Page 8 of Nemesis

“Thanks.”

I go down the remaining patrons and ask if they need anything else, finally pausing at Fireball and Dr. Pepper.

“Back again,” he says.

“Indeed. Can I get you another?”

“Only if you have one with me.” He raises an eyebrow. “Or a drink of your choice. On me.”

I smile. “On you, huh?”

“It’s called buying a gorgeous woman a drink.”

“Flirting?”

He smirks. “Something like that.”

“Lucky for you, my boss would be okay withsomething like that.” I tip my head. “I’ll come back once everyone is closed out.”

“Do that.”

I make myself a drink and keep it behind the bar, adding it to his tab. Belatedly, I actually retain his name. It’s typed in raised print on the credit card.

Reese Avery.

I squint at it. My chest is so tight, I can’t draw in a single breath. He can’t be…him. He’s different than how I last knew him. Taller? Older, obviously. More filled out.

White spots flicker around the edges of my vision, and I slowly look back over my shoulder.

“Figured me out?” he asks.

I touch my temple.

That weird feeling comes back tenfold, rearing its ugly head like a wave cresting over me. The white spots are replaced with encroaching darkness—a sure sign that I’m about to pass out.

The last thought I have before I faint is:I never should’ve gotten out of bed today.

3ARTEMIS

The boy cupshis bleeding nose. He stares at me with a baleful expression. LikeI’mthe violent one. I touch my split knuckles and cover them with my other hand. I’m not violent. I’m just trying to survive.

“I wasn’t going to touch you without permission,” he says to me.

His gaze flicks over my shoulder. To someone beyond us.

I glare at him. “Whose permission?”

He doesn’t have an answer to that.

I groan.My head pounds. It takes too long to force my body into motion. I’m halfway up before I open my eyes.

A hand grips my shoulder.

“Easy,” a gruff male voice says. “Take it slow.”

I blink hard, the white spots from before receding, and Antonio’s face swims into view. Familiar, gruff, steadfast Antonio. He seems vaguely worried, though, and he pushes me back down.

“Just rest a second, Tem,” he says. “You hit your head.”

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