Page 94 of Darkness

“To take you home, to show you what I've built for us-”

“Built for us. There was never an us.” I try to tell him, but I take a step back when I see his body tense up, I’ve seen that look in his eyes before.

“There's always an us, Autumn, always. So, I think we've played this game long enough. I've let you have your space because you ran away.” I have to laugh at how crazy he is.

“I ran away because you became obsessed-”

“No!” Rowan shouts, and I see Mason move in the corner of my eye. “Let's put the past behind us.” He takes a step closer to me and I take one back, Mason takes one closer to me. “Oh, look at that, your bodyguard. Could your boyfriend not come to protect you?” I hear a little chuckle come from Mason.

“Unlike you, he has a business, and he needs to work.” Mason answers.

“So he's not scared that I'll just take Autumn?”

“You have to get through me to touch her,” Mason snaps.

“Oh, pretty boy, I think I could break you.” Now Mason does laugh.

“Come on then.” Rowan laughs at Mason’s reply.

“I promised Mr. Yang I wouldn’t touch her, I just wanted to see her.” He takes one step closer, and I move to the side, a little closer to Mason. I'm half behind his body and half so I can see. “All I wanted to do was give you this.” He hands me a box, but I don't take it, Mason does. “I'll see you in about two weeks and tell Mr. Cain, Yang's been teaching me how to fight.” With that, he leaves the shop.

“Mind games, Cain says it's mind games. And he's also told me to tell you to shut the shop and get to my house.” Mason walks around the back of the counter, and starts turning things off, while on the cell to Cain.

“Your house?” I question, shouldn’t I be going to the apartment?

“Yeah. Cain and Lincoln have been talking, and I think he’s come up with a decision on what he's doing.” Mason won’t even look at me while he’s talking, so it doesn't help me feel any calmer.

“Why do you not sound very confident with that?” I ask him.

“When it comes to Cain and The Pit, no one's ever confident on what's going to happen and the way he's talking about Yang, fuck knows what's going to happen Autumn, only Cain knows what he's decided to do.” Mason looks at Katy staring at us, she doesn’t know about The Pit, but knows a family is after him and she knows about Rowan. I don’t think she needs to know any more than that.

Why does that not give me any peace? Why has that just made me shake in fear that something bad is going to happen, because no one is confident. Cain himself isn’t confident because he knows what Yang can do.

All I want is someone to just give me that reassurance that all this is going to end, but not one person is saying it.

Thirty-Three

Autumn-Rose

Pacing the kitchen,I listen to David and the boys talking about what they think Cain is going to do. It’s not helping me relax, because the things they’re coming up with are nothing but dangerous, but I have a feeling Cain will say one of these things.

Oh God, this is not going to be good. There is something in the air, a warning, but one thing I’ve picked up whilst listening to everyone talking. If Cain is going to do something, he’s going to do it.

I look over at the door when I hear Cain and Lincoln talking, and it doesn’t relax me when Lincoln is shaking his head at whatever Cain has said to him.

Cain walks over to me, and places a small kiss on my lips. His touch relaxes me for a moment, but then my body tenses up as I feel Cain’s back straighten. I watch him for a moment hoping to get a read on him, but nothing. The man has the best poker face I think I’ve ever seen, David hands him a glass filled with whiskey, and Cain being Cain downs it in one go. This is not going to be a good conversation.

“The fight is in less than two weeks, Autumn will come down, everyone down there will be in the cages, and the metal doors will be down so no one can see any of you there.” Cain stops when the boys whisper things between them, saying The Pit is more messed up than they thought, or how this is not going to be good.

Cain doesn’t talk again for a moment, and walks over to the bar to fill his whiskey glass, and I look over at Lincoln, but he avoids eye contact with me.

“Cain?” David is the first one to question him.

“Tomorrow night, I’m going back to The Pit, and not coming back out-”

“What?”

“Are you crazy?”

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