Page 1 of Unveiled

Chapter One

Running down the road in a mermaid style wedding dress wasn’t easy. However, running was Tatum’s only course of action. Dad always said, “It takes patience sometimes, but wait for the opportunity to present itself, then grab it by the short and curlies and don’t let go. Remember that, Pumpkin.” With a twenty-four seven guard, patience was an understatement. She’d waited months for her opportunity.

Tatum’s short and curly moment was a ten-minute slip of security. It came between everyone leaving for the chapel and the driver arriving to take her to the sham of a wedding.

Scuttling down the shoulder in the opposite direction of the waiting groom, Tatum realized how inadequate her plan had been. Not that she’d neglected planning altogether, quite the opposite. It was just, she never dreamed Dale would leave her unattended so soon. In her mind, she expected it would be months before he slipped, especially after the revelations she made last night.

However inconvenient, she would not let the opportunity pass. Who knew when her next one would come? God forbid it come after she was pregnant, or worse, after Dale tired of lying to her and made her go away. Not that they’d slept together for months. She was positive Dale had his girlfriends on the side and just thought her too ignorant to figure it out. She wasn’t complaining, the thought of ever having sex with him again made her wretch.

She needed to lie low for a few days, a week tops, and formulate a plan. Dale wouldn’t dare report her missing as that would jeopardize him getting everything he wanted, which she was still sorting out. No, she just needed somewhere to hide while she got a replacement ID and accessed the money she’d stashed in the bank account he knew nothing about.

Once she had some money, she could worry about busting the asshole and taking her family’s business and life back. Tatum was just wholly unsure how to bide that time. Where would she sleep? What would she eat? If she contacted anyone, Dale or his father would surely find out.

As she debated her sanity with herself, a car slowly rolled to a stop beside her. Thank God it wasn’t Dale or one of his henchmen. She hadn’t been paying attention. If she’d had it bad before, it would only get worse if he got her back under his thumb after she’d run.

The passenger window lowered, revealing a stunning woman with straight black hair and blue eyes. “Hey, runaway bride, you need a ride somewhere?” Tatum’s nerves were frayed. A flood of adrenaline made her heart pound against her chest painfully. She couldn’t stop staring at the striking woman.

Can I simply get into a car with strangers and ride away into the sunset? What if they turned out worse than Dale? She could end up—

The woman interrupted her thoughts. “I’m Charlie. And the driver giving you the ten second assessment? That’s Mark. I can promise we aren’t planning on breaking into the human trafficking business anytime soon. You’re safe with us, we’re the good guys.” The woman was chipper.

“So, you’re a mind-reader, then?” Tatum wasn’t sure why she made a joke of it. Jokes were kind of her go-to when she was stressed. The man’s laughter boomed through the open window, startling Tatum back on her wedding shoes. Thank God Dale had insisted on flats so she wouldn’t tower over him at his wedding. She’d have never made it as far as she had if not for his vanity.

“If you’re looking to make a clean getaway, Julia, you’d better get in. You don’t exactly blend. We just want to help. Like she said, we’re the good guys. From the looks of things, you could use a helping hand about now, and we have four right here.” Mark reminded her of a California surfer dude, but he had a shrewdness about him.

They each slid a hand to the other’s knee. Seeking something. Reaching for each other in those unsure moments. That was what Tatum had wanted her entire life. What her parents had. She’d tried to find that with Dale, but it was all just a beautiful illusion.

“Um, okay.” What did she have to lose at this point? Tatum opened the back door and was greeted with a plethora of shopping bags. So many she could barely sit. Once settled, Mark spoke again. “My woman has a slight shopping addiction.” Tatum watched longingly as Mark raised their entwined hands and placed a kiss on Charlie’s. “Good thing you’re not wearing a princess style gown or we would have to strap you to the hood like a deer.” He joked as he lowered their hands and drove off.

Tatum breathed a sigh of relief as the distance between herself and Dale increased.

“Stop it.” Charlie feigned offense before flipping down her visor, opening the make-up mirror, and focusing those ice-blue eyes on Tatum.

“Just so you know, Mark works security, and well, I work for an acronym. We’re both pretty good at reading situations, and from the desperation on your face, I’d say yours is less than ideal.”

Mark chuckled. “The runaway bride cos-play didn’t give it away?” Tatum was too overwhelmed as the gravity of her situation sank in to laugh at him. “Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a bit.” They exchanged a strained smiled. “You wanna share your name or should I just keep calling you Julia?”

Tatum hadn’t thought about it, but it wasn’t like her name was very common, or that it hadn’t been all over the newspapers and internet four months ago when her parents were murdered. “Julia would probably be best.” Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. Her mother had been obsessed with the name Tatum since she was young and dreamt of having a daughter. To not use it hurt.

“Why Julia?” Charlie asked Mark.

“You called her runaway bride. The movie?”

“Oh.” Charlie laughed, then turned back to the mirror. “Men and their rom-coms.” She winked. Their easygoing nature was relaxing. “So, Julia, any part of your story you’re willing to share?”

The question was expected, but she wasn’t prepared to answer it. Tatum wasn’t ready to speak the truth. Hell, she was still processing some of it that had only come to light recently. But what if she didn’t share at all? Would Mark and Charlie still help her?

“Well, um, obviously I’m not in favor of the marriage that I’m dressed for. I can’t really tell you why, but I can promise you I have a good reason and you saved my life by picking me up. You can let me out anywhere, you’ve done more than enough.”

Tatum was panicking. Telling these kind strangers what a moron she was to have been about to marry the man who, as of last night, she was sure killed her parents, was too much to bear. Now the tears started in earnest.

She’d been numb when she’d overheard him talking to his dad last night. Tatum had plenty of suspicions about Dale’s activity over the last few months. Even suspected his father had fudged her parent’s will, but never that Dale had a hand in their deaths. Never. That wasn’t a thought she’d ever entertained.

To hell with the planning and waiting, she ran when the opportunity presented itself after that suspicion might have been confirmed.

“Here, hon.” Charlie handed her a pack of tissues. “You don’t trust us yet and that’s okay. I’m the same way. It takes some time. But can I ask you something and get an honest answer?”

Tatum nodded.

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