Page 107 of If You Love Me

“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 housingCurated 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 ranaround 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.

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