Page 35 of His Claim

I thinned my lips and glared at Murphy.

“You’re gonna need to answer that one, baby girl,” he drawled.

“Oh my god,” Jada called. “I’m going to get a recorder, and I’m going to need you to call her baby girl again, okay?”

This was going off the rails just like I knew it would. Damn, all of the romance novels Jada devoured.

“Jada,” I called.

“Yeah, girl?” she asked.

“I’m not going to be able to make it to work for a few-ish days.”

“Your man mentioned that, but I figured this was all a joke.” She paused, and I imagined her wrinkling her nose and squinting like she had when she had gathered her thoughts.

“He’s not my man, by the way. At least not now. He was like five years ago.”

“Girl,” Jada drawled. “You are hitting me with so much right now, and my brain can’t figure out what to focus on.”

“Focus on the fact Tatum won’t be back to work for a couple of weeks. Do you think you can hold her job for her? I can send someone over to fill in for her if you need,” Murphy offered.

I shook my head and cringed. “What the hell are you talking about? Who are you going to send to the bookstore to fill in for me?”

“Who is it?” Jada asked.

“What? Why do you sound okay with him sending a stranger to take my job?” I demanded. Here, I thought Jada would be upset I wouldn’t be at work and possibly concerned, but instead, she wanted to know who would be filling in for me.

“Look, Tatum, we’re more friends than employee and employer, but I still have a business to run here. If you want me to hold your job for you and your tall, dark, and handsome man can send me someone to help out until you get your butt back here, then you gotta be okay with it, too,” Jada lectured. “I’m also going to need a little more information on why you gotta be with the man while he works.”

I glanced at Murphy. I wasn’t sure what I could tell Jada.

The police obviously hadn’t been involved when Murphy and I had been kidnapped, and I wasn’t sure if the Banachis wanted their business broadcasted to Jada.

“I work for Leo Banachi,” Murphy started.

“The Leo Banachi?” Jada gasped. “The man who owns the third largest skyscraper in Chicago and is a silver-haired fox? That Leo Banachi? I saw him in some business magazine, and that man is gorgeous with a capital g. Salt and pepper hair, chiseled jaw, steely blue eyes. Yes, please.”

“The one and the same,” Murphy clarified.

“Oh, girl. You sure know how to pick ‘em. Are you Leo’s bodyguard or something?” she asked. “Are there some Bodyguard vibes going on between you and Tatum? You know, except that Tatum isn’t a famous popstar, and you’re not Kevin Costner?” She paused. “You do have Kevin Costner vibes, though,” she muttered.

“Uh, you could call me Leo’s bodyguard,” Murphy offered.

I folded my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow. In the simplest way, you could say Murphy was Leo’s bodyguard, but he was way more than that. Murphy had told me the Devil’s Knights were like family, but the same went for the Banachis. I knew they weren’t related by blood, but they treated each other better than a lot of families I knew.

“So what are you doing that you need Tatum with you?” Jada asked. “And when did you two start back up?”

“Oh, well, it’s still pretty new with Murphy and me. We sort of just bumped into each other and, well...” My brain short wired, trying to think of more lies.

“We both realized we missed each other, and we’re picking up where we left off. I have some traveling I need to do with Leo, and I asked Tatum to come with me,” Murphy half explained.

We were doing some traveling, but some of that had been against our own will.

“Oh, where are you two going?” she asked.

“Right now, we’re in northern Wisconsin for a couple of days.”

“Oh,” Jada sighed. “That’s not as exciting as I was hoping. I thought for sure you would have said Spain or maybe Paris.”

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