Chapter 34

34

Tyrion

“ G ood afternoon, Mr. Davis,” I said, opening my office door. “Thank you for coming in today. How was your drive?

“Not too bad. You know how it is with trying to get through that damn downtown traffic. I swear, it gets worse every year that I come back here.”

I chuckled. “I know what you mean. Some of us can’t escape it. Before we get started, can I get you something to drink? Coffee, juice, or water, perhaps?”

Mr. Davis shook his head. “Nah, I’m okay. Gotta watch my intake.” He patted his round belly with a chuckle. “The wife’s been getting on me lately. You know how that is. Happy wife, happy life. Thank you, though. Listen, Tyrion, I’ve been watching the markets lately, and I’m getting a bit nervous about my retirement portfolio. Then I have a neighbor in my ear telling me to move everything to cash. Should I be worried?”

“I completely understand your concerns, Mr. Davis. Market volatility can be unsettling. I find it best to focus on your specific situation, however. What works for them may not work for you.” I took a seat behind my desk and started pulling up his file. “What seems to be worrying you the most?”

He sighed. “Well, I’m five years from retirement, and I can’t afford to lose everything I worked hard to build up, you know? Last month’s market dip took quite a bit off my balance.”

“Let me pull up your portfolio, and we can go through it together. Give me a few more seconds.”

As I clicked away on my computer, my phone started going off. I looked over and saw that it was my dad. A frown formed on my face as I picked it up.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Davis. It’s my father. He and my mother have my daughter, and they never call during work unless it’s important.”

“Handle your business.”

I swiped the screen to answer the phone. “Hey, Dad. Is everything—” I could hear him sniffling. “What’s wrong?”

“Tyrion… I need you to leave work right now.”

In a flash, I was on my feet. “Pop, what happened? What’s going on?”

“Your mother… she’s in surgery. Tyrion, she was shot.”

“What!” I frantically began grabbing my belongings.

“She and Summer went to pick up her medication this morning—”

“Summer was with her? Dad, where is my baby!”

“Iona took her. She shot your mom, and she took her.”

I dropped everything in my hands. It was like the world had stopped spinning. I couldn’t hear anything. I wasn’t even sure if I was breathing. Iona shot my mother and took my daughter? He couldn’t have just said that. I felt hands on my shoulders as Mr. David moved into my line of vision. His lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying. A slap across my face brought me back to reality.

He handed me my phone, and I could hear my father crying.

“D-Dad… what hospital are you at?”

“Baptist. The police are here.”

“Okay. I’m coming.”

I hung up and looked at Mr. Davis. He motioned me out the door, and that was all it took. I ran through the lobby like a madman and out the front doors. I made it to my car in record time and hit the unlock button. Hopping inside, I cranked up and immediately backed out, damn near hitting someone in the process. I headed in the direction of the hospital, then remembered that I needed to get to my wife. She had to hear this shit from me.

I made a sharp right as I headed for the plaza housing Curated Realm . What was usually a ten-minute drive from the bank was made in four, thanks to my emergency lights. I swung my car into the parking lot in front of the building and jumped out, leaving the car running. Swinging the door open, I ran to the back where Evenie’s office was.

Much to my surprise, there was no Evenie when I opened the door.

“Evenie!” I yelled, going further down the hall. “Ev!”

“Mr. Lewis, please!” the receptionist said, approaching me. I’d completely ignored her trying to stop me when I first came in. “What can we do for you?”

“I need my wife. Where is my wife?”

“She took a lunch break, and then she had a meeting with a client. Actually… she should have been back by now. Maybe she’s stuck in traffic or something. I’m sure if you give her a call, she can tell you where she is.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed Evenie’s number. It rang and rang before going to voicemail. I tried her three more times with the same result. When I checked her location, it said she was in the parking lot. I frantically left the building and ran around back to the employee parking lot. Her car was there, but there was no sign of Evenie. Again, I tried calling her. This time, I heard the phone ringing somewhere near me. My head whipped around as I looked for her yet found nothing.

“Evenie!”

No answer. That’s when I really listened for the ringing of the phone. It was like I was right on top of it. Dropping to my knees, I looked under the car to find Evenie’s phone and her purse. Lying flat on my stomach, I reached under the car to grab it.

“No, no, no…” I mumbled, climbing to my feet.

