Page 17 of If You Love Me

6

Tyrion

Then

“Where could she be?”I said aloud as I paced back and forth with Summer Rose in my arms.

It had been three hours since Evenie left for the grocery store, and she should have been back by now. I’d called her phone, and it went straight to voicemail. I tried checking her location and got nothing. Panic was setting in. This wasn’t like her at all. Evenie was the most responsible and punctual person I knew.

If she said she was going somewhere, that’s where she went. If she gave a timeframe, she stuck to that. When she couldn’t stick to it, she would always communicate the problem. That’s how I knew something was wrong.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dialed my mother-in-law’s number. Maybe she’s stopped by there or something.

“Hey, Tyrion.”

“Hey, Ma. Have you seen or heard from Evenie?”

“No. Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know. She left here three hours ago to go to the grocery store, and she hasn’t made it back yet. She’s not answering her phone, and I can’t pin her location.”

“Maybe her phone died, or she made another stop—”

“Nah, Ma. That’s not like her. She would have sent a text or something. She definitely would have checked in on Summer Rose by now. You know how much she loves her.”

“I know, baby. How about I try calling her?”

I sighed. “Fine.”

“David, bring me your phone,” she called to my father-in-law.

“What’s going on?” I heard him ask.

“Tyrion can’t get ahold of Evenie, and he’s worried. Hold on a second, baby.”

A few seconds passed before I could hear the sound of the phone ringing on the other end. It just rang and rang, but she never picked up.

“Do you know what store she was going to, Tyrion?” Mama Cheryl asked.

“She usually goes to The Village Market over on—”

The sound of my doorbell ringing caused me to stop mid-sentence. It wasn’t a regular, somebody’s at the door type of ring. A chill ran up my spine as I noticed the red and blue lights flashing through the curtains.

I swallowed hard. “Ma… the police are here.”

“W-what?”

I slowly approached the door and unlocked it before opening it. There stood two officers. Both of them removed their hats.

“Are you Tyrion Lewis?”

I nodded. “I am.”

“I’m Officer James, and this is Officer Bond. I’m afraid we have some bad news.”

That was when I noticed Evenie’s purse in his hand.

“Is it my wife? Please tell me she’s okay.”

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