Updated Feb 18, 2026 • ~6 min read
ARCHER
This is the worst idea I’ve ever had.
And I’ve had some spectacularly bad ideas.
The plan is simple:
Move Willa back to her apartment. Make it look like she’s unprotected. Wait for Malcolm to make his move. Catch him in the act.
Simple.
Stupid.
Dangerous.
But Tobias approved it.
Under strict conditions.
Full surveillance. Backup teams. Me as primary protection.
Willa as bait.
I hate it.
But she’s right.
Malcolm won’t stop. Not until he gets what he wants.
And what he wants is me.
So let’s give him a target.
We move back to the apartment building on day four.
Willa acts normal. Goes to work. Comes home.
I stay in apartment 3B. Watching. Waiting.
Cameras in hallways. Monitors in my apartment. FBI surveillance van two blocks away.
It’s been three days.
Nothing.
Willa is going stir-crazy.
I can see it through the monitors.
Pacing. Checking her phone. Looking at my door.
She knocks.
I open immediately.
“Can’t sleep?”
“How did you know?”
“I’m watching the monitors.”
“That’s not creepy at all.”
But she’s smiling.
She comes inside.
Looks around.
My apartment is sparse. Functional. Nothing personal.
“You really don’t have anything,” she says. “No photos. No books. No… life.”
“Can’t get attached to things in my line of work.”
“That sounds lonely.”
“It is.”
She sits on my couch.
“Tell me something real about you. Something Archer, not Aaron.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. What did you want to be as a kid? Before FBI and witness protection and all this.”
I think about it.
“A teacher.”
She blinks. “Really?”
“Yeah. I liked history. Thought about teaching high school. But then my mom got sick. Needed money for treatment. Marines paid better.”
“Did she survive?”
“Yeah. Barely. Touch and go for a while. But she pulled through. Kept my uniform photo by her bed through the whole treatment.”
Willa’s eyes are soft.
“I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.”
“Still.”
Silence.
“What about your dad?”
“Left when I was six. Haven’t seen him since.”
“So you were alone.”
“I had Marcus. My partner. He was like a brother.”
“The one who died?”
“The one Malcolm thinks died. He’s actually alive. In witness protection like me.”
“Can you contact him?”
“Sometimes. Carefully.”
“Does he know about me?”
“He does.”
“And?”
“And he thinks I’m an idiot for getting involved with you.”
She laughs. “Probably right.”
“Definitely right.”
She moves closer.
“So why did you?”
“Get involved?”
“Yeah.”
I look at her.
Auburn hair falling over her shoulders. Hazel eyes watching me. Trust and something else in her expression.
“Because I couldn’t help it. Because I’ve thought about you every day for three years. Because when Tobias told me you were in danger, I would have done anything to protect you.”
“Even blow your cover.”
“Even blow my cover.”
She kisses me.
Soft. Sweet.
Then deeper.
We end up in my bed.
Again.
This is dangerous.
I’m supposed to be protecting her.
Staying objective.
Professional.
But there’s nothing professional about the way I feel about Willa Crane.
Later, she’s asleep against my chest.
I watch the monitors.
Hallway clear. Parking lot clear. Perimeter clear.
My phone buzzes.
Tobias.
“Status?”
“All clear.”
“How’s the subject?”
“She’s fine.”
“She’s in your bed again, isn’t she?”
“That’s not relevant.”
“Archer—”
“I know. I know. I’m compromised. I’m too close. This is unprofessional.”
“I was going to say be careful. She’s not Nadia. Don’t punish her for what Nadia did.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way.
But he’s right.
Part of me is holding back. Waiting for Willa to betray me.
Even though she hasn’t done anything wrong.
“I won’t.”
“Good. Because she’s good for you. I can hear it in your voice. You sound… alive again.”
“I sound stupid.”
“Same thing sometimes.”
He hangs up.
I look down at Willa.
She murmurs something in her sleep.
Curls closer.
Trusting me to keep her safe.
I will.
No matter what it costs.
The next morning, we establish a routine.
She goes to work. I watch remotely.
She comes home. I’m there.
We eat dinner together. Watch movies. Talk.
Fall asleep tangled together.
It’s domestic.
Normal.
Everything I thought I’d never have.
On day seven, her sister Sierra visits.
College student. Younger. Protective.
I meet her at the door.
“You must be the FBI agent.”
“Archer.”
“Sierra. Willa’s sister. If you hurt her, I will destroy you.”
“Understood.”
She studies me.
“You really care about her.”
“I do.”
“Good. Because she’s been through enough.”
She’s not wrong.
Willa comes out of her apartment.
“Sierra! You didn’t have to come.”
“Yes, I did. I needed to make sure you’re okay.”
They hug.
Sierra glares at me over Willa’s shoulder.
I get the message.
They spend the afternoon together.
I watch from my apartment.
Sierra is good for Willa. Makes her laugh. Relaxes her.
For a few hours, Willa looks like a normal woman hanging out with her sister.
Not bait in an FBI operation.
When Sierra leaves, she stops by my apartment.
“Take care of her.”
“I will.”
“I mean it. She deserves happiness.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Because from where I’m standing, you’re putting her in danger.”
Direct hit.
“Malcolm Domenico is putting her in danger. I’m trying to end the threat.”
“By using her as bait.”
“It was her idea.”
“That doesn’t make it okay.”
She’s right.
But what choice do we have?
“I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Sierra looks at me for a long moment.
“You better not.”
She leaves.
That night, Willa is quiet.
“You okay?”
“Sierra thinks I’m crazy. Getting involved with you.”
“She might be right.”
“She doesn’t know you.”
“Neither do you. Not really.”
Willa turns to face me.
“I know you saved my life. Twice. I know you gave up your whole identity to protect witnesses. I know you could have sent another agent but you came yourself. I know you watch me while I sleep to make sure I’m safe. I know you feel guilty about putting me in danger even though it’s not your fault.”
She sees too much.
“I know you,” she says. “Maybe not everything. But enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“Enough to be falling in love with you.”
My heart stops.
“Willa—”
“Don’t. Don’t tell me it’s too fast or too dangerous or too complicated. I know all that. But I also know how I feel. And I feel like I’ve been waiting three years for you to come back. And now that you’re here, I’m not wasting any more time.”
I should tell her it’s impossible.
That we can’t be together.
That when this is over, I’ll disappear again.
But I don’t.
Instead, I kiss her.
And let myself fall.
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