Page 43 of Duality (The Archers #1)

I glared back. “You try walking with a concussion.”

He ignored me and marched me forward. I stumbled occasionally, keeping up the act.

The room was still fuzzy at the edges of my vision but it was starting to clear up.

I needed a plan. Ryan strode ahead still.

His gun was still holstered but I had no doubt he could get to it quickly.

I glanced down at the stranger’s waist. There was a slight bulge in the back of his jacket.

He was likely also carrying. My only advantage right now was that no one had grabbed their weapons yet.

Surely the guys had to be close, I needed to buy myself some more time.

I saw my chance as we walked down a hallway.

A door loomed at the end of it, clearly marked with exit signs.

Large bins filled with garbage lined the hallway.

I swallowed down my fear and took a deep breath.

The world was still fuzzy but I couldn’t miss this chance.

As we passed by one of the bins, I stuck my foot out, sending it clattering and sending myself to my knees, forcing the stranger to let go of me.

I yelped as I landed hard, my knees and wrists absorbing most of the impact as pain shot through my arms and legs.

“Hey!”

I almost burst into tears at the sound of Alexander’s voice but I blinked furiously to keep them at bay. I was not going to cry like a damsel in distress. Especially not while we were still in danger.

Alexander and Sebastian ran towards us, their guns drawn.

The stranger yanked me to my feet and pressed his gun to my temple. “Don’t come any closer,” he warned, backing up towards the door. Ryan drew his own gun and pointed it at them.

Alexander and Sebastian stopped a few paces away, “Okay,” Alexander said, holding up his free hand but not holstering his weapon. “Just let her go and you can walk away.”

Ryan laughed. “That’s cute that you think you can make demands. How about you put your guns away and leave or we’ll blow her brains out right here.”

The stranger’s grip tightened and I couldn’t help the whimper that escaped me.

His forearm was tight across my chest and his hand was steady where he pressed his gun against my temple.

Alexander’s eyes flew to mine and I could read the agony in them.

We couldn’t let them get away but he also didn’t want to risk me.

My eyes flickered over to Sebastian. My usual golden-retriever was nowhere to be found. His blue eyes were stormy as the little glimpses of darkness I had seen in the past took over. His body was deadly still and his hands didn’t tremble as he held his gun on the stranger holding me.

“I’m not going to tell you again,” Ryan boomed, “Leave!” His voice was twinged with hysteria as he looked back at the stranger who still had yet to say a word since Alexander and Sebastian had appeared. Where were Adrian and Marcus?

The stranger took a step back towards the door, his grip tightening and Alexander’s eyes flashed with fury. They must not have a clean shot as I was sure if they did they would have taken it by now. Maybe I could help out with that.

Sebastian’s stormy eyes met mine. On three , I mouthed. The corners of his eyes tightened almost imperceptibly.

I tapped the side of my dress with my free hand, the movement catching Alexander’s attention as well.

One finger, two fingers, three fingers. On the third tap, I let every muscle in my body go limp, becoming dead weight.

The stranger cursed as he was yanked forward, his gun falling away from my temple so he could catch himself.

A gunshot rang out and blood splattered onto my dress.

The stranger slumped against the bin, clutching at his bleeding shoulder, his gun clattered under one of the bins out of reach.

Ryan swung my way, his gun raised. I scrambled backwards.

“Freeze! Police!”

Uniformed men streamed through the door behind us into the hallway, Detective Patel leading the charge. I spotted Marcus and Adrian behind him, their shoulders dropping in relief when they saw me. That relief turned to anger when they looked at Ryan.

Ryan’s eyes widened before he broke into an oily grin. “Ah, officers. Thank goodness you’re here. We just apprehended Miss Harper here. She’s the leader of that pesky vigilante group, the Archers, which has been causing the city all this trouble.”

My eyebrows flew up before I could stop them. That was the angle he was going to play here? Blame this all on me as I laid crumpled on the concrete floor with the stranger next to me bleeding from his shoulder.

Detective Patel stared at him blankly, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. “The woman you just kidnapped in front of witnesses? It’s over, Mr. Jacobs. You’re under arrest for conspiracy, extortion, and blackmail, just to name a few. It’s over.”

Ryan’s eyes shifted around the hallway, a wild look in them that reminded me of a cornered animal. His gaze swung back to me, and his face hardened. He lifted his gun.

Something crashed into him. Not something. Someone.

Marcus and Ryan rolled around on the floor. The officers didn’t make a move to stop him, not even when Marcus got the upper hand and landed several punches on Ryan’s face and ribs. Ryan flailed, but it was clear that Citadel’s leadership didn’t keep up with their hand-to-hand combat training.

