Page 15 of Duality

Operation Burn It Down was the codename we decided on if my team needed to extricate me from SDS because my identity had been compromised. Grace messaged back a confirmation, and I released the breath I was holding. It was fine. Everything was fine. I had a plan. I could keep them safe without them ever knowing it was me.

Except when I exited the bathroom, Marcus was waiting for me. I schooled my expression to something neutral. “Was there something you needed, Mr. Stone?”

He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, looking like a sheepish schoolboy for a moment. “I just wanted to check on you.”

My heart clenched. If he only knew. “Thank you for your concern,” I said diplomatically. “I’m fine, though.”

“You seemed upset earlier when you checked your phone. Are you sure everything’s okay?” he pressed. “Was it about your…friend?”

I shook my head, offering him a smile that felt shaky, even to me, but willing him to drop it. I had to get my shit together, or he wasn’t going to let it go. “Everything’s fine. Just thinking about what I wanted to eat for lunch.”

Doing something I had never done before, I looped my hand through his elbow and allowed him to escort me to the elevator. “I was thinking Indian. Thoughts?”

Marcus stiffened for a brief moment at the contact. I tugged my hand back, worried I overstepped, but he placed a hand over mine and squeezed it briefly before letting go.

“Indian sounds good,” he said. “My treat.”

I squeezed his arm. “Thank you,” I murmured.

I could do this. I could keep them safe while protecting the Archers and my identity and burying my feelings for them. Right? I couldn’t lose anyone else. I wouldn’t survive it.

CHAPTER 8

ADRIAN

Ifrowned 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 secretsor 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.