Page 133 of Unlocked

Declan froze.

The bat phone.

The only line that still connected them to their old lives. To Archer. To everything they had left behind. If it was ringing, something was wrong. He gave Kate’s hand a brief squeeze and stepped away.

“Don’t answer it,” she said quickly. “It can’t be anything good.”

He glanced back at her. “That’s exactly why we have to answer it. He wouldn’t call unless there was a problem. Forewarned is forearmed.” He offered her a reassuring smile, although he was sure it didn’t reach his eyes.

Inside, something had already gone cold.

He picked up the still-ringing phone. “Yes.”

“I am sorry to disturb you, my friend,” Armand said. “But I am afraid we have… how do you say… a complication.”

Declan’s stomach tightened.

It had been months since he’d been Archer Gray. But it came back in an instant. The voice. The cadence. Even the Irish lilt slipped away.

“What’s the snag?” he asked, glancing at Kate. The distress on her face cut deeper than he expected. He wanted to shield her from this.

He couldn’t. “I’m putting you on speaker.” He hit the jammer switch without thinking. He’d installed it out of habit, a precaution he’d told himself he would never need. And yet…

“Kate,” Armand said gently, “I am sorry to disturb you both, but things are… difficult.”

“What’s happened?” she asked, her voice tight.

“I should fill you in. Bunny was found dead several months ago. They ruled it a suicide, but⁠—”

“Bunny would never kill herself,” Kate cut in, her tone certain. “Not ever. She would have found a loophole. A way out. She always did.”

Declan wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. Gone was the relaxed woman from a minute ago. Tension stiffened her frame, as if the old wounds were cracking open.

“I agree,” Armand said. “Stuart is also dead. More recently.”

“The Curator is dead?” Declan asked. “That’s… unexpected.”

“Oui. Officially, he could not live with the shame Bunny brought on the firm. So he ended his life as well.”

Kate’s posture got unbelievably tighter. “No. There’s no way.”

“I agree,” Armand said quietly. “Which leaves us with a question. Who has enough power to commit two murders and make them look like suicides?”

“Eli Fisher,” Declan said.

“Oui.”

Declan’s jaw tightened. “I should have listened to you and taken him out when I had the chance.”

“You had more pressing concerns.”

“But why are you calling now?” he asked. “This doesn’t warrant a call.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Kate chimed in. “But I agree. Bunny and Stuart have been dead to me for a long time.”

“I am not calling about that,” Armand said. A pause. “Eli Fisher is involved. But not alone. There is someone else.”

“What do you mean?” Kate demanded. “How do you know?”