Page 26 of Dichotomy

She rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face. Maybe it was due to me, but it was more likely due to the coffee she was sipping.

“Have you checked in with Izzy this morning?” The first thing she usually did when she woke up was check in with Izzy as she got ready for the office. I know it killed her to not be presentat the Archer’s HQ and on the missions, but with the FIA still sniffing around, we were taking no chances.

“I did.” She chewed her bottom lip.

“How are things over there?” I asked when she didn’t elaborate further.

“They’re fine,” she said with a frown. “Liam says the log is backing up, though, since we’ve gone to ground.” Her shoulders were tight, every muscle rigid, like she was trying to keep the frustration at bay by sheer force of will. “I just hate not being able to help. I feel like a princess locked up in an ivory tower ‘for her own good.’” She air-quoted the last part, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I don’t think there’s any ivory here; although Sebastian would remodel in a heartbeat if you asked for it. But I get it. It’s not forever, though. Just until we figure out what’s happening with the FIA.”

“And the Kingfisher organization,” she reminded me. “And we have no leads.”

“No, but you have us,” I said. “You have SDS resources now.”

She chewed her lip again, and I fought back the urge to pull it away from her teeth and kiss her until she forgot her worries. Instead, I got the bacon started. Bacon was about the equivalent of kisses, right?

“I guess you’re right,” she said slowly.

“You don’t have to sound so surprised when you say it,” I teased. I was rewarded with the rich sound of her laughter.

“Speaking of SDS resources…” she said. “How are the background checks going on the new hires from Citadel?”

I snorted. “About as you expected. We had some really obvious plants who asked way too many questions about our operations and the Archers and knew absolutely nothing about the jobs they were applying for. And we got a handful of people who could be good. There’s the risk that they are also plants, justbetter at it than the others, but it may be a risk we have to take with how much business we picked up since the gala.”

Evelyn tilted her head as she listened. “You can always assign them to lower-level things. There are several of our people who are due for promotions anyway.”

I nodded. “That’s Alexander’s plan. We’ll hire them, but we’ll restrict their access for a while. They can have all the surveillance jobs.”

Evelyn winced. “I hate surveillance. It’s so boring.”

“It does require a lot of patience.” I smiled. “Speaking of, I guess Alexander filled you in on my conversation with Dominic?”

Evelyn nodded. “He did. After he finished yelling at you about it, from what I hear.”

I laughed. Yeah, Alexander had been mad when I first told him. He thought it would bring unnecessary attention to us, especially Evelyn. But I just had a feeling that Dominic would land on the right side of this. He just needed a push. Like Marcus had.

“What do you think of him? Agent Hayes?”

Her cheeks flushed, and I kept my face neutral. Did our little warrior have a crush? The man was objectively handsome; I would give him that. I thought I would feel jealous, but I didn’t, and that was odd. I didn’t know this man, but something in my gut said we could trust him. If only he weren’t trying to arrest her.

“I think he’s an interesting one,” she said slowly. She sipped her coffee, and I gave her time to collect her thoughts as I cracked the eggs into the pan.

“I think he’s smart,” she continued. “I mean, he obviously is, from what Liam’s found on him so far, but he also doesn’t seem like he misses anything. He seems like a do-gooder for sure. Which could be problematic if he’s a black-and-white thinker.”

“I don’t think that’s problematic,” I countered. “I mean, you already won over the most black-and-white thinker I know.”

She smiled, but her eyes seemed far away. She and Marcus had been circling each other for the last few weeks. It was plain to see that they liked each other, but neither of them seemed to know what to do next. I loved Marcus, but it was going to be up to him to make the first move. He had hurt her with his actions, even if she said she understood them. He had to take the initiative, but maybe I could meddle a bit.

“I guess we’ll see what he does next,” she finished simply.

I nodded, plating up the breakfast and loading her plate with extra bacon. I walked around the island, slid a plate in front of her, then took the next seat. She shuffled closer after I got settled, her hand warm on my shoulder as she leaned in. Her lips were warm and soft when they met mine. She tasted like coffee and spice. She pulled away too quickly.

“Thanks for breakfast,” she whispered, a blush high on her cheeks.

“Does that mean you forgive me for the coffeemaker?” I whispered back when she didn’t settle back in her chair right away.

“What do you think?”