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Tatum
“Murphy.” I planted an elbow in his side, and he stirred.
“What?” he grumbled.
“Your phone is going off,” I muttered. “Answer it.”
“God dammit.” He rolled away from me, and I snuggled into the empty space. It smelled like musk and man.
I inhaled deeply and smiled.
The bed dipped, and I listened to Murphy shuffled around. “Where the fuck is it?” he growled. The phone stopped ringing but started up seconds later.
“Your pants,” I called. “Where did you leave them?”
“Jesus.” Ten seconds later, the phone stopped ringing, but Murphy answered it this time. “What?” he barked.
Uh, oh. Someone did not wake up on the right side of the bed.
“Be nice,” I laughed.
“She’s fine,” he growled. “We got distracted last night.”
My eyes popped open. “Oh shit,” I gasped. I had forgotten to call Jada last night. I tossed back the covers and jackknifed up. “Give me the phone.” Jada had been cool about everything yesterday, but I knew she was probably hot right now.
Murphy tossed the phone to me. “Chill out your girl, baby girl. You’ve never been safer.”
I scrambled to grab the phone and put it to my ear. “I’m alive,” I called. “I am alive and amazing.”
Murphy shook his head, pointed to the door, and mouthed the word bathroom.
I shooed him away and waited for Jada to go off on me. It would probably be best if Murphy weren’t around for this.
“Tatum Sally May Betty Charlene Booth.”
Uh, oh. I knew the more middle names Jada gave me, the more pissed off she was.
“Uh, yes?” I asked.
“Do you know where I went last night?”
Maybe this wasn’t going where I thought. “Uh, no, I don’t.”
Jada clicked her tongue audibly. “Your apartment, Tatum.”
Uh, oh.
“You wanna know what I found before I even got out of my car?” she asked. “My car that I parked right next to yours,” she demanded. “You wanna know how I found your car?”
I closed my eyes and winced.
“With the goddamn window blown out, Tatum,” she screamed. “There was glass all over the place and your purse was on the ground! What in the hell is going on?” she demanded. “And you better spin me a better fucking story than you met up with an old flame.”
“Uh, well, I wasn’t lying when I said Murphy and I dated. It’s just that we didn’t bump into each other.” I cleared my throat and scrunched my nose. “I was kidnapped by some bad guys who were trying to get to Murphy. They kidnapped him, too. Murphy managed to break us out, and we’re safe for now.”
“For now?” Jada screamed. “What in the romantic suspense novel bullshit are you part of?”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds. I’m safe. The safest I can be,” I promised.
Murphy appeared in the doorway and folded his arms over his chest. “Don’t tell her anything more, Tatum.”
I wasn’t sure Jada would be okay with not knowing anything more.
“If you are safe now, why can’t you come home?” Jada demanded.
“Uh, well, because we got away, but the bad guys are still out there.” It felt like I was talking about a book and not my life. “Murphy and his guys are working on taking care of everything.”
Jada quieted. “Do I want to know what you mean by taking care of everything?”
“Not unless you want to be an accessory,” I whispered.
Murphy rolled his eyes.
“My god, Tatum. When you want to spice up your life, you sure know how to do it.” She sighed heavily. “Does this involve Leo Banachi, or were you two just blowing smoke up my butt with that one?”
“No smoke on that one.” Murphy pushed off the doorway and stalked toward me. “I promise I am safe as safe can be. Murphy won’t let anything happen to me.”
Murphy grabbed the phone from me and pressed the speaker button.
“The window on your car was shot out, and you were kidnapped, Tatum. I think the man has already failed to keep you safe. I’m calling the police,” Jada threatened.
“Call the police, and never hear from Tatum again,” Murphy thundered. “You don’t know what we’re dealing with, and if you involve the police, you’ll set us back to never ending this.”
“That was before, Jada,” I cried. “Murphy had no idea they were going after me. They kidnapped him at the same time. Just listen to me, please.”
“How am I supposed to believe all of this, Tatum? For all I know, he’s got a damn gun to your head and making you say all of this.”
Murphy shook his head and ended the call.
“What are you doing?” I demanded. “She’s going to for sure call the police now.”
