Page 25 of Deliverance

I nodded. “Sure.”

“I’ll get started while you’re gone,” Dominic said.

Liam was already typing, lost in his work, so I followed Marcus out of the conference room, Izzy at my heels.

We joined Marcus in his office, and he slid two stacks of paper across his desk at each of us.

“I’ve been doing some research,” he said, “and I wanted to share what I found about the nonprofit idea I brought up earlier.”

“About making the Archers a nonprofit?” Izzy asked, then picked up the packet and flipped through it.

“Making part of the Archers a nonprofit,” Marcus corrected. “The part where you help women and children get out of abusive situations.”

“Like a shelter?” I asked, frowning.

We did offer emergency housing to help the women get back on their feet, but we typically didn’t have long-term residents. We tried to connect them with other resources in the city or outside of it.

“Yes,” Marcus said. “You could have a public-facing part of the organization that women could go to. It would provide some legitimacy to the operations and give you a cover for operating. Plus, as a nonprofit, you can fundraise and ask for donations.”

“That would solve part of our funding problem,” Izzy murmured to me.

Right now, we self-funded or stole money from the rich assholes we took down and…repurposed it. Legal? A gray area in my opinion. I viewed it more as reparations, but the law probably wouldn’t agree.

“We could help you fundraise,” Marcus said. “Not our money.” He raised his hand to cut me off. “But we have clients like Donna Keesecker, who would definitely donate, and others who would support your mission. SDS could donate security services for the shelter, and this could free up the Archers for…other activities.”

I sat back in the chair as I scanned through the packet. He had put together the steps to becoming a nonprofit, board member recommendations, funding recommendations, and security concerns.

I looked at Izzy. She nodded.

“I think we should go for it. We’re busting at the seams, and this would allow us to come into the light a little bit and raise more awareness.”

“It could also make us a bigger target,” I said, but honestly, it was a good idea. It would let us help more people, and the extra money from fundraising and donations would be immensely helpful for getting the women set up in their new lives.

“It could, but that’s a risk we take anyway,” Izzy said.

I nodded. “I agree. Let’s do it.”

“Really?” Marcus’s eyes widened like he expected more of a fight.

“Really,” I confirmed. “I can file the paperwork?—”

“I can take care of it,” Marcus said. “I didn’t suggest this to add more work to your plate. I can run everything by you if you want, though.”

“No, I trust you to do it,” I said.

His eyebrows shot up, and my brow furrowed. Was he surprised that I said I trusted him?

“Great,” Izzy said. “I’m going to head back to the conference room then.”

“I’ll join you in a bit.” I smiled at her.

Once she left, I got up from my chair, rounded his desk, and plopped into Marcus’s lap. His arms came around me hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure his touch would be welcome.

“Thank you for putting this together,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” he said quietly. “Happy I could help.”

“Is there something wrong?” I prodded gently.