The Devastatingly Beautiful Series by M Dauphin

stalking towards the house. Before our guest is able to ring the doorbell, I open the door.
    “Father.” I nod and let him inside.
    He follows me to the living room and sits on the black rocking chair. I smile at the thought of him being a grandpa, but can’t bring a picture of what it would be like in my head.
    “Nate,” he begins.
    “Please, dad, call me Tatum.”
    “I see you are still using the name your mother wanted for you.”
    I stare at him. While I’m appreciative that he’s helping us out in this bizarre situation, I haven’t seen him in a while and I can’t shake the anger towards him. Anger for what he did to my life, and for how he treated me afterwards.
    “Yes, I am. Molly is more comfortable calling me Tatum and I like it. It stays.”
    My father smiles and nods in approval. He snaps his fingers and the man standing quietly at his back moves forward.
    “This is Ian. He is to stay with you at all times. Appointed to both you and Molly as protection detail. The things we have found about this gang are enough to fear for your life and the life of the woman you love. I need you to realize this.”
    “I get it, pop. They took her, you know. They cut her up, bruised her, beat her, and sent her back just to show me that they can.”
    “There will be no leaving this house without Ian. For either of you.” I could fight him on it, but I’ve never won any argument with him. Grinning, I realize this means we will be cooped up together for days. This could be fun after all. There are so many parts of her I still need to explore.
    “Fine, but tell me what you know. How are we going to finish this?”
    “Son, you have ears listening. Why don’t you invite her in and let’s get introductions out of the way.”
    He’s right, Molly’s standing in the doorway now, eyes wide and frozen in place.
    “Um… hi,” she whispers. Looking at me, she adds, “Is this your father? In my house?”
    She looks so weak standing there. I rush over and help her to the couch.
    “Sweetheart, you need to take it easy. You shouldn’t be walking around by yourself.”
    The look I get from her shuts me up immediately.
    “Hi, I’m Molly Ward.” She reaches out gently to shake my father’s hand.
    “Al Savage, nice to finally meet you, Ms. Ward.”
    “Molly, my father came here to help settle things with Brian and the gang involved in the kidnapping.”
    “Thank you for that, Mr. Savage. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy…uh… schedule to help us.” As she speaks, her eyes narrow. I can tell she isn’t happy with him being here. Who would be though? Al Savage is nothing short of the scariest man in the country. Hell, his flesh and blood are even scared of him.
    “It is my pleasure, Molly. It is okay that I call you that?” he asks. She nods and he continues. “Molly, before we go any further, I can tell you my son really cares about you. He is struggling with something at the moment, however. Something that is in his past and can’t be changed. Something that you need to know before going any further in his relationship with you. I will give you two the updates I have on the gang as soon as you are looked over by my personal doctor and you speak with Tatum.”
    With that, he walks out of the room. My father is a strong man and he also knows how to get right to the point. Blunt and controlling.
    Molly
    Well, at least it isn’t Brian and his men again. Al Savage, however, isn’t much better. I feel like I need to get out the fine china for such a powerful man. Everything he is saying is going way over my head at the moment, until he mentions a doctor and walks out of the room. I look at Tatum and he is staring at the door that his father just walked out of, rubbing his jaw.
    “What was he talking about, Tatum?”
    At this moment, the man I’m assuming is the doctor comes walking into the room, talking a hundred miles an hour. He checks me out, gives me a few stitches and medicine that will control