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themselves the L.A. grit. Josie turned on him, flinging up a little bit of her own just to give him a taste of it.
    ''Can't you tell time? We've still got five minutes and we're taking it whether or not the bus leaves. . .''
    ''Yeah, well, the bus is going to leave without him anyway,'' the young officer drawled, his eyes resting lazily on Josie before sliding Archer's way. ''Your belongings are at the window. Pick them up on your way out.''
    Stunned, Josie and Archer looked at the young officer. It was Josie who stood up first.
    ''I'm glad someone came to their senses.'' Josie gathered her things, talking to hide her bewilderment. ''They just came to them a little late. I'm going to make sure there's a full investigation on my client's behalf. This man should never have been arrested, much less charged. Whoever decided to drop those charges is the only intelligent person in this entire building.''
    She reached for Archer and helped him up. Josie hitched her briefcase and took the first step to the door. She never managed the second step.
    ''Nobody's dropped the charges, but somebody put up the bail,'' the young cop said. ''Now get his butt out of here.''
    The door hadn't even closed before Josie turned to Archer. He was pale and shaking. His lips moved once, twice then finally he answered the question she didn't need to ask.
    ''I don't know, Jo. I really don't.''
    She tightened her grip on his arm.
    ''Okay, then. We'll just wait for your guardian angel to come to you. Right now, let's do what the man says and get your butt out of here.''
    Josie steadied Archer at the elbow. When he walked he walked as tall as he could. The rib wasn't broken, his breathing was steadying. They picked up his stuff; they walked out the front door. She would have Archer's injuries checked then she would get him home. Josie wanted to talk to John Cooper without Archer listening in. There were a lot of questions. Josie wanted answers and one of the biggest was who had come up with a hundred grand to bail Archer.
    Outside Archer put on his sunglasses and took a minute to breathe the air. Josie stood beside him, smelling downtown, listening to the traffic, feeling the proximity of buildings long unused and the oppressive bunker-like structure of the LAPD headquarters behind them. She turned to take Archer's hand but, as she did so, Josie caught sight of two men in her peripheral vision. She turned her head, instinctively moving protectively toward Archer.
    They were taking the steps quickly, these two men. The older one walked with his arms by his sides, his bespeckled eyes trained on Archer. The other had a lighter step, his arms swinging freely, his eyes were on Josie as he took the stairs with the grace of an athlete warming up for the big game.
    ''Josie Baylor-Bates.'' The younger man greeted her as if they were old friends. He held out his hand. She took it cautiously. ''Jude Getts, Getts and Associates. This is my client. He put up the bond for Archer, here. Ms. Bates, Archer, this is Colin Wr. . .''
    If Colin had a last name it was lost in the roar that come from Archer. He lunged at the man in a fury that could only be described as murderous.

CHAPTER 4

    ''That asshole was Tim's father. For God sake, Jo, I don't want to be on the same planet with that man much less sit across a table from him.''
    Josie shot a glance at the two men waiting for them at the table. Everyone had calmed down except Archer. After Josie had managed to peel him off Colin Wren – not a difficult task since he wasn't exactly up for an extended cock fight – she had to convince him they at least needed to listen to what these men had to say. Archer pointed out that a hundred thousand dollars in bail didn't come without strings. Josie countered, arguing that any string Colin Wren decided to pull couldn't be worse than the ones that would have tied Archer down to a seat on the bus to the men's prison.
    ''You'll sit there and you'll listen, Archer. If you don't like what