Page 10 of Duality (The Archers #1)

ADRIAN

I frowned as I stared at Evelyn Harper. She was ignoring me, typing away on her laptop before the morning debrief had even started.

We were still waiting for Sebastian to arrive.

Alexander sat at the head of the table typing furiously on his phone while Marcus sat next to him.

Marcus was staring at Evelyn like she was a puzzle to figure out, and I knew he knew something was up.

Honestly, it spoke to how seamlessly Evelyn was able to keep her two lives separate that the brothers hadn’t figured it out yet.

Marcus was very observant and had great instincts, something the military had honed in him.

Alexander was no slouch, either, and every few seconds, his eyes would land on Evelyn before he looked back at his phone.

But Evelyn was the picture of professionalism, and if it wasn’t for the dark circles under her eyes that even her makeup could no longer hide, you would never know something was wrong.

But something was wrong. What it was, though, I didn’t know yet.

You would think that after four years of keeping her secret, she would trust me and open up about her other life, but she’s a vault.

I shouldn’t have any business wanting to learn her secrets or what made her tick.

I was ten years older than her, but everything I learned about Evelyn Harper made me want to get to know the enigmatic woman more.

I knew she was brilliant, her brain putting patterns together in a way that made her an efficient and capable assistant.

She was also the efficient and capable leader of the Archers.

The Archers were no secret in the shadows of the city.

Their work was whispered about in tones of hope and anger.

But the people who led the Archers? They were shrouded in mystery.

My months of digging had led me almost nowhere.

It was only a fluke that I had put the dots together about Evelyn.

But even years of keeping her secret hadn’t proven to her I wasn’t a threat. I had no interest in taking the Archers down. They had intervened when I couldn’t. I had originally sought them out to thank them, but now…

I shook my head. There was no use dreaming of what could have been.

If Evelyn hadn’t cracked in the last few years, there was no way she would soften to me now.

Besides, I owed my life and my loyalty to the man sitting at the end of the table.

Marcus had saved my life in more ways than one.

Both in combat and then after I got out by offering me this job.

I owed him everything, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about Evelyn.

I knew she was using data from SDS servers for the Archers’ purposes.

But she promised me that she would never cause harm to the brothers or compromise SDS in any way, and I believed her.

Whether that was foolish or she truly meant that promise… Well, only time could tell.

“I’m here. I’m here,” Sebastian said as he strolled into the conference room. “Sorry, got caught up in a project last night.”

The youngest Stone brother looked even more rumpled than he usually did. Sebastian had a loose understanding of professionalism, but he was brilliant at tech and software.

“Evie, my darling sugar plum, how are you this fine morning?”

His grin dimmed slightly, and his eyes narrowed as he took in her appearance.

It was easy to forget that under his goofy demeanor, Sebastian hid a razor-sharp brain.

For all his laughter and jokes, there were times I got a glimpse behind the mask he always wore, and I recognized the darkness within.

“Fine.” She pushed his coffee cup towards him, never taking her eyes off her screen.

Sebastian opened his mouth to say something else, but Alexander cut him off. “Let’s get started. Anything new to report?”

Marcus gave a readout of the contracts we had accepted or declined.

Young Enterprises had decided to go with Citadel, and I noticed that Evelyn frowned slightly at the news.

It was so slight I would have missed it if I hadn’t been paying attention, and I adjusted myself in my seat so I could observe her better without her noticing.

“Adrian, anything to report?” Alexander asked, and I nodded.

“Yes. There was a break-in attempt made on the pool last night. We intercepted two guys, but they aren’t talking.”

The pool was what we called the area we kept all of SDS’s work vehicles in.

It housed our more tactical vehicles as well as the ones we used for clients when we provided bodyguard services.

It sat behind the building, surrounded by a ten-foot fence, which was usually enough to deter anyone from messing with it.

But someone had gotten inside last night.

Evelyn’s spine stiffened, and her fingers paused. What about that news made her worried?

“A break-in to the pool?” Marcus frowned. “Do you think they were after the cars?”

“It’s possible,” I admitted. “I don’t think so.

It doesn’t feel like an amateur job. These guys were prepared with tracking devices like they were going to tag the vehicles.

We scan for that regularly, though, so the devices would have been discovered quickly.

Whatever they were after, they aren’t talking.

We’re going to have to turn them over to the police. We can’t hold them.”

Alexander frowned but nodded. “Evelyn, let’s make a note to follow up with Captain Patel in a few days and see if he had any luck.”

Evelyn nodded, but her muscles were still rigid, like she was trying to force them to stay in a neutral position.

Her breaths were slow and measured, like she was trying to keep them even.

Something about this news really rattled her.

Were the Archers involved in the break-in?

That didn’t seem likely. If Evelyn wanted to know where the vehicles were going, she could just login to the system.

So maybe the guys weren’t from the Archers, but she clearly knew something about it.

I waited until the meeting was over and the brothers left before making my move. She was packing up with obvious slowness, trying to wait for me to leave.

“Miss Harper.” My voice came out huskier than I intended. “Anything I need to know?”

She looked up at me. Up close, I could see the gold flecks in her hazel eyes. “About the meeting?” She played dumb.

“About the Archers and SDS?”

At my words, her eyes darted over my shoulder, making sure the door was closed and no one could overhear.

She worried her bottom lip before shaking her head. There was clearly something, but she wasn’t ready to tell me yet.

“You’ll tell me if I need to know.” I didn’t phrase it as a question but a statement. She nodded.

“Will you also keep an ear to the ground about last night’s incident?”

She nodded again, her hazel eyes steely. That confirmed my hunch that the Archers weren’t involved. She was pissed someone had broken in here, but I knew she wasn’t going to tell me why.

“Thank you, Miss Harper,” I said softly. “You know you can come to me for anything, right?”

She rolled her eyes. “You sound like Marcus.”

I grinned. “Good. You need more people in your corner.”

Her eyes widened, a flicker of genuine surprise breaking through her practiced cool.

A throat cleared at the doorway, and Evelyn jumped.

“Sorry, Miss Harper, can you sit in on my next call to take notes?” Alexander asked her, his eyes traveling between us, his brow slightly furrowed. “We also need to talk about the Mayor’s annual benefit gala next month and the site visit tomorrow.”

“Of course, sir,” she said, gathering her laptop. “I’ll be right there.”

I watched her go, and Alexander looked at me as she passed him.

I shook my head. Nothing he needed to know about.

But he wasn’t dumb. None of them were. Eventually Evelyn’s secret would come out, and I would have a choice to make.

Evelyn or Marcus? The Archers or Stone Dynamic Security?

The organization who had saved my mother’s life or the man who saved my own?