Page 11 of Duality (The Archers #1)

EVELYN

M y hand cramped around the stylus of the tablet I was holding, and I winced as the sharp pain shot through my palm.

I flexed my fingers before finishing writing down the last thing Alexander said.

The late afternoon sun beat down on my face, and the tablet screen momentarily blinded me before I shifted positions.

We were talking through a property that was for sale at the edge of the city.

The area was mostly warehouses and industrial buildings, but it was close to the train tracks, so it had promise.

There was talk around the city that the tracks were going to be revitalized soon.

“Let’s double check the occupancy capacity for this building when we get back to the office,” Alexander said, pointing at one of the outbuildings on the property.

I scribbled the note quickly, my eyes flicking from my tablet to our surroundings. Half of the buildings around us were empty due to businesses closing during the pandemic. It was the perfect place for an ambush. Adrian paused at my side, his own eyes scanning our surroundings.

SDS had properties all over the city. Some were office buildings, and some were safe houses or training centers.

They were currently looking at adding this property to the list. It was usually just Alexander, Sebastian, and me who made these trips to evaluate properties, but with the pool break-in, Adrian and Marcus had insisted on coming as well.

Looking around at the abandoned property, I felt better having them here, especially since they still didn’t know about the other threat.

Ever since I learned of the hit, I had started carrying extra weapons on my person, switching from dresses to pantsuits, so I had more flexibility in case of an emergency. Nothing was going to happen to them on my watch.

Unfortunately, Liam hadn’t been having any luck in figuring out why Citadel ordered the hit.

He was attempting to monitor any interested parties, but between that, still trying to figure out where the leak had come from, and our current load for the Archers, he was being stretched thin.

It was only a matter of time before someone took the hit, and I was determined to be ready.

We continued our walkthrough of the property.

I took notes as Sebastian talked about the security measures we would have to install, including a ten-foot fence around the property and a full camera package.

My hand flew across my tablet as I tried to keep up with everything he was saying.

The only time I struggled to keep up was when Sebastian got like this.

When he dove into a project, his brilliant brain worked faster than us mere mortals, and it was only with years of practice keeping up that I didn’t miss anything he said.

My phone buzzed in my pocket when he took a breath.

A notification from our messaging app flashed across the screen.

Looking up, I saw that Sebastian had engaged Adrian and Alexander in a conversation about the command center they wanted to install, so I took a chance to check it, clicking on the app.

Liam: Get out of there now. Two groups took the contract. I’ve got four SUVs converging on your location.

I froze, ice filling my veins. Fuck, this was bad.

We were outnumbered, outgunned, and quickly running out of options.

There was no way I could get them out of here without blowing my cover, but faced with the decision, I couldn’t bring myself to care.

I was not going to lose anyone else, even if it meant blowing up my life and the best source of information the Archers ever had.

We could rebuild, but I couldn’t watch these men die.

“We have to go. Now.” My voice was sharp as I slipped into the persona of Eve Harper, head of the Archers. The woman who protected her own and not the quiet, professional assistant.

The brothers stared at me in shock. They had never heard me speak like that before.

“What—?” Alexander began, but my phone buzzed again.

Liam: Two minutes out. Sending Izzy to the corner of Third and Fenton. Alleyway to your right.

I locked eyes with Adrian. His green eyes stared into mine, searching for something. I said the one word that I could think of that would get him moving.

“Archers.”

His eyes widened, and a curse slipped through his lips. “We have to go now.” He echoed my words and ushered us towards the SUV.

I shook my head and slipped my phone into the pocket. “This way.” I took off in the direction Liam indicated.

Pounding footsteps echoed behind me as they followed. Alexander demanded. “Evel—Miss Harper! What is going on?”

I looked over my shoulder. “Explanations later, but if we don’t move now, we’re dead.”

We ducked into the alleyway just as the roar of engines and squeals of tires filled the air.

Sebastian opened his mouth, and I clamped a hand over it before he gave away our position.

He stared at me like he had never seen me before, and I guessed he hadn’t.

Not this part of me. I slowly inched around the building.

Four SUVs converged around the SUV we drove here.

At least ten men poured out of the SUVs.

They were all dressed in tactical gear and dark clothing.

All of them carried guns at their hips and a few had rifles slung over their chests.

They’d come to kill. One man started barking orders, and I inched backwards.

My phone buzzed again. Izzy is two minutes out.

I turned and saw them all staring at me expectantly. But there was no time to satisfy their burning curiosity. Ignoring them, I locked eyes with Adrian, the one person in the group I knew would listen to me.

“We have to get to Third and Fenton. There are at least ten hostiles.”

Adrian nodded, drawing his weapon. I tugged my blouse out of my pants and reached into my shoulder harness, pulling out my gun.

Marcus cursed softly. “What is going on? Why do you have a gun?”

“I’ll explain later.” I couldn’t resist winking at him, enjoying the way he stared at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

I had worn the mask of Evelyn Harper for so long it felt like a part of me, but here and now, with the gun in my hand and adrenaline flooding through my veins, I knew this was the real me. Time would tell if they could handle that.

“But first, we have to get out of here.”