I bent over on the hood of the car, trying to gather myself because I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but I knew it had gone from bad to worse. That was when I realized the hood was cold. She’d never left to go to lunch. My wife had been missing for at least two hours, and nobody even knew shit.

I ran back inside, almost bumping into Ms. Lacey.

“Tyrion? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Jaclynn hung up the phone with a worried look on her face. “That was Evenie’s client. She never showed up for the meeting.”

“I need to see your cameras,” I demanded.

“Cameras?”

“In the back parking lot! I need to see them!”

“Okay, calm down and tell me what happened. I’ll see if I can help—”

“Lacey, I just need to see the fucking cameras! Iona shot my mother and took my daughter. Evenie never left the parking lot for lunch. Her phone and her purse were under her car. I think Iona has her too.”

“Oh my God! Jaclynn, call the police. Come on.”

She ushered me into her office. Behind her desk, she pulled up the cameras out back before searching through it to find the time Evenie left for lunch.

“Wait, wait, wait!” I said, stopping her. “Go back.”

She rewound the tape.

“Stop.”

The tape stopped, and we watched a strange car pull into the parking lot around eleven thirty. It parked a few spaces down from Evenie and waited. About thirty minutes passed before Evenie came bopping out of the building. I watched as the strange car door opened, and Iona stepped out with something in her hand. From her position, Evenie never saw her coming. Both Lacey and I winced as we watched Iona hit Evenie in the back of the head. She went down out of view, and Iona hit her again.

She then ran off to her car and pulled it up behind Evenie’s. Getting out, she popped the trunk and went back between the cars. My blood boiled watching her drag Evenie’s body and hoisting it in the trunk before closing it. My eyes frantically searched for signs of my baby, but I didn’t see her.

“Oh… my… God,” Ms. Lacey whispered as Iona drove off.

The door to her office opened, and Jaclynn stuck her head in.

“The police are on their way. Mr. Lewis… I’m—I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t acknowledge her sympathy, just walked past her and out of the office.

“Where are you going!” Lacey asked, running out after me.

“To find my wife and child!”

Just as I made it to my car, my phone started ringing. I looked down to see an unknown number flashing across the screen. I stared at it for a moment, then answered the call.

“Iona.”

“Hey, baby. I miss you.”

“Iona, where the fuck are Evenie and Summer?”

She giggled. “They’re right here, silly. You can come see them if you want.”

“I swear to God, if you hurt them—”

“If I hurt them what! Huh? What are you gonna do? You already broke my fucking heart. What else can you do to me?”

I took a deep breath. “If you hurt them, you’re gonna be sorry.”

“I’m already sorry! Sorry I ever met you. You ruined everything!”

I heard a slap and realized she must have been talking to Evenie. There was no response from my wife, however, and the sound of Summer’s muffled screams only made my heart race.

“Let me talk to my daughter.”

Iona didn’t answer. I could hear her moving around, followed by her murmuring to Summer.

“Daddy!” my baby cried into the phone.

“Summer! Baby, are you okay?”

“Daddy, please come get me! She shot Mimi, and Mommy’s not moving!”

“I’m coming, baby,” I said, hopping in the car and cranking up. “I know you’re scared, but I need you to be a big girl for me, okay? Just close your eyes real tight. No matter what you hear, keep your eyes closed for me. Can you do that?”

She cried harder. “I wanna go home…”

“I know, sweetheart. Daddy is coming. I promise, I’m coming for you. I love—”

“Enough of that,” Iona said, coming back to the line.

“Where are you?” I asked, backing out of my parking space.

“You know where to find me, love.”

“Stop fucking playing and tell me where you are, Iona!”

“The cabin I took you to for our anniversary last year.”

“That’s an hour away.”

“I guess you better get on the road. See you there.”

She hung up. I gripped the phone, beating my fist against the steering wheel.

“Son of a bitch!” I yelled, tears streaming down my face.

I dropped my head, and the most anguished cry left my lips. If something worse happened to my wife and child, I would never forgive myself. I would never be the same again. I had to get to them, I just had to. After a minute or so of getting myself together, I lifted my head and reached in my glove compartment where I kept one of my guns. Checking the clip, I saw that it was full. I placed it on the seat and pulled out of the parking lot.

I didn’t bother to call the police and tell them where I was going.

Either I was leaving with my family, or somebody was leaving in a body bag.