Page 106 of If You Love Me

Tyrion would never forgive me if his mother died. Hopefully, someone called her ass an ambulance.

As I dipped and dodged the cars in traffic, Summer sat behind me, screaming and crying. She started kicking the seat, and the next thing I felt was her hitting me in the back of my head. She snatched off my skull cap and commenced to pulling my hair.

“Let me go!” she screamed. “I want my mommy and daddy!”

I had to pull over into an abandoned parking lot, throwing the car in park. Grabbing my bag from the floor, I fished out the tape I brought with me. Climbing out of the car, I opened the back door, only to have Summer punch me in the eye.

“Help!” she screamed.

I had to pull back on my anger. I really didn’t want to hurt her, but she wasn’t going to keep beating my ass. Throwing my body over hers, I pinned her down while I bound her hands and feet and covered her mouth. I placed her on the floor of the car and climbed out.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Summer,” I said calmly. “You’re gonna make me wreck acting like this. Just calm your nerves!”

I slammed the door and took a deep breath as I paced back and forth in front of the car. In the distance, I could hear police and ambulance sirens. I had to get the hell out of here. This hadn’t been part of the plan, but fuck it. I was in too deep now. I just needed a little time to regroup and figure out my next move.

34

Tyrion

“Good 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 specificsituation, 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.

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