Page 9 of Art of the Hunt
“No,” Artemis said. She shook her head. “That won’t work for us.”
The captain gave her a swift once-over then turned to Hunter. “Who the hell is this?”
“She’s, ah…” Hopefully, the captain wouldn’t recall this interaction when he read the email from Hunter, respectfully requesting he be considered for the open police corporeal position. Hunter didn’t want to mention Artemis’s role in last night’s case. For reasons he wasn’t ready to admit in his mind or out loud, he did not want to get her into trouble. And shooting someone with a bow and arrow during a police sting would, at the very least, spur a secondary investigation.
“She’s, um, a family friend,” he finally said, lamely.
“She knows what’s in his cupboards,” Skip offered.
The captain gave Skip one of his classicdon’t-be-an-idiotlooks before asking Hunter, “Do you often bring family friends to work?”
Hunter shook his head.
“Do you have any other cases for us to choose from?” Artemis asked.
“Us?” the captain asked.
Artemis nodded, the image of eagerness. “Something more exciting.”
“More exciting?” he repeated.
She nodded again and leaned forward, her breasts pressing against that bright, tight shirt. To his credit, the captain didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy being perplexed by this conversation.
Hell, Hunter was surprisedhenoticed, because seriously, this was a strange back-and-forth.
“What,” the captain finally asked, “like a homicide?”
Artemis canted her head, like she was considering his question. “To be honest, I’d like to get involved before the crime actually occurs. I prefer to save humanity before the bad things happen.”
The captain turned to Hunter again. “Is she for real?”
Hunter snatched the note off his desk, stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans, then wrapped his hand around Artemis’s impressive bicep and pulled her to her feet. “It’s fine. I’ll take care of it. Thanks, Captain.”
He practically dragged Artemis out of the building. She kept turning her head, complaining that she wanted another donut.
When they were out on the sidewalk, he finally let her go and said, “How can you eat all that crap and look like this?” He waved to encompass her utterly perfect body.
“I told you, I’m an immortal being. Unlike you, I don’t have to try. Although I give you credit, because your efforts have certainly paid off.” She eyed him like he was a piece of candy. Or one of those jelly-filled donuts.
He shook his head. “Right. I forgot you think you’re a god.” No, he hadn’t, but he had no idea how to deal with that at the moment, so it was easier to just not. “Look, I need to go investigate this new case. And I still haven’t finished the paperwork from last night’s case. It’s going to be another long day. So if you don’t mind, I’m going to get to it.”
“I don’t mind. Although, seriously, stealing an ice cream truck? That’s the sort of crime you investigate? I mean, I can understand the crime; ice cream is delicious, but is it really as important as breaking up a sex trafficking ring?”
“To the owner of the ice cream truck, yes.” He pulled the slip of paper out of his pocket and noted the address scribbled onto it. “So, um, nice to see you again, Artemis.”
She continued to stand there, looking as if she were waiting for something. He finally shook his head and started walking down the sidewalk toward his police-issue unmarked sedan.
She fell into step beside him.
He sighed when he reached his car. “Look, Artemis, I get that you want to solve crimes. A lot of people do. But there are procedures to follow. We can’t just willy-nilly shoot arrows at people, and you can’t just show up at the precinct expecting to be handed exactly the kind of case you want. I don’t know if you’re going to school at the local community college or what, but why don’t you finish your classes and then join the police academy? That’s the best way to learn how to do this job.”
“Oh, I don’t need to learn how to do your job. Is this your vehicle?” She pointed at the dark blue sedan.
“Yeah.”
She wrinkled her nose and hopped into the passenger seat.
He opened the driver’s side door and bent at the waist to peer at her. “What are you doing?”
