

My phone buzzes with an incoming call.

The number I dialed in the sheriff’s house… I thought I made my number private, though. Unless I did it wrong?

Unless I only did it for the first number?

My throat goes all tight, but I answer it anyway. “Hello?”

A surprised inhale. “Artemis?”

“The one and only.” Around another corner, and I squeeze the hand brake.

The sheriff’s vehicle isright there. I manage to steer down a little hill and behind a giant tree. Branches snag at my clothes and Apollo’s bike, leaving a scratch in the paint.

Whoops.

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