Page 23 of Duality

“Shall we?” Evelyn waved to the table, and I got to my feet. I groaned softly as I shook out my arms and legs, giving Adrian a dirty look.

He shrugged. “Was trying to save your life, you stubborn bastard.”

A pang shot through my heart. I trusted this man just as much as I trusted my brothers. Maybe even more. Adrian knew how much I hated secrets. He had been there when the military fucked me over. So I was having a hard time wrapping my head around his betrayal. Had Evelyn blackmailed him? What was so bad that he didn’t feel like he could come to me for help?

I frowned, but before I could argue, Sebastian pushed by me, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as he slid into the seat next to Evelyn and scooted his chair closer to her, giving her an adoring look.

She looked at him, a trace of a smile on her otherwise composed face. What would a real smile look like on her? I immediately shoved that thought away. She was the enemy. Well, maybe not the true enemy, as she had saved our lives today. But she definitely was keeping secrets, and that meant she couldn’t be trusted. My brothers had saved me after I got out ofthe military. I had to protect them, even if my heart screamed that she would never hurt us.

Turning back to the rest of us, she folded her hands and rested them on the table. Any trace of a smile drained away as she stared Alex down. “I understand that you want to help as you’re the target, but we don’t need it.”

Alex mimicked her position and leaned forward. “You do. While we may be rivals, we know a lot about Citadel’s structure and who their top people are.”

“So do we,” Evelyn said. “And Grace isn’t wrong. The work we do…is the work you try to keep SDS out of. You’re already more involved than I wanted.”

“You would rather keep lying to us?” I arched an eyebrow at her, hurt and betrayal warring inside me. “What is it you actually do, anyway? What is so important that you would betray our trust like you have been doing for the last six years?”

Sebastian’s gaze knifed across the room like cold steel flashing a wordless order for me to shut up, but I ignored him. I wanted to understand what was so important that she lied to us. Geoff Young had said they broke up a drug ring. Was that just so they didn’t move on the Archers’ territory? Were we sitting at the table of a gang leader?

Evelyn’s hazel eyes sliced into mine, the gold flecks in them burning like a raging fire. She was angry. Good. So was I. She took a deep breath.

“The Archers exist, because the system fails people every day. The law protects those with power and money, but it leaves everyone else to fend for themselves. You’ve seen it, even if you’ve never had to face it directly. Innocent people suffer while the corrupt walk free.” Her voice steady but laced with emotion she couldn’t hide. This was personal to her.

I swallowed hard. A quick glance around the table confirmed my suspicions. Alex sat back in his chair, appearing not to beoverly invested, but his fists were clenched under the table. Sebastian had stilled; his entire focus on Evelyn. Adrian looked at her with…pity? Seriously, what did he know?

She paused, glancing down at her lap and gathering her thoughts. “The Archers are the ones who step in when no one else will. We find those who abuse their power, who think they’re untouchable, and we bring them to justice. Sometimes that means crossing lines, doing things the law would never condone. But we do it because someone has to. Because there are people out there who need protecting, who don’t have the resources their attackers or abusers have, who need someone to fight for them when the system turns a blind eye.”

Adrian stiffened next to me.

Evelyn’s gaze softened as she looked at each of us, her voice dropping. “I didn’t tell you, because I wanted to protect you. Not just from the danger, but from the moral weight of what I do. Your sense of morals and honor, it’s good, but it’s unrealistic.” We stiffened, but she continued. “It’s your weakness, wanting to view everything in black and white, and I…I play in color. You hired me to be your assistant, to help you and your company. And I did my job in every way I could. But yes, I did use your company for information.”

She took a deep breath, her voice firming again. “I never wanted to deceive you, and I do apologize for that.” She stopped and looked at me, her face sincere. “But I did it to protect you. SDS does good work. Your sense of morals and honesty is refreshing but not common. I knew you would disapprove, and I knew you would view it as a betrayal. But I honestly can’t say I wouldn’t do it differently. The information about the city’s wealthy that I had access to saved a lot of lives. It helped us stop things before they happened. But it wasn’t done legally. And I couldn’t risk dragging you into my world until I had no other choice.”

Silence fell on the room as we took it all in. Begrudgingly, I understood why Evelyn hadn’t told us. While she kept her explanation high level, I could read between the lines. The Archers served justice to people who couldn’t get it elsewhere. It was a noble mission, even if she went about it in dishonorable ways. Surely, after a year of working with us, she could have told us though. We could have helped.

Would you have?a small voice whispered.

When we first started SDS, I was reeling from my time in the military. The military trained me how to fight and kill and then they discharged me back into the world after the worst betrayal I could have imagined. I’d tried school, but I’d been on the brink of failing for getting into fights. Alex had started SDS to give me an outlet, and we had grown it to what it was today. Six years ago, I was still too fresh off the end of my military career. I would have fired Evelyn on the spot if she came to us and confessed.

“So what really happened at Geoff Young’s clubs?” Alex asked quietly. “It wasn’t just a drug ring.”

Evelyn shook her head, her hazel eyes flashing. “They were drugging and raping women.” She seethed. “His head bar manager and bouncer were in on it. They—” Her breath caught. “They videoed it and would blackmail the girls to prevent the videos from coming out. If they didn’t have money, they told them they could pay it off in other ways.”

I froze at her words. They did what? Sebastian turned to granite next to her, and Evelyn side-eyed him carefully, her eyes assessing the cold darkness that radiated off the usually happy-go-lucky man. I waited for her to shift away, but she just put a hand on his arm and squeezed softly.

“They’re taken care of,” she murmured.

Adrian shifted next to me. I had almost forgotten that he knew who Evelyn was before today. He caught me looking and sighed, looking at Evelyn. Evelyn nodded, and he straightened inhis chair, gathering his thoughts. Adrian’s betrayal was sharper than Evelyn’s. We had fought in the trenches of war together. He had saved my life and knew about the events that had led to my strict code of honor and truth. He knew, and he still lied to me.

“The Archers saved my mom.”

My jaw dropped at Adrian’s words, and my brothers both zeroed in on him, their gazes confused and searching.

“Oh shit,” I breathed.

I remembered Adrian talking about his mom. He never mentioned his dad, only to call him a “mean bastard”, but I knew he joined the military to get away from his old man. His mom had stopped writing to him for three months, and Adrian had been meaner than a cranky grizzly bear. And then one day a letter arrived, and it was like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. I was quickly putting the pieces together.

“Wait, you—?” I swung my gaze to Evelyn, who nodded. “How?” She’d gone after Adrian’s dad? I had never met the man, but I had seen pictures. The guy was massive, and Evelyn barely came up to my shoulder.