Page 42 of Unlocked

"I mean, it's extraordinary. Why would you do that?"

"Because it had to be replaced anyway," he said matter-of-factly.

"Well, yes, but I could've replaced it in my own time. Maybe I wanted to change things."

"Do you want to change things?" he asked, his eyes steady on hers.

The cold fact in his tone was replaced by curiosity. She stared at him. "That's not the point." Frustration rose, adding heat to her cheeks.

Archer's jaw tightened. "You're right. The point is, you were upset. Someone desecrated your personal space. I had people fix it so you have your space back. I thought it would give you peace of mind. Was I wrong?"

"No. You weren't wrong. I just didn't expect it." She exhaled. "Thank you."

"Not a problem."

"What do I owe you for it?"

Archer waved his right hand dismissively before dropping it back to his left bicep.

"No, seriously. It must have cost thousands, especially since it was done quickly." There was no way she was letting him pay for everything. It went against her nature in every possible way.

He shrugged. "Something like this is an easy fix."

She wanted to argue further, but her cell phone went off. Bunny. Again. She silenced it.

"There were scuff marks on the railing. On the terrace."

Archer straightened. "Show me."

"They're not there anymore. Josh leaned on the railing and put his hands all over them."

His jaw tightened. "What was Kent doing here?"

"I hadn't answered Bunny’s calls. Apparently, she's been trying to reach me, and I've been ignoring her, so she sent him to check on me. I genuinely hadn't looked at my phone with everything that's been happening."

"Is that normal?"

A bark of laughter escaped her. "Normal with Bunny? There is no normal. Only what Bunny wants when she wants it."

Archer's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. "Did you get what you needed done?"

"I did get some work done. And I'm more convinced now than ever that there's definitely someone else involved. Maybe two someones."

"I agree," Archer said. "Any ideas on how we track them down?"

Tatum crossed her arms over her chest. "Not really. It's a hard paper trail to follow. Names have to appear somewhere, but it's a lot of digging."

"I have the resources to dig," Archer said. He moved to stand in front of her, his presence filling the space between them in a way that made it very difficult to think clearly. "But you have to give me places to start."

Tatum stared at him. That was the crux of it. She'd gotten the information from a friend who worked in the DA's office, someone who shouldn't have handed it over in the first place. So she wasn't just trusting Archer with her work. She was trusting him with her friend's career. It was a big ask. And at the moment, she wasn't sure she trusted anybody.

Her chest felt tight. This was more than just the case. This was about letting someone in. Relying on someone. She hated doing that. Her grandfather had drummed self-reliance into her from the time she was small. She pushed the thought away.

Archer seemed to understand what she was wrestling with. "Tatum, at some point, you have to decide whether you trust me or not. If you want help with this, help getting those people their money back, then you have to give me what you have. I won't lock you out of it. You can be there every step of the way."

The sincerity in his voice made something inside her shift. She wanted to trust him. God, she wanted that more than she cared to admit.

"Why do you want this information?" she asked. "What's in this for you?" She couldn't quite make herself believe he was doing it purely for her.