Page 30 of Protecting Tiffani

“Wait, that’s where…”

“Yeah, Tiffani works. We have never done business with Sandra so it didn’t sit right with me. Why would they be charging us three-hundred dollars a month then six? Like the rest of us, I’d heard the rumors around town about Tiffani and why she got kicked out. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions so I called Uncle Sonny. I sent him all the information I had and asked him to look into it for me.”

I’m no longer exhausted like I was a minute ago; nope, pissed off Levi is back. “You thought what? Tiffani somehow got a hold of Dad’s banking details and started to steal from him? I know you dropped out of school, but are you that fucking stupid Adam? How could she manage that?”

“I never fucking said anything like that you asshole…”

“Both of you boys shut up now,” Mom screams, banging her fist on the table like I did earlier. Everyone's attention turns to her but no one says one word. “Now if you would stop throwing out accusations, I can explain everything. All you had to do, Adam, was ask me. I didn’t know the price had gone up, but I know what the money is going toward.”

“What do you know?” Uncle Sonny pins her with a disbelieving stare.

“Your dad never did anything without asking me. I guess it’s my turn to tell my secrets.” She turns to look at me. “You had been gone almost three months when your dad came home one day after work. He told me when he went to lunch, he ran into Tiffani. She was upset, crying, and looking lost. So he offered to buy her lunch.” A smile forms on her face. “Like your dad always did, he got her to open up to him about what was bothering her. He found out her parents had kicked her out, and she had nowhere to go. He took her to Sandra’s, got her a job, paid her first three months’ rent, and gave her a little cash to get by on. He went and saw her every Monday up until the Monday he passed away. They would have a cup of coffee together and catch up. A year ago, Sandra signed everything to her no-good-count son, Brad. He called your dad because he knew about their weekly visits. Said Tiffani was a month behind on rent and was going to get evicted. Dad, of course, couldn’t let that happen, so he started paying her rent.”

“Wait, Mom, are you sure?” Parker asks. Him and Emilee exchange a confused look.

“I’m positive, Parker. Why?”

“The night Levi called us drunk we came down and went to Tiffani’s place. She broke down telling us how she had been struggling to pay all the bills for almost a year. She had no food in her fridge, no hot water because she couldn’t pay the gas bill. We offered to give her money to catch up on the bills but she refused, saying she had been doing it alone and didn’t want to change that. Why would she say she was struggling with money if Dad was paying rent for her the whole time?” My throat’s dry, and my head’s spinning. I grab a glass from the table and drain the water in one gulp. Were the rumors true about her doing drugs? How could she be struggling?

“That’s where everything gets fucked up,” Uncle Sonny says. “According to what we were able to find, Brad has been double dipping. He would take the money from Dad’s account and also from Tiffani. According to Tiffani’s bank records, she has been paying four-hundred dollars a month in rent until this month, when it went up to six-hundred. Plus up to three hundred dollars for the electric bill. Also he has been charging her almost two hundred dollars for the internet. He saw Dad and Tiffani as easy targets and sadly, no one was the wiser. Not only was he basically robbing her he has only been paying her eight dollars an hour and no more than thirty hours a week. But there’s more. Mom, I’ve known Sandra my whole life, but I never knew she had a son, did you?”

Mom briefly thinks about his question before answering, “Now that you mention it, no. I know she had kids living in a different state, but I think they were all girls.”

Adam’s holding the papers that were in the envelope and reading them. “You’re right. All she has are daughters. Brad isn’t any kin to her.”

I snatch the papers from him, but my eyes can’t settle on one word, so I push them back to him. “So Brad, what…”

“He was hired to run Sandra’s business after she was forced to sign it over to someone else,” Adam says, continuing to read the papers.

“Who?” My heart has been racing since Tiffani ran out of here, but now it’s eerily calm. It’s the only thing calm about me though. I’m begging Adam not to say his fucking name.

“Mr. Summers.” His eyes shoot to me. “Levi, he was hired to make Tiffani’s life a living hell and force her back to her parent’s house, according to these emails.” He flips through the stack of papers, his face goes pale when he gets to the bottom of the stack.

“What is it Adam?” My hands are shaking and Emilee reaches over placing one of hers over them.

“According to an email sent to Brad dated the week you came home for good… well look for yourself.” He pushes the papers toward me.

My eyes scan the papers, only stopping on horrible things.Do what you have to. Make sure she has no other choice. Nothing is off the table. I don’t care if things get violent. Teach her a lesson.Fuck this son of a bitch. I’m going to fucking kill him.

“Son, there’s more. When we hacked into his computer we found that Brad has cameras installed in Tiffani’s apartment Even in the bathroom, he has made a killing selling pictures and videos of her online. There were even photos that seemed to be taken while she was asleep. Seems like” Everyone screams when I push the table away from me. Thank god Adam stops it before it hurts someone, because all I care about is getting to her. My heart is trying to get out of my chest, pumping my veins full of adrenaline, as I storm out of the house. I throw open the front door so hard the handle sticks inside the wall. I’m fucking pissed, and there are only three people on my mind Brad, Mr. Summer, and my Cupcake.

Parker, Adam, and Uncle Sonny catch up to me, steering me towards Parker’s truck. He doesn’t waste any time and puts the gas pedal to the floor. No one says a word. My rage simmers, twisting and turning like a snake wrapping around my stomach, heart, and mind. My fist clenches and unclenches, itching to inflict some damage. “Go get Tiffani first so I know she’s safe with me. Then we find these motherfuckers and end them.” I say as we race past the town limit sign.

“Levi, we need…” Adam starts.

“We need to do nothing but what I just said. Adam, they hurt my girl. It ends now. What if it was Carly or Emilee?”

“I agree, but we need to make sure we don’t get in trouble. Mr. Summers has the cops in his palm, everyone knows this.” His words do nothing to curb my plan. All it does is make me want to end him first.

“That’s true, Adam, but I already forwarded all the information to my contacts at the FBI. They’ve been trying to catch Brad. He popped up on their radar a year ago when he started to sell his pictures and videos online. He’s smart, and they could never figure out who he was until we started to dig. They should be making it into town in thirty minutes. Levi, we do this my way, or you stay in the damn truck. You understand me?” Uncle Sonny turns around from the passenger seat.

“Fine, but I at least get to punch someone.” Parker turns the corner into the parking lot of the laundry mat. A Mustang is sitting in the owner’s spot. “Fuck, whose car is that?” I spit out, heading toward the door. No one has a chance to answer me as Tiffani’s scream for help comes from inside. Pushing past Parker, I throw open the door. Everything goes black when I see someone has their hands in my girl’s hair and, by the looks of it, is about to bash her head off the back door.

Tiffani yelling at us to tell her what is happening pulls me from the blackness. Looking down, Brad is out cold, blood pouring from his nose, mouth, and a cut above his eyebrow. His eyes are already swelling. Releasing my grip on his shirt, the front door opens, and the voice I hear next has me threatening to black out again.

“Hello, daughter.”

“Dad,” Tiffani whispers. Standing in the doorway is the next motherfucker on my list, and he just saved Parker some money on gas.

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