Page 58 of Duality

Alexander’s eyes were sad, but he nodded. “We could accommodate that many across a few safe houses, but we’ll have to be careful with our movements. We don’t want Citadel tipped off that we know, or they may strike early.”

“Yarlton and Clay don’t have anyone there, since they were compromised. Briar was…” I swallowed hard. “Briar was also compromised.”

Adrian rubbed my back gently. “So those are three we don’t have to worry about. What about the other three you mentioned?”

“They’re warehouses we’ve converted into multiple rooms. Most of our moms and their kids live there until we can move them. They have more security in general, but they aren’t perfect.”

“Between SDS’s Alpha and Beta teams and us, we should be able to defend them,” Carter said. “SDS is no slouch.”

Sebastian grinned. “Aww, thank you.”

Carter continued as if he hadn’t heard Sebastian. “I’m coming to you. We will find Finch, Rico, and your man, Marcus.”

“I’m assuming you don’t need the address?” I grinned at the phone wryly.

“Who do you think helped Glitch scrub it from the records?” Carter replied before hanging up.

Alexander frowned, his brow furrowed. “What did he mean?”

“He meant that Keys helped me scrub this place from having any connection to Evelyn or the Archers,” Liam said from the end of the table. His gaze never left his computer as he continued to sort through the locations Keys had sent over.

I nodded when Alexander looked at me. Liam had asked me before he’d engaged Keys, and I figured Keys didn’t keep it from Carter. Hopefully, Carter kept it from the rest of his team, though.

Alexander’s phone rang, and he answered it. “Hello? Yes, this is him.”

His face darkened, and I sat straighter. I didn’t like the look on his face.

“Yes, I understand. No, it’ll take time. Three hours? I don’t know if I can get it in that—Okay, I’ll get it. I understand. Can I talk to him?”

Whoever was on the other line hung up, and Alexander lowered the phone, his face pale. “That was Finch. He has Marcus.”

“What does he want?” Sebastian asked. The dark glint in his eyes was back. Heaven help Finch if he hurt Marcus.

“It was a ransom call.”

CHAPTER 26

MARCUS

“Well, that’s that,” Finch said, snapping the old flip phone shut and dropping it to the ground. He crushed it under his heel. “Your big bro is coming through with the money. Guess you’re worth $2 million to him.”

I glared at him, my mouth shut. I wasn’t about to tell him that we didn’t have that kind of cash liquid. In investments and in bank accounts? Absolutely. But we didn’t keep a lot of cash on hand. How was Alexander going to come up with that in the quick timeline Finch had given him? Was it even possible? Knowing my brother, he probably had a plan, but did he know what he was up against? Finch was no slouch in the military, and Rico probably wasn’t either.

“You really are just going to let me go once you get paid? You’re not worried about payback? About the Ghosts coming after you?”

Something didn’t feel right here. Finch was greedy, but he wasn’t stupid. He had to know we would come after him. That the Ghosts would come after him.

Finch shrugged. “I’ve got a pretty solid exit plan. And enough leverage on the Ghosts to discourage them from coming afterme. Besides, after tonight, you all will have other things to worry about.”

What kind of leverage could he possibly have on the Ghosts? I knew of them by reputation only, and they didn’t seem the type to forgive and forget. No, they were more the vengeance and fury type. What did he mean by after tonight? Was Citadel planning something?

“Like what?”

Finch smirked. “Can’t share all the secrets just yet. Now you just have to sit tight until your brother gets here. Shouldn’t be long now.” Was he serious? There was no way the Ghosts were just going to let him go, that I was going to let him go. He was a danger to Evelyn.

I snarled at him. “Do you really think I’m going to just let you walk out of the city? What the fuck, Finch?”

He smirked and patted my cheek. “Of course you are. Because if you don’t, I’ll turn right back around and come after everyone you love. Starting with your brothers and ending with that cunt you’ve been panting after.”