Page 56 of Duality

“Marcus shouldn’t have gone alone. I should have been more insistent,” Adrian said. “That’s on me, not you.”

I shook my head. “I should have caught the Eagle Holdings thing. I’ve been through those files already, and I missed it.”

“I nearly did as well,” Alexander comforted me. “It wasn’t until Finch became a suspect that I even put two and two together. It’s not your fault.”

“I should have seen it sooner. I should have kept our safe houses more hidden. He…” I closed my eyes. “Two people are dead because I didn’t catch it.”

Brittany and Eric’s lifeless bodies on the cold morgue tables flashed before my eyes. Two lives lost because of me. The grief crashed over me like a wave. It felt like my world tilted. I could have stopped this.

The call went to voicemail again, and I redialed. Adrian scooted my chair back and picked me up, settling me in his lap. I was too busy fighting back tears to fight him. My throat burned with the effort of swallowing down my sobs.

He wrapped his arms around me, and Sebastian and Alexander scooted their chairs closer so the three men surrounded me.

“Look at me,” Adrian commanded firmly. “This is not your fault.”

“They’re my people. Their safety is my responsibility.” Numbness settled over me, and my voice sounded robotic, even to my own ears. The world felt like it blurred around the edges.

Alexander squeezed my knee gently. His voice was calm, steady, but there was an intensity behind his words that cut through the panic clouding my mind. “I know what it feels like to carry the weight of something bigger than yourself. To think that if you just work harder, plan better, control every detail, then maybe, just maybe, you can keep everyone safe. But that’s not how it works.”

He leaned forward, his piercing gaze locking onto mine. “You can’t control everything, no matter how much you try. There will always be variables you can’t predict, risks you can’t account for.And trying to shoulder all of it alone? It’ll crush you, Evelyn. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

His tone softened, the authority in his voice giving way to something gentler. “The only way to handle that weight is to share it. To trust the people around you. Lean on them. Let them carry some of it with you. That’s why we’re here. Not just as your allies, but as people who care about you. A lot.”

Alexander paused, his expression earnest. “You don’t have to do this alone, Evelyn. You’re not alone anymore.”

“He’s right, my darling.” Sebastian nuzzled the back of my neck as he rubbed my shoulders. “You have us now. You don’t have to go through this alone. You can lean on us.”

“We won’t let you fall,” Adrian rumbled, his chest vibrating under my ear.

I closed my eyes and tried to let their words soak into my brain. I had been doing this all alone for so long. Even with the help of my lieutenants, the weight of the responsibility had always been mine. And for the most part, I didn’t mind it. I liked being able to take care of people. But the weight had felt heavier and heavier the last few years, and I was crumbling under it. What they were offering felt like a dream, but they felt very real against me.

Sebastian plucked the phone out of my hand and redialed it again as I soaked in their comfort. Maybe they were right, maybe I didn’t have to do it all alone. Fuck, sharing the responsibility sounded so good.

“What?” Carter’s voice barked through the phone, cutting through the sweet moment we were having and jerking me back into reality. I scrambled upright on Adrian’s lap and plucked the phone from Sebastian’s hand.

“When did Finch join your team?” I jumped right into it.

“Why is my team a concern of yours?” Carter and I had a friendly relationship, but there were lines we kept drawn. Heclearly thought that this was one of those lines, and maybe it was, but that was before one of his team kidnapped one of mine. And Marcus was one of mine. Even if his grumpy ass may deny it.

“It’s my concern when one of yours kidnapped one of mine,” I snapped.

Carter cursed. “Fuck me.”

“So I’ll ask again, when did Finch join your team? Did you know he worked for Citadel?” I pressed again, keeping Carter off guard.

“Motherfucking fucker! Samson!” he yelled. “Tell me what you know,” he directed in a lower volume.

“Marcus went to meet Finch four hours ago after Finch texted him that he had information on me that affected his brothers. Marcus never returned home. We found something in Citadel’s files that indicated he was employed by Citadel when he first got out of the army. Citadel scrubbed him from the records, and our working theory is he joined your group so he, and therefore Citadel, could get insider information on the Archers.”

“That explains why Finch and Rico are AWOL.” Samson’s voice came through the phone. “How sure are you?”

“Very,” I said. “Outside of the Archers, the only group that knows the location of our safe houses is your group. More specifically, the location that was compromised was the one where Lily stayed.”

Carter cursed again. “What do you need from us?”

“A list of locations he may use to keep Marcus,” I said. “Quickly.”

“Samson is getting Keys on it now,” Carter said, talking about their tech guy. “We’ll call back in ten.”