He glared at me and muttered under his breath about having enough shit to deal with. He swiped a few times on the phone and then held it up to his face. “Put on my shirt,” he ordered.
“What are you–” The phone rang twice, and then Jada’s voice sounded.
“Doing,” I whispered. I dove off the bed and grabbed Murphy’s shirt. I hurriedly shrugged it on and jumped back on the bed.
Murphy turned the phone on me, and I waved. “Hi!”
Jada leaned in closer. “Do you have a cut on your face?” she asked.
Oh, Jesus. “Yeah, but Murphy didn’t do it. It’s from the–”
“Bad guys?” Jada finished. She sat back. “Give the phone to Tatum.”
I looked up at Murphy.
Jada was skating a thin line. Murphy wasn’t a caveman who didn’t like women telling him what to do. He didn’t like anyone telling him what to do.
“Please, baby?” I whispered. I pulled Murphy’s shirt closed and held my hand out to him. No reason for Jada to know what we were doing all night, though knowing her it would only take two seconds for her to figure it out..
Murphy scowled but stepped toward me and handed the phone to me.
“Happy?” I whispered to Jada.
She shook her head. “Now, put the camera on him.”
I was going to get whiplash.
Murphy stepped back a few feet back from the bed and looked hella pissed. I rolled my eyes but did what she asked. Murphy folded his arms over his chest and glared at the phone.
“I should have known you were going to be shirtless,” she muttered. “And you’re even prettier than I imagined.” A clicking sound came from the camera. “And I took that screenshot so I have something to show the police if I don’t hear from my friend at least once a day by seven every night. You feel me, bad boy? I talk to my best friend every day, or I call the police and track you down.”
“Your best friend is safest with me. You’ll hear from her every day.” Murphy grabbed the phone and ended the call.
“Murphy,” I called. “I know you said what she wanted, but you could have been a little nicer about it.”
Murphy tucked his phone in his pocket. “Because she was being nice to me? Your friend has a little bit of an attitude I don’t like, Tatum. I’m not the type of man who should be questioned when all I’m doing is keeping you alive.”
I rocked up on my knees and crawled to the edge of the bed. I reached out, and he put his hand in mine. He closed the distance between us, and I wrapped my arms around him.
“Don’t be angry,” I whispered. “You can’t blame Jada. This is all new to her. She didn’t even know about you.” I really didn’t expect anything less from Jada. She cared about me and wanted to ensure I was cared for if she wasn’t there.
“That’s another thing I’m a bit annoyed about.” He pulled back and looked down at me. “If she’s your best friend, why the hell didn’t she know about us?”
I laughed and shook my head. “I bet that annoys you more than her questioning what you're doing.”
He grunted but didn’t deny it.
“She may not have known about us, but she does now, okay? I guess I didn’t want to go into how the most handsome man broke up with me because he didn’t think I fit into his life.”
Murphy shook his head. “I broke up with you because I was trying to avoid shit like this happening. I didn’t know my life would still touch you even if we weren’t together.”
I tipped my head to the side. “So since it is touching me, you might as well be touching me, too?”
He frowned. “I’m glad you can joke about this, Tatum.”
“If I don’t joke about it, I’m going to cry, Murphy.” I laid my hand on his chest. “I’m glad you and I are back to us, and as much as I hope bad things happen to Brandt, a tiny piece of me has to thank him for bringing us together again.” It was a shitty truth, but that’s what it was.
“Brandt doesn’t get credit for anything, Tatum. He’s living on borrowed time right now. We should have put him down a long time ago,” he growled.
I nodded. I didn’t want Murphy to be upset about Brandt right now. I was damn near close to being naked, and I had all the goods to distract him. “I know, honey.” I rubbed my hand over his chest. “Why don’t we do something other than talk about Brandt or Jada?” I suggested. “I could use a shower and maybe some breakfast.”
Murphy grabbed the lapel of my shirt and pulled it out of my grasp. “Feeling dirty, baby girl?”
A smile spread across my lips. “Will you wash my back for me?”
That did the trick.
Murphy bent, planted his shoulder in my stomach, and hoisted me up. “I’ll wash your front, too.”
He slapped my bare butt, and I let out a scream. “Ow!”
Murphy stalked to the bathroom, and we didn’t get to breakfast until we were both squeaky clean.