I looked to him with a glare. “I don’t know how much you can know,” I told him. “It’s not as easy as the note I left. And if you knew, you’d want to come, and you’d end up dead.”
“No, I’d asked you to train me, then the next day, in the morning, you were gone,” he said, the gravel in his throat was from sadness.
“Because the stuff you wanted, I couldn’t give you,” I told him, slamming my hands on the steering wheel. “You were asking for a life we weren’t able to sustain. And you decided to become—a criminal instead of going back to college.” I wasn’t going to pull over, the police would be all over us for swerving. “I hoped one day, I’d see your face in a business magazine.”
Artemis leaned back in his chair and laughed. “You were breaking up with me?” he asked, still laughing.
“No, I was just telling you the two of us couldn’t do what you wanted,” I told him. “And I was offered a job I couldn’t turn down. And now, I’m here—”
“You could’ve taken me—”
“The entire team died,” I said, my eyes ahead now, my hands on the wheel as if I was being examined. “So, that would’ve included you. That would’ve meant you would be dead rather than right next to me, a dream, or a fucking nightmare, I can’t decide. Because you chose the nightmare path.”
“She called me,” he shouted. “Like as soon as I woke up, found the note, and cash.”
“Who?”
“Mercy.”
It was all quiet suddenly. I left and Mercy, who I’d told should watch over him—not interfere, to make sure he wasn’t doing anything dangerous, because he would, there was no stopping him. After the long pause, a loud gulp in my throat broke the silence. “What did she ask you to do?”
All quiet, Art was now being a moody brat. “Just that I wasn’t alone, and something about helping me.”
“She shouldn’t have said anything,” I snapped. “She was watching. I thought you were heading to Georgia. Wasn’t that on the google alert?”
He laughed. I swore someone was pumping the stuff in the van. This was the first time we were in such an enclosed space—and neither of us could leave it so easily. “I did,” he said. “Mercy practically walked me through it. Although it was some girl, I don’t know who. Her name starts with an M, but it’s not Mercy.”
“Marzia?”
“Yeah, her. Why?”
It didn’t make any sense. Marzia was Mercy’s wife. She worked around Sanctum, but not in intel. “What did the two of you talk about?” I was scared for the answer to this. Marzia was an ex-assassin, forced to retire after their duo IVF plans didn’t seem to take in Mercy, but gave Marzia twins, so it all worked out. I respected Marzia for her work.
“She was coaching me.”
“Coaching you have to throw a punch or an arrow?”
He laughed. “Both,” he said. “I mean, she wasn’t there, but she was good at explaining stuff to me. Like how you’re supposed to hold the knife at the bottom and let it be a fluid whip and flip moment, so it goes exactly where your straightened arm is pointing.” He said it as if his mouth was the opening of a shredder and all the words were coming through whether I liked them or not.
“Still haven’t met her?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not that I know. I’ve been training with you every day since I’ve been there. Maybe we’ve seen her.”
“What about her twin brother?”
“No, I—I don’t know, jeez.”
Jinksy came through the comms. “You know, you should know the people you’re working for. Plus I think Davide is an absolute cutie.”
“Davide?” Art shook his head. “Nope. I told you. The only people I’ve met have been people you brought by our breakfast table, and the two fairies—assistants—workers, oh my god.” He was getting flustered, shaking his head. “Why?
“You two might hit it off,” I said. “His name starts with D, and I know how much you love—”
“Guys,” Mercy’s voice came through the comms. “I heard about the incident. Delivery the product immediately. They’ll be paying extra for that. They only paid for the wash. I was doing this as a compliment, but not anymore.”
“On it, Mercy,” I said, revving the engine as it went faster.
“And Artemis, when you get back, it would be a pleasure to introduce you to my wife, Marzia, and maybe her brother. Since I know you and Donovan aren’t a good fit.”
