Page 94 of Warrior

I stepinto Antonio’s office at Bow & Arrow. The man sits behind his desk, glasses perched on his nose. His attention is fixed on a stack of papers in front of him, one held up so he doesn’t have to lean forward.

His gaze cuts to me, but his expression doesn’t change.

The man has a poker face, that’s for sure.

“Mind if I sit?” I point to the chair across from him.

He inclines his chin, which I take for a yes. I pull it out and drop into it, kicking my legs out and crossing my ankles.

He goes back to reading. His skin is paler than I’d seen previously, although I don’t have a ton of experience with the man. The hair on his head is more silver than brown, his goatee the same. Everything is trim and proper about him, except that his button-up shirt seems a size too big, and he occasionally presses his palm to his side.

He stabbed himself to save Artemis.

If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

After a long few moments of silence, he sets the paper down.

“So,” he says, “I presume you have a reason for visiting.”

I sigh.

Artemis ran out of the house like her ass was on fire. Saint chased her. When they didn’t come back, Kade tried to make conversation.

Then he got a text, and he made some excuse to leave in a hurry.

And now… well, I wasn’t going to sit home alone.

“Have you seen her?”

His expression is blank, blank, blank.

I wave my hand toward her office door, which is closed up tight. No light emanates from underneath it. She hasn’t been here, that’s for sure. But when she isn’t at home, I kind of assumed she was with Antonio.

Now, I’m doubting that.

“You tried to save her.” I will his façade to crack. Just a little. “Luckily, it didn’t cost you your life. But… it could’ve. And she lost consciousness thinking you killed yourself. Shethought—and now she’s avoiding you?”

“Did you come here to press on my wounds, boy?”

“Yeah, maybe I did.” I lean forward. “What you did was foolish.”

“I’d do it again,” he swears. “She’s my family. As surely as I’d sacrifice myself to save my wife or children, I would do anything to protect Artemis.”

“I believe you,” I say. “But… she’s not doing well.”

“I gathered as much. I came here hoping she would show up.” He tilts his computer screen toward me, revealing the rows of camera feeds. “Barry is keeping an eye out for her at the front door. The servers know to alert me if she appears in the club.”

“Why would she bypass you to go into the club?”

He lifts one shoulder, then winces. “I’m not at a hundred percent. Getting out the door this evening was a fight with my wife. She’s currently down the hall, supervising the restaurant closing for the night.”

“Smart of her to keep you in one spot.”

He cracks a smile. “That’s my Vittoria. Smart as a whip.”

I stand. “I’ll leave you to… this.”

“Off to search for Artemis?”

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