Page 65 of Archer
Crow and Tank joined the other two in the office. Or four, if you considered the two corpses lying on the floor. Oh, but it was all fine. Because they were going to burn down the bakery.
My stomach squirmed with unease as I thought about mine and my father’s fate. Everything about the plan felt morbid and twisted, even though they were right. There weren’t many other options, and certainly none I could think of. Still, my mind couldn’t wrap around the idea that our bakery would be burned to the ground.
When Archer shuffled by his spot a few feet from me, I raised my eyes to meet his and some of the worries evaporated. He said that we’d figure it out. Just like he said he’d keep me and my dad safe. I didn’t believe him then, but he proved me wrong.
“Archer…” I started, but he cut me off first.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes filled with worry. “D-do you need to see the doctor, too? I didn’t even think to ask. I’m an idiot, I can—”
“No, Archer, I’m fine,” I said, looking down at the rope burns on my wrist. “I mean, maybe not fine, but… I’m fine. Everything else can wait.”
“All right,” he said, and a sadness overtook him as he shook his head with pursed lips.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, confused by what had made him so depressed. “Seriously, I’m okay. I’m exhausted. So tired. But we’re all okay.”
“I know, it’s just…” He swallowed. “I shouldn’t have left you. I shouldn’t have taken that offer from your father. It was selfish and greedy, like I often am, and I’m sorry.”
My heart ached seeing him in so much needless pain. “Archer, you have nothing to be sorry for.” I clasped my hands together and pulled them to my chest, stepping near him. “You… you saved our lives. You risked your own life for us. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up. That was the most selfless thing I’ve ever seen.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, the cloud above him no longer raining, but still hovered. “I just… can’t believe you had to experience that. And now your bakery… fuck, Rose. I don’t know what to say.”
“Exactly what you said before,” I said, stepping another foot so I was only inches away. “We’llfigure it out. Archer, you’ve shown me a whole other side of life. And no, it’s not always pretty, but at least it’s honest and real. You’ve helped me in so many ways. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
He stared down at me and my heart skipped from the gentleness that appeared in his gaze. It was hard to believe that I once thought he would harm me in any way. Standing next to him in the same spot I first met him, right behind the cash register, I never felt safer and more eager to experience life with anyone before.
“Rose,” he said before swallowing, the gaze in his eyes growing more intense, almost as if whatever emotion he felt was overwhelming him. “I never thought I could meet anyone who could… make me want to do… any of this.”
He took a tiny step, so my chest was now brushing against his.
“Rose, I love you.”
My eyebrows shot up. Sure, I was expecting us to begin dating, but helovedme? My lips curved into a smile.
“R-really?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “You bring something out of me, something good. I don’t want it to stop. I want to spend the rest of my life keeping you safe and healthy, and… and I know you probably don’t feel the same. I’ve been such a dick to you, I get it, but—”
“Archer,” I said with a small, light laugh. “I love you, too.”
Not wasting another second, he grabbed my cheeks in his calloused hands and kissed me. It wasn’t like the last time we kissed, when we were heatedly ripping at each other’s clothes, overflowing with built up lust. It was more passionate, despite being tender and gentle.
Crow, Tank, and the other guys, Ripper and Maverick appeared, smelling heavily of gasoline.
“All right, I think it’s show time,” Crow said before motioning to me and Archer. “You two may as well head home, get to your bike.”
Tank nodded. “We’ve got it from here. Be quick, this place is gonna be up in flames in a few minutes.”
Following orders, Archer and I rushed out the door, heading toward the parking lot we parked our bikes a couple of blocks over. Speed walking away, we were soon over a block away when I halted in my step.
“Wait,” I said and turned around, a wistful emotion tugging at my heart strings as I read the Eastside’s Only Bakery sign for the last time. Nostalgia swarmed me as memories of my childhood flooded my mind. My first time baking bread with my dad, decorating cupcakes for my eleventh birthday, meeting Archer…
The rest of the Rebels piled out of the bakery, walking in Archer’s direction and mine, aside from Crow. His foot propped the door open, and in the dim streetlights, I could see him strike a match and toss it inside before rushing away. “Go!”
There was a still silence filled with anticipation. I felt my throat tense, about to feel like I’d made a horrible mistake. Until I felt Archer’s hand link with mine.
The smell of smoke filled the air and the crackling of fire echoed in the silent streets. Soon, the windows filled with red embers.
I turned to Archer and smiled. “We’ll figure it out.”
