Page 42 of Duality (The Archers #1)

EVELYN

R yan led me down a series of empty corridors.

I scanned each one, both hoping to see an SDS employee or an Archer, but also hoping that we didn’t see anyone.

Citadel wasn’t in the business of loose ends, and I had no doubt that if we ran across anyone, Ryan wouldn’t hesitate to kill them.

The look in his eyes was chilling, so I measured each of my inhales against the click of his footsteps on the tile, pretending the rhythm was mine to control even as panic drummed louder beneath my ribs.

Experience taught me that panicking wouldn’t do me any good.

Instead, I categorized the twists and turns we took.

We had definitely double-backed once or twice.

Whether that was intentional to try to confuse me, or if Ryan had gotten lost, I wasn’t sure.

Maybe he was trying to see if anyone was following me.

I half expected to see the guys at some point, but we didn’t run into a single soul.

They were coming. Surely, they were. By now, Liam would have my tracker pulled up. Maybe Marshall Becket was holding them up? Either way, I just had to sit tight and be patient. And try not to get killed.

We turned the corner, and two men in dark suits stiffened, their hands darting to their weapons.

They relaxed a moment later when their eyes landed on Ryan.

They looked like private security, but I didn’t recognize them from Citadel’s employee records.

New hires? Either way, they would be obstacles if I needed to get away.

They were guarding a door but stepped aside as we approached.

The guy on the right looked me up and down, his beady eyes lingering on the slit on my dress, and I tamped down my disgust. It was definitely not the time to get huffy about a creepy guy eyeing me.

I had other concerns. Like the gun digging into my ribs, and Ryan shoving me through the open door.

Inside, Julian Slater and a man I didn’t recognize straightened from where they stood in the middle of the room.

It looked like an unused storage room. There were two entrances, the one we just came through and a second one that probably led into another room in the convention center.

Probably nowhere near where the gala was being held, which added a layer of complication to my escape plan.

The strange man was dressed in a sharp grey suit with a burgundy shirt and tie. His tailored suit screamed wealth, but I didn’t recognize him. Another new player? Could this be the mysterious client that hired Citadel?

“Miss Evelyn Harper.” The stranger circled me as Ryan moved to stand next to Julian.

Ryan holstered his gun, clearly thinking I didn’t pose much of a threat in a room with three men. He was wrong, but I wasn’t going to play my hand yet. I grabbed my elbows with my hands, curling in on myself and making myself seem small and unassuming.

The stranger turned sharply to the other two men. “You’re sure this is her?”

Ryan arched an eyebrow imperiously. “It’s her. Our contact confirmed it.”

“The same contact that took your money and fled town?” the stranger asked, eyeing me with narrowed eyes and his upper lip curled.

I held in a snort. I would bet my life’s savings that Ryan meant Finch, which meant they didn’t know I killed him. Maybe this could work in my favor? Playing the unassuming executive assistant instead of the leader of the Archers?

The stranger didn’t argue further, but his lips compressed into a tight line, and there was a slight tic in his left eyebrow.

“Do I get the pleasure of knowing who my kidnappers are?”

Pain exploded across my cheekbone, and I fell to the floor.

Pain and heat bloomed in my cheek, and when I lifted my hand to touch my face, my fingers came away dotted with blood.

I really should have seen the hit coming.

Men like Ryan Jacobs didn’t like to be questioned.

But I was so focused on the stranger in front of me that I didn’t see Ryan’s hand until it was too late.

The stranger crouched down in front of me, his eyes following the trickle of blood trailing from my split lip.

“Such a mouth on a beautiful creature.” His eyes skimmed slowly from the ragged edge of my lip to the swell of each bruise, narrowing a fraction whenever the damage failed to match whatever calculation ticked behind them.

“Now, here’s how this is going to go. You’re going to tell me how much of a mess you’ve caused for my employer.

Cooperate, and you won’t need to endure any more… unpleasantness.”

Unpleasantness? Was that what we were calling it now? And who was his employer? Who was he? Questions swam in my brain as I struggled to focus. My vision spun, and I blinked. I needed to focus on the danger in the room. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

“Why would I cooperate?” I asked. “You’re just going to kill me.”

