Page 60 of Deliverance

I blew out a breath. I had heard it before, but I understood what Izzy was trying to say to me now. A group of citizens. Not me. It wasn’t my job to change everything. It wasn’t only my responsibility.

“You didn’t build a criminal organization,” Izzy said. “You build a community, whether you see that or not. And communities don’t survive because one person holds everything together all the time. They survive because everyone does.”

I looked down at my hands. The lasagna was growing cold in the container in front of me, and my glass of wine was mostly untouched. Outside, the storm was still rolling in off the city, but inside the apartment, it felt like the atmosphere had lightened.

The Archers always felt like my mission. Mine to carry and my job to ensure its success. That made it my responsibility. I carried the weight of that responsibility. Asking anyone else to carry that responsibility felt wrong. But I wasn’t the only one who had been hurt. They were right. They had chosen this too. I had started the Archers after what happened to me, but the others had joined because they believed in the mission and the cause.

Our organization was full of stories like mine, and somewhere along the way, I had forgotten that. This community, as Izzy called it, may have started with me, but every person believed in it. They understood the risks, and it was time Istarted trusting them with the truth. The full truth. If we were going to face Drake, we had to do it together.

The others had let me sit in silence, processing while they ate. I looked back up at Izzy and nodded.

“Okay,” I said. “So what do we do now?”

“You go get your guys,” Izzy said simply. “And then we make a plan. Together. All of us.”

I looked at each of them, and they all nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” I said, standing up. “Thank you, all of you.”

“This is what we do,” Grace said simply. “You’re not alone. You never have been. It’s our fight too.”

They had always been there for me. I just hadn’t let them in. But if we were going to face Drake and come out on top, I had to start, and that began now. My friends had given me the push I needed. Now I had to get my men and let them in after shutting them out tonight.

CHAPTER 25

EVELYN

My guys were all sitting on the couch when I let myself into the penthouse. Adrian and Marcus saw me first, sitting in the armchairs that faced the couch. I motioned to them to stay put while I rounded the corner of the couch.

After a brief hesitation, I crawled onto Alexander’s lap and turned to face the room. His arms wrapped around me, and it felt like the whole room took a breath.

“I’m sorry for having a freak out and shutting you out,” I said, blowing out a breath. “You guys didn’t deserve that.”

“Hey.” Sebastian leaned over. “Everyone deserves a moment after that.”

“He’s right,” Marcus said, his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. “You don’t need to apologize.”

“Awww, did you hear that, Evie? Marcus said I was right, which is how you know it’s true.” Sebastian waggled his eyebrows. Marcus and I rolled our eyes, and Sebastian just grinned at us.

“Are you feeling better after talking to your friends?” Alexander asked, shifting so I could nestle tighter into his chest.

Izzy must have messaged him that they were coming over. Or actually, Alexander probably messaged Izzy to let them know I needed them. Warmth bloomed in my chest at how well he took care of me.

“I am. They knocked some sense into me.”

“What did they have to say?” Adrian asked.

“They just reminded me that I’m not alone. Which I knew,” I said quickly, seeing Sebastian opening his mouth. “But I think…it always felt like the Archers was my responsibility, and somewhere along the way, that turned into it was only my responsibility, and asking anyone to carry responsibility in an organization I created felt like I was failing them. But the Archers has worked as well as it has because of everyone in it. They know the weight of our mission because they’ve carried the weight too. I just didn’t see it that way.”

“It’s easy to lose sight of that,” Alexander said. “But you have them, and you have us. And we’ll keep reminding you when you need the reminder.”

“And we’ll help you carry the weight,” Adrian said.

I smiled at him. Adrian had carried the weight of my secret for longer than anyone else in this room. But I knew they all would.

“What do you need now?” Dominic asked.

“I need your help to make a plan,” I said. “A plan to take down Drake once and for all.”