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I turn to him, expecting him to back me up. And, in a way, he does. “I could go and watch over Tatum.”
Instantly, I’m bombarded with memories of the two of them at each other ‘s throats. “And run the risk of this one spending all her time coming up with ways to kill you in your sleep?”
“This one? I have a name.” She extricates herself from my grasp and makes a big deal of brushing herself off and straightening out her clothes. “And I might have been like that before, but I’ve grown up a little. Maybe a lot. Also I’m not stupid. I don’t want to be walking around with a target on my back with nobody to protect me.”
“It’s obvious you’ve already talked about this behind my back.” Otherwise, there’s no way she would accept the idea so quickly.
“Come on.” She looks worn out, tired, as she shakes her head. My little girl, so tired. “He has the screenshots. You think I didn’t give him any context? I knew you wouldn’t let me go on my own.”
She’s got me over a barrel, a position I’ve never much enjoyed. She already wants to leave, and I can’t force her to stay, but it means losing my right hand in the process. At the same time, he’s the only one I’d trust alone with her. I doubt I would sleep a single night for fear of what she might be doing, seeing, or going through. I know I can trust Romero to provide regular updates and he’ll protect her with his life.
“Maybe it would be for the best,” I have to admit, even though it pains me. “We’ll work out a way to get him off your back, and in the meantime, you can lie low.”
“It would mean taking her somewhere secret,” Romero murmurs, as if I haven’t already realized that.
“I know, and together we can decide where that will be.”
“And you’re still okay with it?”
“Do yourself a favor and quit while you’re ahead,” I advise my daughter with as close to a smile as I can muster. Besides, I have an idea of where she could go and be perfectly safe, somewhere I could find her if I needed to. “It’s for the best right now—that does not mean I expect this to be permanent. You will be coming home. This is where you belong, with your family.”
“I know. And I’ll come back for the baby. I promise.”
Romero and I have a lot to talk about, and the look I give him conveys this. That can wait until later. “You’d better,” I tell Tatum, holding her a little tighter before steering her out to the hall with an arm around her shoulders. “Or else you’ll have to be the one to explain it to Bianca, because I’m not sure she’d want to hear it from me.”
“Don’t want to hear what from you?”
Sound travels very easily in this place. It doesn’t hurt that Bianca stands at the other end of the hall, frozen stiff.
Tatum pulls up short with a long sigh. “Let me explain.”
“Explain what?” Her head swings back and forth as she searches for context. “I was just coming in to say hi and let you know I made it back okay. What did I miss?”
Tatum looks up at me, silently pleading. I have too much to do, when it comes to making arrangements for her safety, but it looks like that will have to wait a bit longer. “Tatum is going to be leaving us for a little while—Romero, too.”
Bianca continues to approach us, dragging her feet while her mouth hangs open in disappointment. “What? Why? Where are you going? What about the wedding and the baby and all the things I was hoping we would do together?”
“It’s complicated,” Tatum tells her, reaching out like she wants a hug. Her arms drop when Bianca backs away. “Don’t be mad.”
“Don’t be mad? You’ve practically been a stranger for weeks. I keep getting the feeling you resent me. Now you’re running off without warning?” The color rises in her cheeks, darkening with every word. “How am I supposed to keep from getting mad?”
The quaver in her voice gives away the sadness hiding beneath her anger. Something tells me there’s much more of the former than the latter.
“At least hear her out,” I murmur. There’s a line between wanting to help and getting too involved. I’ve never been good at navigating this sort of thing but I can’t stand back and watch them hurting. “She has a good reason, and I’ve agreed it’s the best way to go.”
“Until things calm down,” Tatum promises. “I didn’t want to worry you, but Kristoff’s dad has been on my ass for a while now. I just need to get away from everything. Get my head straight.”
Bianca’s mouth pops open. “So it’s not because you don’t want to be here?”
“Not even close.”
“You were supposed to be my maid of honor.” Tears fill her eyes. “I’m sorry. I know it’s selfish of me to bring that up but I’m disappointed. Damn that jerk, making you run away and miss everything.”
“I think I know a way around that.” Not quite, but an idea begins to form. “Would you mind having a smaller, intimate ceremony at first? Something we could put together here, on the property?”
Bianca’s eyelids flutter. “Oh. I… I don’t—”
“You don’t have to go to the trouble for me,” Tatum murmurs, watching her friend. “I know you want the whole shebang and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice that just to have me with you when you get married.”