It might not have been the best idea to antagonize them, but the ache in my jaw had activated my fight-or-flight response, and my dumb ass never knew when to back down.

Ryan moved closer, his expression hard, and I braced myself.

His gun was still in his holster at his hip.

I couldn’t see guns on the other two men, but I had no doubt they were carrying.

Which meant if I was going to act, I had to do it unexpectedly and disarm them fast.

“Kill you? Oh no, my dear.” The stranger laughed. “You’re much more valuable to the Kingfisher’s enterprises alive than dead.”

The Kingfisher? This was the first piece of information we had about Citadel’s mysterious client’s identity.

Was this man the Kingfisher? Or someone who worked for him?

Was the Kingfisher a person or an organization?

What did he mean, more useful alive than dead?

My head spun from trying to put it together, or maybe that was from the concussion I was sure I had, courtesy of Ryan.

The stranger let out a humorless chuckle. “I find it hard to believe this woman has been the one causing your organization so much trouble,” he said over his shoulder to the other two.

Ryan frowned, his eyes flashing angrily. “She’s just playing dumb. Answer the question,” he growled at me. His cheeks had turned a reddish-puce, and his jaw clenched tight.

Where the fuck were the guys? Had Citadel hit the gala? Fuck, I hadn’t even considered that. Citadel might have struck out at all of us at once. I might be on my own.

I looked at the stranger, tilting my head to the side. “Could you repeat the question?”

He smirked but answered me. “How much of a mess have you caused for my employer?”

“And your employer is the Kingfisher?” Ryan growled, and I held up my hands. “I’m just clarifying. My head is spinning.” I pinned Ryan with a look. “And I want to be clear.”

The stranger nodded, and I thought fast. What could I tell them that would buy some time but not admit to anything? Maybe I could throw Citadel under the bus.

“I don’t really know what’s going on,” I said slowly. “Citadel came after my bosses a few weeks ago. Tried to kill them at the property we were touring. Everything we’ve done since was in retaliation for that attempted hit.”

The stranger cocked his head as he stared at me. I tried to school my face into my professional assistant mask, but I wasn’t sure if he bought it. “At what point did you learn of the Kingfisher?”

“I’d never heard that name until you said it just now.”

That was the truth. We knew Citadel had a new client but not that their name was Kingfisher. Was Kingfisher a company or a person? It was hard to tell with the ringing in my ears.

“And it just made sense for Citadel to go after your bosses without warning?”

A humorless laugh escaped my mouth before I could catch it. “With what Citadel has been involved in over the years, it wouldn’t be out of character.”

“Ah, yes. The Archers have had their fair share of run-ins with Citadel before, yes? You probably more than most as their leader.”

I hesitated. There really was no use denying it. And he had said that I was more useful to the Kingfisher alive, so maybe that extended to the Archers as well.

“Yes, we have,” I said slowly.

He nodded and pulled out his phone, typed something quickly, then pocketed it.

He stood and turned to Ryan and Julian. “The Kingfisher will be having words with you later,” he said coldly.

I expected Ryan and Julian to react to his condescending tone, but they just stood there, paling at his threat.

Who was this Kingfisher that he inspired that much respect or fear?

It sounded like he was a person, but who knew?

My jaw still ached, and when I glanced at the door quickly, black spots dotted my vision. Fuck, this wasn’t good.

“Now, go before your absence is noted. I believe you have an award to accept. Miss Harper and I have more to discuss somewhere else.” His words were pleasant, but his tone had the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rising.

I knew the stats on being taken to another location.

I couldn’t afford to let them move me. Where were the guys?

The stranger yanked me to my feet, his grip on my arm tight and I yelped slightly. My arm ached and I knew I was going to be collecting more bruises before the night was done. The room spun and I almost went down again but he yanked me forward towards the back door.

“I’ll escort you to your car,” Ryan strode ahead of us, opening the door and peering out into the hallway.

“I should get back to the gala,” Julian smoothed down his suit. “I’ll let you know if there’s any trouble.”

I struggled to get my bearings as the stranger yanked me through the door. I needed to delay them. If they got me into a car then my odds of being found lowered dramatically even with the tracker. A second location provided too many variables. I stumbled and he forced me to my feet.

“Keep moving. If you struggle then I’ll just leave your body here,” the stranger snapped at me.