Page 98 of Nemesis

I hum.

Am I keeping a fugitive?

“You seem awfully interested, seeing as how I asked you to find him and you fulfilled your promise.”

He scoffs. “You said you’d stay away from him.”

“And I did.”Until I didn’t.

“Okay, Artemis.” His tone even says he doesn’t believe me.

I focus across the opening to the other balcony.

There is Saint, staring at me and Malikai.

I heave a sigh. “Go away, would you?”

Malik chuckles. “Anything you want.”

Thankfully, he goes. Right in time for Apollo to get through the introductions and the first pair of fighters to walk out. I missed their names, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s not Reese.

Or Kade.

I watch the fight with an analytical eye. The two guys dive right into it, and soon the platform is sprayed with a mist of blood.

“What didhewant?” Saint asks, stepping up beside me.

“Oh, you’re speaking to me again?”

“Artemis.”

“Saint.” I wish he had a longer version of his name. Something better thanSaint. Did his mother know she had birthed a demon? Is that why she named him that? It’s a sick form of irony, really.

“You tell me, or I tell your brother what happened.”

My scowl is lost on him behind the mask. “I need to tell him, regardless.”

“Uh-huh.”

Jace is an expert at dealing with shit. And the emergence of a new gang is the epitome ofshit.

“How have they not gone into West Falls? You’d think they would be attacked, too.” His words are nearly lost by a groaning reaction of the crowd. “But they attack you twice, and someone says you’re marked…”

“I wasn’t even riding my bike the second time,” I add. Just my helmet, and that’s nondescript. “So it’s not just me. It could be any of us.”

“Reese got in and out.”

“You did, too.Walking, no less.”

“I got in, but that doesn’t mean I would’ve made it out.”

That’s fair. I hold up my hand. “Me and Apollo, then, for sure.” I tick two fingers. “Do we assume Jace and Wolfe? You?”

“I don’t know.”

Not helpful. I’m distracted, though, by a falling body.

Not unconscious—the guy fallsoffthe platform. He hits the floor with a crack, the crowd leaping away to avoid him. Hescrambles to his feet, but suddenly Apollo is there. He uses the staff to separate them.

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