Page 42 of Duality

Marcus scoffed. “Of course you do. You’re both batshit crazy.”

“Hey,” I scolded Marcus. “Carter may have just saved your life.”

“I don’t trust him,” Marcus grumbled. “We should monitor them and make sure they don’t stab us in the back.”

I crossed my arms, pinning Marcus with a glare. “If Carter says they aren’t going to take the contract, then they aren’t going to take the contract.”

Marcus huffed, but Alexander stepped in. “We can worry about that later. Right now, we need to focus on the other contract they said just went out. Citadel is going to strike at our building tomorrow night. We have to prepare for that.”

I nodded. “Let’s start planning.”

CHAPTER 20

ALEXANDER

“Oh God, there are two of them.” Grace’s voice crackled through the comms.

The bushes up ahead were rustling where Danny and Sebastian had taken cover.

“What are you fussing about now?” Danny shot back.

“You and your big ass throwing up a neon sign that you’re hiding in the bushes,” Evelyn snapped from next to me, her voice sharp.

The bushes stopped rustling. She had been on pins and needles since the Ghosts left yesterday and had drilled everyone on the plan. Any doubt I had about her caring about us or SDS had been wiped out in the last twenty-four hours. It was clear she felt the weight of keeping the company and us safe, and I fell a little more in love with her for it.

“Every angle is covered,” Izzy said.

She was sitting in the vehicle pool with Adrian in a blacked-out SUV, in case they came in through that area. I figured her words were meant to reassure Evelyn, but the woman was a bundle of nerves and exhaustion. If I had my say, I would have benched her. Her state of extreme exhaustion was dangerous to the mission, but she was stubborn. So fucking stubborn. Hadshe always gotten this little sleep? She worked long hours for us as our primary executive assistant, but now that I knew she had another high-stress job on top of it, I was worried about her.

There was only so much adrenaline you could run on before the lack of sleep compromised you. It was something I knew all too well, and I didn’t want it to happen to Evelyn. I knew she pushed herself constantly because she felt responsible for the safety of everyone in the Archers and now us. I was familiar with the weight of responsibility that rested on one’s shoulders. Making sure my brothers and Adrian were safe, as well as my employees and the clients we served, and now this infuriating, gorgeous woman who was determined to drive herself into the ground to save others. It could be a crushing weight, and one that I would bear for her if she let me.

“You’re watching me again,” Evelyn murmured, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

“Always.” The word slipped out before I could stop it.

Her eyes widened briefly, but I didn’t look away. Pink dusted her cheeks in a soft blush. She shifted but didn’t say another word. Her mask was on again. I wanted to keep pressing until it slipped off. I could never tell what she was thinking, and it drove me crazy. I wanted to know everything about her, every hope and dream and wayward thought. There would be no going back to normal after this. I wanted everything with her. But did she want the same with us?

Sebastian’s crazy idea in college had seemed less and less crazy over the last few weeks. I kept things professional at the office, but I was always finding excuses to call her into my office and spend a few extra moments with her enchanting presence. But now I had gotten a peek behind the professional mask she wore, that she had cared enough to risk everything she had built to save us. Hearing how much she had suffered… I was all in. But I couldn’t rush into this. She was gun-shy and spooked easily atphysical contact. But that was fine. I could be patient. I would wait and be there for her until she couldn’t imagine life without me, without us. Sebastian and Adrian were on board. Marcus was still putting up a fight, but it was only a matter of time before he caved. Then, whatever she wanted was hers.

“We have incoming,” Maya said. They were perched on the roof of the adjacent building covering the street. “Two SUVs and a pickup truck coming from the south.”

Thirty seconds passed by before Liam chimed in. “They’re parking two blocks away. Eight guys. Tactical gear and gas cans.”

I tensed and lifted my radio. “Alpha team, eight hostiles are approaching with gas cans.”

“Copy,” Sanders, the head of one of our teams, replied. “Fire extinguishers at the ready.”

Evelyn had only fought me a little bit when I said that the Alpha team would be joining us on the adventure tonight. We were splitting the Archers up from the SDS guys by keeping them inside and outside the building, so Evelyn and her lieutenants could maintain some anonymity, something Evelyn insisted on. Sanders and his team wouldn’t have said a word, but I understood the Archers’ hesitancy. Their organization had survived based on their ability to move freely through the shadows of the city.

“They’re splitting up,” Maya said. “Two are headed towards the pool. Two to the front and four to the east side parking lot.”

I stiffened as two figures crept around the corner. We had killed some of the lights that lit up the landscape, providing Evelyn and me some shadowy cover as the men inched closer. The click of a lighter illuminated the Molotov cocktails in their hands. Fuck.

One of the men reached back to launch the cocktail through the window. We sprang out of the bushes before he let go. With a roundhouse kick, Evelyn hit his forearm. He cursed anddropped the Molotov cocktail at his feet. Evelyn darted around the flames. My heart leapt into my throat as she threw herself at one of the men, tackling him to the ground. He didn’t stay down for long and threw her off him. She rolled quickly to her feet and dodged when he charged at her, throwing two quick punches into his side as he stumbled by.

The second guy recovered and lunged towards me. His fist grazed my jaw as I threw a knee up into his gut. He wheezed at the blow, the wind knocked out of him, and I brought my elbow down hard on the back of his neck, sending him crumpling to the floor. I quickly restrained him before he could get back up. The fire in my veins called for blood, but it wasn’t the time.

I looked up to see how Evelyn was doing against her opponent. I couldn’t help a smile sneaking across my face as she grinned at the man. Her savage beauty was illuminated by the fires of the Molotov cocktail remnants beside her. She was playing with the guy, and I took a moment to observe her in action, knowing she wasn’t in any real danger. She looked so beautiful in her element that I couldn’t help but sneak my phone out and capture a picture of her, an avenging angel.