Page 71 of Unlocked

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Archer stood outside Tatum's door, his hand raised to knock. Dr. Reeves had called twenty minutes ago. No concussion, but she needed rest. Ice. No stress.

He'd almost smiled at that last one. Tatum Wellington didn't know the meaning of no stress. He knocked. Softer than usual.

"Come in," she called.

He opened the door and stepped inside. She was lying on the couch, an ice pack on her head, looking small and tired in a way that did something to his chest he wasn't going to examine right now.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I got hit in the head."

A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. "The doctor said you'd be fine."

"The doctor said a lot of things. Most of his comments involved rest and no excitement."

"Then I'll try to keep this brief." He sat down on the couch, keeping a careful distance between them. Close enough to reach her if she needed him. Far enough that he wouldn't give in to the urge to close that distance entirely. "I need you to walk me through what happened. Everything you remember."

She closed her eyes, and he watched her face as she worked through it. "I went to get sushi. Kim's place is just two blocks from my apartment. I was walking back and decided to stop at the corner store for milk and toilet paper."

"Which store?"

She gave him the corner.

He made a mental note. Ryker would pull the security footage. "What time?"

"Around one thirty, maybe. I'd been working at my apartment all morning."

He didn't mention that she'd gone to the office first. She didn't know he'd had Flynn following her, not that it had helped. That was on him. He'd tried to be discreet so she wouldn't get upset, and it had damn near cost her everything. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

"The Ponzi scheme case," she continued. "I went through the paperwork again with fresh eyes, looking for anything that might point to a fourth or fifth person involved."

His pulse kicked. She was close. Too close. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes. And I'm convinced there's more. At least one other person is pulling the strings." She met his gaze. "I did find a name."

"Who?" Archer braced himself and said a small private prayer that it would be Davis.

"Louis Anderson."

Archer blinked. Not the name he'd been hoping for, but not one that surprised him either. "I see."

"You're not surprised," Tatum said as she lifted her head, holding the ice pack in place. She shrugged. "Neither was I. He's smart, has the skills to handle the banking side of it, but he's also a complete scumbag."

"Agreed." Archer knew Anderson had other predilections as well, but didn't share that with Tatum.

"We'll come back to Anderson. Go on. What happened at the store?"

"I grabbed the milk and some chips. Was heading to the register when I remembered the toilet paper. I turned around to go back to the corner of the store, and someone hit me from behind." She touched the back of her head gingerly, and Archer's hands tightened on his knees. "Hard. I dropped everything. My vision went blurry."

"Did you see who it was?"

"Not at first. They grabbed me, started dragging me toward the back of the store. The emergency exit." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "There was a van in the alley. White. Engine running. Back doors open."

Archer's jaw tightened. A van meant planning. It meant they'd intended to take her somewhere. Interrogate her. Or worse. The thought landed in his chest like ice.

"How many?" he said, keeping his voice even.