Sebastian was staring at me with something like awe in his eyes. He bounced on his toes, entirely too happy for the situation we were in. Alexander stared at me like I was a puzzle he was determined to figure out. I wished him luck. My brain could be a fucked-up place at times.

The voices grew louder, and Adrian signaled me to take the lead.

I kicked off my heels. They would only slow me down, and the noise could give us away.

I tucked them under a box so they couldn’t track us down this alley.

I kept my gun trained on the ground as I led them through the maze of buildings.

The shouts from behind us increased as they figured out the brothers were no longer on the property.

They weren’t even trying to be stealthy.

Whether they were overconfident or just that good, I didn’t want to stick around to find out.

Adrian flanked our group, his gun in his hand and his sharp green eyes watchful of our surroundings.

My phone buzzed again. Thirty seconds out.

I picked up our pace, confident they could keep up.

The brothers stayed silent, the gravity of the situation clearly settling in, but they wouldn’t be quiet for long.

I had officially blown my cover, but I had no choice.

There was no way I could have gotten them into the car before the groups came. And there was no going back now.

The alleyway we were in opened up to Fenton, and I looked to my left.

An SUV flew around the corner, screeching to a stop in front of us.

Strong hands shoved me behind someone, and I blinked when I realized it was Marcus.

He was protecting me from what he thought was a threat.

That gave me a small bit of hope I would make it through this without seeing the inside of a prison cell.

“Stand down. She’s one of mine.” I shoved past him as Izzy rolled down the window. “Get in.”

Marcus folded his arms. “Hold on. I’m not going anywhere without a goddamn explanation. Who are you? You clearly have been lying to us, because you’re not a goddamn secretary.”

I cursed internally. If the situation were reversed, I would understand his hesitance, but we had to get out of here. Now.

“I actually am an assistant,” I shot back. “And right now, I’m trying to save your lives. So get in.”

Sebastian clasped a hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “Why don’t we argue about it and all the secrets Evie has been keeping somewhere where people aren’t trying to kill us?”

“How do we know she isn’t trying to kill us?” Marcus rounded on him, and I started getting twitchy. His raised voice was starting to draw attention, and sooner or later, one of those guys with rifles was going to find us.

Before I could argue with him further though, freaking Adrian wrapped an arm around his neck, squeezing until Marcus slumped in his arms. We all froze, staring at him.

Adrian had always been loyal to Marcus. He considered him a brother, which made what he did that more shocking.

While I knew I could count on Adrian to help keep the brothers safe, choking out Marcus until he dropped unconscious was not on my bingo card.

He didn’t miss a beat, picking Marcus up over his shoulder and carrying him to the rear of the SUV, depositing him into the cargo space.

I snapped out of it. I could deal with Adrian’s actions later. I opened the back seat doors. “Get in.”

Sebastian clambered in first, but Alexander hesitated.

Movement over his shoulder drew my attention, and I raised the gun in my hand without blinking, firing twice over his shoulder.

He froze when I pointed the gun towards him and fired.

A thud hit the ground behind him as I dropped one of the guys from the SUVs.

I grabbed his suit jacket and pulled him towards the SUV. “Now!” The gunfire had drawn attention, and shouts echoed in the alleyway.

Adrian climbed in behind Izzy as I shoved Alexander into the second row, slamming the door behind him. I dove into the passenger seat as bullets started flying. “Get us out of here!”

Izzy slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, tires squealing as bullets peppered the sides of the SUV. Luckily, the bulletproof exterior did its job, and soon we were speeding out of the warehouse district.

“You good?” Izzy checked in with me as she took a turn so sharp it felt like the SUV tilted onto two wheels.

“I’m fine. Guys?”

No one answered me, so I turned in my seat. Adrian nodded when I looked at him. Sebastian practically bounced in his seat, a wide grin on his face. “With you as my avenging angel, my darling Evie, I am perfect!”

Izzy raised her eyebrows and shot a look at me.

Evie? She mouthed. The one time Liam had tried to call me Evie, I had nearly blown a gasket on him.

I had apologized afterwards, but everyone knew not to call me that.

So the fact that I let Sebastian call me that had mirth dancing in Izzy’s brown eyes.

“How is tall, dark, and handsome?” a voice crackled through the SUV’s speakers. The screen on the dashboard said “Command”, so I’m sure the whole team was with Liam.

“Are you referring to Alexander or Marcus?” I asked drily.

“Mr. Top Boss,” Liam’s voice purred. “I got to watch Daddy Adrian put Marcus to sleep.”

Izzy and I groaned. Liam was incorrigible and came up with the most outlandish nicknames for people. It seemed even in this tense situation, my bosses were not immune. Okay, maybe my former bosses.

“I’m fine.” Alexander’s voice was blank, the voice he used when negotiating with clients he didn’t particularly like. I winced. I was so fired. “But I would like to know what is going on and where we are going.”

“Eve? What are your orders? What do you want us to do?” Grace’s voice came through the speakers.

I rubbed my face with my free hand and sighed. There was no putting this genie back in the bottle, even if I wanted to. Citadel had already killed two of mine. I refused to let anyone else die on my watch. There was no going back.

“It’s time to Burn it to the Ground.”