Adrian crouched before me as Marcus punched Ryan one last time before flipping him over and accepting a pair of handcuffs from one of the officers. Another set of officers handcuffed the stranger, blood seeping from his shoulder.

“Hey, little warrior,” Adrian said softly, his eyes darkening as they trailed across my face.

His hand cupped my jaw, and I leaned into it, wincing when the movement sent sharp pain through my head.

I was sure the dried blood and blooming bruises were an attractive sight. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

I shook my head, then cringed as pain shot through my head. He held out his hands to help me to my feet. I rose slowly, trying to keep the room from spinning.

Detective Patel read the men their rights as he escorted them from the hallway out the door.

Relief shuddered through me and I gripped Adrian tightly.

Fuck that was close. Too close. If they had gotten me out that door, if the guys hadn’t been there.

I shuddered again and Adrian tugged me closer, running his hand up and down my spine soothingly.

Ryan lunged at me as he passed. “This isn’t over,” he snarled. “You’re going to get what’s coming to you.”

It was very dramatic and definitely what I expected from an overgrown man child.

Marcus stepped in front of me, forming a human shield, and I placed a hand on his spine.

I appreciated the gesture, but I didn’t need him to fight my battles.

It was over for Citadel. The stranger with them, whose name I still didn’t know, said nothing.

He just stared at me with an assessing look, like he was measuring what he saw.

It sent chills up my spine. We needed to figure out who this man was and quickly.

I may have been talking to the Kingfisher this whole time.

Warm hands cupped my cheeks, and I blinked up at Alexander. “Are you all right?”

I nodded. He studied me like he didn’t quite believe me, but eventually he caved and pulled me in for a hug, his movements gentle like I was made of glass.

“I’m not,” Sebastian grouched. “You took ten years off my life, my darling! I’m going to get grey hairs!”

I laughed and rested my cheek against Alexander’s chest. The adrenaline was wearing off, and my knees were trembling.

Alexander’s arms tightened around my waist, and all my men stepped closer, like they could hold me up with their presence alone.

They weren’t wrong. I snuggled into his chest, enjoying a few moments of peace before I would have to face the chaos outside this room.

Adrian rubbed my back, the gentle pressure grounding me. “We need to get you checked out,” he murmured.

I nodded but didn’t make an attempt to move. “Did you get the others? Marshall? Julian?” Was it really over?

“We did,” Marcus confirmed, his fingers playing with my hair. “And Liam and Maya released the information we gathered on Citadel to the media. It’ll be on the front-page news tomorrow.”

I breathed out heavily. “Good.” I didn't think Citadel is going to take this lying down, though. There are going to be more eyes on us now, especially on the Archers, at least for the next few weeks. “It’s going to be a while till it’s truly over.”

“That’s true,” Alexander agreed, his chest rumbling beneath my ear as he spoke. “But we’ll be there to help if anything comes up.”

“Together,” I said softly, echoing their words over the last few weeks.

“That’s right, my darling.” Sebastian leaned in and brushed his nose against mine softly. “You’re finally getting it.”

I smiled and then winced when the action split my lip again. Adrian tutted at me and then swept me into his arms like my feet were injured, not my face.

“Here’s your phone,” Sebastian said, handing me the device. “I figured you would want to check in with your team.”

As if his words summoned them, the phone started buzzing in my hands, Liam’s name on the lock screen.

“Hey, Liam. The guys said the information went out to the media?” My head pounded but I needed to know it was over. That my team was safe at least for now.

“Yes, it did. There’s something else, though.” His tone was grave, and my brain instantly went to the worst-case scenario. Had we lost someone? Did Citadel hit the safe houses while we were distracted? Had Danny and Grace run into trouble?

My heart sank. “What is it? Is it the safe houses?”

“No, they’re fine. The Ghosts give their regards. It’s about something the Ghosts said. Something they found out.”

Liam’s voice was serious, and the pit in my stomach grew.

“Put me down, please, Adrian,” I said.

He set me carefully on my feet, while Liam continued in my ear. “Keys reached out to me. He has this alert set up… It’s probably something I should set up, too…”

“Liam! The point, please,” I snapped. What was happening?

I paled at his next words, and a dull ringing echoed in my ears, drowning out everything else.

I didn’t expect that, and I had no idea what we were going to do.

He ended the call, and I pressed the edge of my phone on my forehead. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!

“What is it?” Adrian rumbled.

I froze and spun. Alexander eased a step closer, hands drifting from his pockets, eyes sweeping my face for any hint of what was happening.

Adrian’s shoulders creaked back, the human equivalent of a shield sliding into place between me and the world.

Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezing shut for half a heartbeat before snapping open, sharper than before.

Sebastian simply stilled, poised for whatever order might come next.

“We have a problem.”