Chapter 2 – Tyler
I couldn’t believe that Maya was going to ditz out on me. She’d been acting stranger and stranger, and although I knew why, I still wasn’t able to confront her. I didn’t even know what I would say. It wasn’t like I could be outraged or anything like that. I wasn’t even mad at her. In truth, I was kind of happy for her in a way. At least one of us could be happy. Ivy was a distraction, but she didn’t hold a candle to happiness.
Going into Camilla’s, I knew that there was only one woman who could make me even think about happiness. Camilla had become more to me than I would have imagined. I wasn’t sure where it was going to lead, but the way she’d felt in my arms the last time I’d seen her was enough to make me wonder if I could do more. I didn’t have to know the future, but I wanted to know that she was going to be in it.
Thinking of everything that was going on, I tried to push it all away and spend my time thinking about nothing but Camilla. I wasn’t going to think about what I was going to say to my parents and how I was going to explain it all away.
“Excuse me, buddy.”
I looked up to see a grungy man that I’d apparently almost run into. I didn’t know how I’d done that, as I was far away from him, but just out of courtesy I apologized anyways. I wasn’t thinking about where I was going. I was thinking about Camilla, and hoping that she would be able to help me forget about everything else for a time.
The meeting was a little more awkward than the last one. I knew that it was going to be different after the kiss, but there was something definitely off about her. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but when I asked her what was going on, she stiffened right up, shaking her head that she was fine. I didn’t know what to say or do. I felt deflated when it was time for me to go. Had one kiss changed everything so drastically? Should I apologize for doing it? I didn’t want to, but I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to get a choice one way or the other.
“I’m sorry if my kiss made you feel uncomfortable, Camilla. That was not what I wanted, not at all.”
“Please, let’s not speak of this again.”
“I don’t want to pretend like it didn’t happen.”
“Well, you need to, Tyler. You’re my patient and I’m your doctor. That’s as far as it goes.”
“What about Zane?”
She stopped me and shook her head like I shouldn’t be saying anything. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but my attention was piqued.
“How about I walk you to the door?”
It was a strange request, but I didn’t really think about that as I told her that would be fine. For some reason, I was under the assumption that she wanted to appease me because I was upset that our kiss had meant nothing. It was only when I had said goodbye to her and was walking out of the building that I realized that she’d wanted to talk to me. I didn’t know why she didn’t feel safe talking in her office, but once I realized what was going on, it was too late.
I turned to walk back in, sure that she was giving me some kind of sign that I was too stupid to see. It wasn’t that there was anything that I could do, but maybe there was something that I wasn’t seeing. I wanted to think that it was a sign that she just wanted to keep the session separate from the talk of what came next with us.
I liked the sound of us. I was almost to the side of the building when I saw a shadow behind me. It was the man from before. Instead of saying anything, I moved to get some money out of my pocket. I was going to have to say something to Camilla about the man. He wasn’t going to be good for business, outside of her place begging her patients for money. But I just wanted him to go away so that I could listen to what the doctor was trying to tell me.
“Here, pal. This is all that I’ve got on me right now. It’s enough to get you a decent meal and a bed for the night.”
I finally looked up when the man didn’t take the money. He had a strange look in his pale blue eyes, and I knew then that he wasn’t there for money. I realized that the man wasn’t homeless, even though he was trying to look that way. His coat and shoes were of too fine of a quality for him to be what he was trying to project. Nothing about the man in front of me made any sense at all, and he was getting closer.
“Hey, buddy, that’s all I got.”
“I don’t want your money, Tyler.”
How did he know my name?
“Do I know you from somewhere?”
The man shook his head, and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. This was not a chance meeting. “What do you want?”
“How about that watch? It will buy me a few more nights in a hotel than that bill will.”
I looked to the watch that he was talking about. It was the one my father had given me after I’d made my first million. It had been a proud day. One of the only days that I thought the old man was actually happy that I was his son.
“I can’t do that. Why don’t you take the money and I’ll be on my way?”
He shook his head that it wasn’t going to happen like that. The sinking feeling was back in my mind and heart. I knew that something bad was about to happen.
“Who are you?”
He just smiled at me, and before I could put my hands up in defense, I saw the shiny reflection of something metallic in his hand. I knew what it was subconsciously, way before my mind was able to tell me what I was seeing. The man had a gun, and it was pointing at me.
“You messed with the wrong person, Tyler Hudson.”
As the gun went off, I felt an instant heat in my chest and waited for the pain to take over. The man’s eyes never showed an ounce of remorse, and before everything went black, I had to ask myself what it was over. I was a businessman, and I’d made my fair share of enemies through the years. This wasn’t a coincidence, but I had no idea who I’d messed with. I remember hoping that I would wake up and be able to find out. What if this was my last moment?