Page 52 of Duality

CHAPTER 24

MARCUS

Iscrubbed my hand over my face as I mentally willed my cock to go down. Even two days later, I couldn’t get the image of Evelyn orgasming on Adrian’s lap out of my head. I had been walking around half hard all day, and I was getting tired of it. How could Adrian do that to me?

But he didn’t do anything to me. Not really. The anger I was feeling was really jealousy, even if I didn’t dare admit it. I wasn’t angry at Adrian. I wanted to be him. To feel her on my lap, in my arms, and whispering her secrets in my ear.

It was my own damned fault, though, that I wasn’t him. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to let go of the aching betrayal from Evelyn’s actions. She had hidden this massive secret from us for years. She used us and our systems and could have jeopardized everything.

But you’re not really angry about that, are you?

The annoying voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like Sebastian asked the question that I had been avoiding. Maybe not, but secrets are always bad. Always. Secrets got people killed. They nearly got my brothers and I killed.

I had lost people to secrets before. The military loved its secrets, even the ones it claimed it kept for the “greater good.”And I think that’s why it was so hard for me to move past this with Evelyn. I knew why she’d kept her secrets. The work the Archers did was important and necessary. It wasn’t even the legality of her work that bothered me. It was the whole “secrets kept for your protection” or the “greater good” that was bothering me. Who said that was her call to make? Did we give her the impression at any time over the last six years that she had worked for us that we would judge her or turn her over to the authorities? Why couldn’t she have trusted us to help her? Why couldn’t she have trusted me to help her?

Because you can’t help anyone, a different, darker voice whispered.

I closed my eyes as memories of a different time flashed through my mind. Gunfire and yelling. The acrid smell of smoke and bright flashes of muzzles. The last time I lost someone due to secrets kept for the greater good. The military had deemed that my team had all the information we needed to know going into my last mission. But we hadn’t. And people had died because of it. Secrets only led to pain and death. Always.

My pocket vibrated.

“Mad-Dog, it’s Finch. I’ve got information you need to know about your girl. It’s bad and affects your brothers.”

She wasn’t my anything, but my stomach dropped all the same. I knew Evelyn had more secrets. She had been reluctant to share them. But if she was keeping a secret that affected my brothers, then I deserved to know. I needed to know so I could protect them. And protect her.

“Time and place?”

Before I could put my phone away, it buzzed with Finch’s reply. Thirty minutes from now at an address that wasn’t too far from the new buildings we were looking at before everything went down. I would have to leave now to make it in time.

“Where are you going?”

I nearly groaned at Adrian’s question. I was almost to the door, and I didn’t need anyone questioning where I was going. And definitely not Adrian. I still wanted to punch him for the show he put on yesterday.

“For a drive.” I kept my answer short.

I hated lies, so I wouldn’t lie to Adrian if he asked me, but I also didn’t want to tell him where I was driving. I needed to make sure we could trust Evelyn, and Adrian was biased.

“We aren’t supposed to go anywhere alone.”

The reminder was unnecessary, and I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. I turned to face him, folding my arms. “I’m going to see Finch.”

Adrian’s eyes darkened. “I’ll go with you.”

“No.” I held out a hand. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now.” It probably wasn’t. Even if I wasn’t truly angry, I didn’t want to talk about Evelyn right now.

He paused and studied me carefully. Adrian probably knew me better than my brothers did. I could get away with some shit with them, but Adrian and I had seen combat together. We could read each other well, we had needed to for survival.

“When are you going to stop fighting this?” Adrian asked softly.

I played dumb. “Fighting what?”

He tilted his head and pegged me with a look. “You know what I mean.”

I shook my head. “Even if I did, I don’t want to get into it now.”

“When, then?”

Dammit. He was not letting it go.