Her way of keeping enough information secret had my brain furious. I liked knowing the details about an op, and yet, the file didn’t mention anyone by name either.”How many people know you’re investigating the Ashford family?” I asked.
“Weren’t you listening, Donovan?” Artemis came in, raising his brow at me, as if he wanted me to publicly check him for his sass. “Ms. Chen has—”
“Call me Maya, we’re friends, I hope, and friends save their friends when they play with dangerous people,” she said with a chuckle in her throat. “If you need a list of the people, it’splenty. It could be anyone I interviewed, or it could be from my preexisting relationship with the Ashford family.”
I perked forward in the chair. “Preexisting? That wasn’t in your life. What relationship?”
“I was engaged to Julian Ashford, Margaret’s grandson,” she said. “They scrubbed any reference of me from their lives. It was a brief engagement. And thankfully, I cut it off before things got too serious. The last thing I need for that family is for them to have this thing thrown out because I’m some scorn ex. Which I’m not, to make it clear. I’d been investigating Ashford Energy from some claims of Benzene and other chemicals that are like fifty time more than is safe for the federal water standards. It spiraled into seeing him, getting close for information, and he was as all grandchildren of billionaires are, very eager to show off.”
Artemis was grinning as she told the story, it wasn’t a story of revenge, it was a story of finding wrong, and doing whatever she could to find the people culpable—and having them arrested. It’s what he could’ve been doing if he’d gone back to school. It was every reminder I didn’t need to see flash in front of me. This life was pain and torture. He deserved better.
13. ARTEMIS
There was a little more freedom on this job, and I was trying to be professional, but Maya’s energy was just infectious. It took everything in me not to compliment everything. She smelled expensive, and looked it too. I knew she wasn’t footing the bill for any of it, even the hotel which cost $25,000 a night. I wished we got paid nightly—but that wasn’t the point, we were making a lot from this.
“So, I’m getting some fun energy from you both,” she said. “I know, I’ve spoken a lot, and you probably all know about me. But if we’re going to be living together, I want to know what’s going on there. Why are you so far apart?”
I looked at Donovan’s hardened face, permanently scowling as he looked forward. I didn’t want to speak now—especially about this. I knew I was probably going to get some fun physical touch later about how friendly I’d been.
“We’re just trying to make sure you’re safe and protected,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to be switched on constantly. It makes some things a it more difficult to focus on.”
Maya had an effortlessness to her, I could understand how she had so much in her files now. I bet people were just handing her documents. “I totally feel you,” she said. “The only time I can ever let my guard down is when I’m in mybubble.” She gestured to the space around us. “I’m not usually one for so much lavish things, I just dress the part because it’s what people want to see—or sorry, they need to see.”
And now, she was blowing my mind. What did she mean she didn’t do lavish? Was I looking at the same person who was speaking, because her entire outfit—including perfume was just expensive—the type of person I assumed came from wealth. I looked to Donovan, wondering if I could speak, I liked to followprotocol as often as possible, it excited me to know he knew I was being submissive—even if it was just a performance so I could let my claws out at him later to that.
“You should always feel comfortable with us,” Donovan said. “We’re not here to dissect your files or information. We’re here because we’ve been hired to protect you. Do you feel protected?”
She tugged at the bottom of her blouse. “I feel trapped in my clothes, if you must know,” she laughed. “I’m going to change. Is there a—”
“We’ll stay here,” Donovan said. “Just make sure you’re no longer than ten minutes, or we’ll have to come find you.”
“Setting a timer for ten minutes,” Jinksy said, startling me. It was strange getting used to the comms, there was a pressure in my ear, almost clogged—and then the voice, it was easy to forget it was in, but when I remembered, I kinda wanted to dig a finger in my ear.
Maya kicked her Louboutin shoes off before walking off into the bedroom.
Donovan grabbed my thigh, another jolt to the system. “Are you on your best behavior?” he asked in a low growl.
“Ok, I’ll tune out for this,” Jinksy said.
“I am,” I said. “I’m doing what I’ve been taught to do.”
He stared at me, expecting an answer. It was honestly disappointing he didn’t thank me again. I wasn’t saving a life, but I was earning trust. “Ok, if that’s what you’ve been taught,” he grumbled. “It’s just a little bit too out there. You need to remember, she’s a client. Not your best friend.”
I rolled my eyes and before I could bite my tongue, I let it out. “There was a time I thought you were my best friend.”
“And there was a time when I thought you would do the right thing,” he snapped back at me. I flinched, recoiling into the chair and suddenly feeling warm inside the suit—like it was itchyor going to peel right off. I didn’t like it. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I—” His bottom teeth pulled in his top lip—looking like a deranged animal. But it kept him from speaking.
“This isn’t what I thought I’d be doing either,” I said in a more hushed tone. “I thought I’d be out there with a gun, chasing bad people down, but there’s also this option of chasing them down with court dates and stuff, I don’t know.”
Donovan’s grasp on my thigh eased. “I’m doing my best to protect you,” he said. “It’s getting harder. And I—I don’t trust you with a gun.”
“Even after you made me do all those practice rounds?” I asked. “Even after that?”
“No—yes, I don’t know,” he sank into the sofa too, now his hand just resting on my leg. “I trust you, I do, I’ve always trusted you, and again, I thought that meant trusting you to do the thing I thought you’d want to do.”
I knew he wanted me to go back to school—he’d given me the money, he’d laid it right out there. And so did Mercy. She must’ve known I wasn’t going to accept that offer. It just felt like everyone wanted me back at Whitespire, for whatever reason. “Maybe because it felt like my autonomy was taken,” I let out. “I—I like to be—to be—” I couldn’t say it, knowing people were listening.
We both took our comms out. “Say it,” he said.
