Page 73 of Unlocked

"I can't tell you that. Attorney-client privilege."

Frustration flared. "Tatum⁠—"

"I can't," she repeated, her voice firm. "But I can confirm that what you're saying tracks with what I know. Davis is dirty. Very dirty. And if he's involved in the Ponzi scheme too—" She stopped, a frown crossing her face as if something clicked into place. "You think he's using it to fund the trafficking operation."

Archer hesitated, then nodded.

They looked at each other, and he could see her mind working. Putting pieces together. Getting close to the truth. Closer than was safe.

"There's more," he said, making the decision. "There's someone behind all of this. Someone who goes by the name the Curator."

Tatum's pulse jumped. He could see it in her throat. "The Curator? Who is that?"

"I don't know. But they're connected to the Ponzi scheme. To the trafficking. To all of it."

"Could the Curator be Davis or Anderson?" she asked.

Archer shrugged. "Davis, no. He's involved, and I'd guess he knows who the Curator is, but he doesn't have the knowledge base required for the financial and legal maneuvering. My read is that he's the one who brings in clients."

"So Anderson then?" Tatum frowned. "He's smart enough, but you know what, whoever set this up made mistakes. Small ones, but they're there. I can see that being Anderson, but honestly, I think he'd do a cleaner job than this. So maybe Anderson is more of a frontman and someone else is the Curator?"

"Could be. I'm not sure I buy Anderson as the Curator. He likes the spotlight too much. Too visible. I think he's more likely playing a similar role to Davis, someone who brings in clients and greases the wheels. But I'll look into him further."

"Good. I'll help you. I can⁠—"

"You will do no such thing."

"You can't stop me, Archer."

"Yes, I can." His voice was flat and final. "Because whoever the Curator is, they're dangerous enough to have killed two people and tried to kidnap you in broad daylight. And I'm not giving them any more reasons to put you in their crosshairs."

"That's not your decision to make."

"The hell it isn't." He stood, needing to move. He crossed to the window. "You almost got taken today, Tatum. Do you understand that? If you hadn't fought back, if you hadn't been fast enough and strong enough, you'd be gone. And even with tracking on your phone, I can guarantee I'd have no idea where to find you. The people behind this wouldn’t let you keep anything you could be tracked with."

His voice cracked slightly on the last word. He hated that. But it was the truth, and he was apparently past pretending otherwise. The thought of losing her, of not knowing for sure where she was or what was being done to her, was more than he could set quietly aside.

"Archer," she said quietly.

He turned to look at her.

"I'm okay. I'm here. I'm safe."

"This time."

"This time," she agreed. "But I'm not going to stop. I can't. Those people deserve justice. They deserve to get their money back. And I'm not going to let fear stop me from helping them."

"I'm not asking you to stop." He moved back toward the couch, drawn to her in a way he'd long since given up pretending wasn't happening. "I'm asking you to be smart about it. I’m asking you to trust me. I have resources you don't. Share your information with me, and I can dig deeper." He ran a hand through his hair. "I can find out everything you have on my own, but it will take time, and I don't think we have that luxury."

They sat in silence for a moment. The afternoon light slanted through the windows and caught in her hair, turning it gold. She was beautiful. Even exhausted, even bruised, even as stubborn as any person he'd ever met in his life.

"Okay," she said finally. "I'll bring my stuff here, and we can work it together."

An intense wave of relief flooded through him, almost making him sway. "I'll send Ryker to get the information. No need for you to go out again." There was no way he was letting her out of his sight in this condition. Not today. Possibly not for a while.

"Fine," she said, setting the ice pack on the table. "I will trust you and your people. But Archer, I'm warning you: If you try to keep anything from me or hide anything, I will come after you. You aren’t allowed to protect me by excluding me."

One look at her eyes and he knew she meant every word of it.