Page 22 of Unlocked

"I've already got someone installing a camera," Archer said, as if reading her mind. "Ryker's taken care of everything."

"I don't want cameras in my apartment." Even after all of this, the thought horrified her.

"It's just one," Archer assured her. "Inside your closet. It faces the secret door but offers a view of the whole closet."

She stiffened. She usually got dressed in her closet.

"You will have to get dressed elsewhere if you are concerned about the camera," he said. "We will do our absolute best to secure it, but there are no guarantees in life."

"Someone could find out about my secret room then," she countered.

"True. But without it, you might end up in the same position you were in today. You wouldn't know if someone was in your place or what they were doing."

She let out a slow breath. It was fair. Probably smart. The lack of knowledge today had been brutal. But it still pissed her off to have a camera in her space, even now.

"Tatum." She looked at him sharply. He met her gaze without hesitation. "What are you involved in?"

"Why do you care?" she pressed. She genuinely couldn't fathom it. Archer was legendary for maintaining distance, so remote that people whispered he was cold. She'd heard stories about moments when he could have stepped in to help someone and hadn't. So why now? Why her?

"You're a board member," Archer began.

"Yes," she cut in. "And there are other board members. I know you haven't always stepped in to help them. So why are you so intent on being involved now?"

Archer leaned back in his chair, took a sip of wine, then set the glass down with deliberate care.

"Two reasons," he said.

She waited.

"One. You're a board member, and that does give you more latitude than most members. You're also a particularly important one, given current circumstances."

Tatum picked up her fork again. "You're talking about Austin Davis."

Archer didn't bother to deny it. "He's hell-bent on taking me down, possibly with an eye to replacing me in my position. And he's not suited for it."

Tatum snorted. "Or you just don't want to leave."

Archer studied her for a long beat as she chewed her food. "I don't have that option. If Austin Davis succeeds in his bid to take my position, I die. There's no graceful exit."

The words punched the air from her lungs, and she had to fight to swallow her food.

"Seriously?" she eventually choked out.

"Yes. But honestly, that's not my greatest concern."

She stared at him. "Dying isn't your greatest concern?"

"No."

"Then what is?" She couldn't believe they were having this conversation.

"The power Austin Davis would have if he were in my position," Archer said quietly. "I know what's happening in almost every country in the world at the highest levels of government. I know what's being planned. I know about wars before they happen. I know about deals, assassinations, things I can't go into detail about."

Her skin prickled.

"And I also know Austin Davis is a power-hungry, egotistical malcontent. Think about what you know of him," Archer continued, voice steady. "Now imagine him with that knowledge. How do you think that goes?"

Tatum's mind reeled. "Oh. Fuck," she murmured.