Page 123 of Warrior

“Okay. Turn off your phone after you hang up.”

The line goes dead, and I follow my own instructions. I’m tempted to chuck it out the window, but it’s currently my only lifeline to Artemis.

I can’t believe I just left her there.

What the fuck was I thinking?

Heroin, Reese. She’s addicted to heroin.

Of all the fucked-up things I thought Gabriel did to me, it pales in comparison to the iron grip he has on her. Addiction isno joke. And it seems like, even when she fought it, he was there to twist the knife and drive her right back into it.

I squint at the address at the top of the page. She said it was between the Hell Hounds’ compound and Olympus, so I head in that direction. It’s slow going on the curving road from South Falls. There are no streetlights out here, and my truck takes the turns precariously.

I hold my breath past the Hell Hounds’ compound. Thelasttime I came this way, Artemis was unconscious in the back of her car, and I was surrounded by bikers.

And then Kade saved my ass, intentionally or not.

There’s no sign of them now. I even peer down the long gravel driveway to catch a glimpse, but it’s so dark, I can make out nothing.

Finally, I find their driveway. I pull in and park in front of the large white house. It has a wraparound porch and double front doors. I kill the engine and head up the steps.

Key in last hanging plant on left,she wrote.Security code is 5674663.

After a minute of feeling around the soil, I find it. I unlock the door and type the code in at the security panel.

This is weird.

I clench the key and move deeper inside.

“Hello?” I call. “If anyone is here, Artemis sent me.”

Nothing.

Still, I check all the rooms. Everything has been left orderly and neat, like they prepared to be gone for a while. One of the bedrooms upstairs has an extra-wide bed, three different matching comforters, a million pillows, and two closets.

I guess I don’t really want to know.

Instead, I go downstairs and await Saint.

Saint doesn’t arrive alone.

Antonio and Vittoria accompany him in her car. They’re both in the backseat, hunched together, but the glow from the porch light illuminates their faces.

I hurry down the steps and open the back door, offering my hand to help them out.

Vittoria takes it and allows me to guide her out, with Antonio close behind.

Saint frowns at me.

“What?” I question.

His gaze moves past me to the doorway, then back. “Where’s Tem?”

I should’ve expected that to be the first thing out of his mouth. “That requires more than a simple answer,” I say carefully. “But I have some stuff in the back of the truck; can you help me bring them in?”

His gaze is skeptical.

Can’t blame him for that either. If I got such a non-answer, I’d be pissed. Yet he follows me to the back of the truck while Antonio and Vittoria head inside. We carry the dozen boxes up into the living room, stacking them against the back of the couch. It isn’t until the last one is inside, the door closed and locked behind us, that Saint plants his hands on his hips.

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