Page 31 of Dichotomy

“Just making sure that our employee makes it to work,” Alexander said, buttoning his suit jacket.

“And that requires all three of you?” I snarked.

“We’re carpooling, my darling Evie,” Sebastian said, stepping closer. His smile was wide as he scanned my body, as if the agents had physically harmed me.

“What did they want?” Marcus asked gruffly.

“Not here,” Adrian said, ushering me towards the SUV we’d arrived in. “We’ll meet you back at the office.”

Adrian opened my door and ushered me inside while the brothers got into their own car. We drove in silence to the office as thoughts raced in my head. If I had been reading Dominic right, he was shocked FIA Director Keller had been at the meeting. Agent Holden hadn’t been surprised to see Director Keller, though, and that was suspicious. But Dominic and Agent Holden were partners. Recent partners, it seemed like, but still…

Dominic had all but blatantly invited me to break into their office tonight. But why?

“You okay?” Adrian asked as we pulled into the parking lot.

I bit my lip. “I am. Just wondering where this is all going to lead.”

He squeezed my hand before he let go to open the door. “We’ll figure it out together.”

We gathered in Alexander’s office. Marcus closed the door behind us, while Sebastian typed on Alexander’s computer.

“Hey, Liam,” Sebastian greeted. “Is everyone there?”

Liam?

“Hey, Boss Lady.” Liam’s face popped on the TV used for conference calls mounted on Alexander’s office wall. “You’ve got us all here.”

It looked like all of my lieutenants were gathered at HQ behind Liam. Danny stood next to Grace, who was sitting on the conference table. Izzy was sitting at the same table, paperwork spread out in front of her. Maya sat at the computer station with Liam. They looked up from their laptop and waved. God, it was good to see them all. Even if it was through a screen. I still messaged them almost daily from the app, but I hadn’t gotten to see them in almost two weeks. It was the longest I had ever gone without seeing them, Danny, especially. It was weird, and a wave of homesickness churned through my gut. We had to get this figured out so life could get back to normal.

“Hey, Eve,” Danny greeted.

“Hey, Danny,” I said as I settled into one of the chairs at the small table in Alexander’s office. “How’s the Jefferson case?” Yet another rich frat guy we had to put the fear of God into.

“Eh, we’ll need to follow up eventually but not a priority right now,” he answered.

“So what’s going on?” Grace asked. “All we heard from your guys is you got called into the station by the FIA?”

I quickly outlined what had happened that morning. From Dominic’s call and his admission about not knowing what the evidence was, to the director’s presence, to the recorded audio and my defense. I pulled the key out of my pocket as I described my conversation with Dominic as he walked us out of the station.

Everyone stayed silent until I was finished. Marcus scowled, but he scowled at most things. Alexander looked thoughtful, and he leaned forward in his seat.

“Liam, have you managed to dig up anything else on Agent Hayes?”

“Can we really trust an FIA agent?” Grace was skeptical, and rightly so. This was a huge risk we were taking here.

Marcus looked at Adrian. “What’s your read on the guy?”

Adrian shrugged. “He seems like he’s by the book, but he also seems like he cares about the truth more than anything else.”

“Wouldn’t that be bad, though, because the truth is Evelyn does lead the Archers,” Sebastian pointed out.

Adrian tilted his head. “It could, but I think he cares about justice too. You said his dad was a cop?” he asked Liam, who nodded. “I’m sure his dad saw some shit. Maybe he’s not as against the Archers’ mission as we think.”

“It’s still a huge risk to take,” Alexander said. “Evelyn, what’s your read?”

I leaned back in my chair as I thought. “I’m not sure. I think he was genuinely shocked to see Director Keller there. Agent Holden, on the other hand…” I trailed off.

“What does your gut say?” Marcus asked.