CHAPTER 4
1028 Words
The café got very tensed with a man in his dark suit towering over their table. His features beaded with a grim expression and an icy tone; it gave shivers down Lily's spine. Alex never stood up, but his calm demeanor masked whatever he felt.
"Kingston," the man repeated, his voice cold. "We need to talk. Now."
Alex didn't back off from the man's glare. "Mr. Carrington," he said calmly, "this isn't the place for such discussions."
There was something about the name that seemed to stir something because suddenly James subtly straightened up in his chair. Lily caught the movement and exchanged a curious glance with Grace, who looked equally puzzled. They'd never seen Alex ruffled like this.
Mr. Carrington reacted in no such way, glancing at the other members of the café clientele for a moment before returning to rivet his gaze on Alex's again. "This can't wait" he belted, eyes projecting for the briefest moment onto Lily, Grace, and James before blinking back onto Alex's, his own almost with a predatory light within them "You do something wrong; you better face up to it."
Alex's face darkened as he stood, gliding fluidly between Lily and Carrington. "Fine," Alex muttered. "Let's step outside, then."
When Alex passed through with Carrington, Grace bent sideways and moved closer, her lips dangerously close to Lily's ear, whispering frantically about some guy and how that was bad trouble.
Lily just shivered, puzzled and concerned. "I don't know, but Alex doesn't seem that happy seeing him." Her eyes clung to the glass doors of the café while the two men went out, their silhouettes barely showing through the reflection.
James' face scrunched as he frowned. "Carrington. I've heard the name before. He got mixed up in some dirty business deals; rumours are he is ruthless. This doesn't look good."
Grace sighed and looked at Lily, concerned. "Well, should we go after them? I mean, Alex looked like he could have done with some support."
Lily bit her lip. One part of her screaming voice told her she needed to keep her hands clean of whatever business was cooking here, another part of her felt engaged with him, as he was emotionally attached to Alex and wanted to lend out a hand. "Maybe we should give them a minute. But let's not stay too far."
The winds outside strengthened, and pieces of the heated exchange between Alex and Carrington could be pieced together if one tried hard enough to listen. Lily, Grace, and James inched closer to the door to hear more clearly.
"You've finally gone too far, Kingston," Carrington's voice cut out from the drone of noise. "You really do think you can waltz into my territory and f**k everything up?"
Alex had kept his voice low, controlled. "Cross your border? I'm not playing games, Carrington. The only lines being crossed are the ones in your own sick, twisted delusions."
Lily's heart quickened. Tension ran through the air, sheared the next confrontation up another notch. She turned nervously to Grace and James, who looked every bit as taut.
Carrington sneered, and quickened his strides to keep coming closer to Alex as he dropped his voice to a level that left absolutely no doubt as to the threat just made. "You are making a grave mistake, Kingston. You and anyone close to you shall regret this.".
A cold shiver ran down Lily's spine at the implications behind his words. As she turned to step outside, Alex turned and walked back toward them, his face barely held in a mask of anger. Carrington just stayed outside, glaring after him before turning and walking away.
Alex re-entered the café on long strides, his face prominent. Stopping in front of Lily, Grace, and James, he inhaled deeply. "Sorry about that," he said, his voice tight. "Carrington is.. complicated."
Grace raised an eyebrow. "Complicated? He seemed more like a bully to me."
James nodded in agreement. "What's his deal? He sounded pretty serious."
Alex hesitated, his gaze flicking her way, toward Lily. "Carrington and I have… history," he admitted. "Suffice it to say, our business interests don't always align. He's not a man to trifle with."
Lily felt her concern deepen. She could see in his eyes that some weight of words from whatever conflict he was embroiled in was bringing some tension up. "Is this about the messages I've been getting?" she asked softly, closing the distance between them.
Alex met her gaze, his expression softening just a little. "That's not out of the question," he admitted, "considering Carrington never had qualms about using underhanded measures to achieve his goals. But I promise you, Lily, I'll do everything in my power to see that you're protected."
She was touched by the sincerity in his voice. Despite the chaos surrounding them, she felt this weird sense of trust in Alex. From there on, instead of things getting any better, they only seemed to escalate, the shadow of danger larger than ever.
The call to disturb the discussion came just then on Alex's phone. He looked at the screen for a second and it seemed like further discussion had rendered him slightly pale. "I need to take this," he said and moved away to answer.
They exchanged another glance, as though the morning was disconcerting all three of them. Grace reached out and laid a hand on Lily's arm, giving it an encouraging squeeze. "We'll figure this out. Whatever's going on, you're not alone."
James nodded. "Yeah, and if Carrington or anyone else thinks they can bully you, they've got another thing coming."
She smiled her thank you at her friends, but her mind raced, things were about to get a lot more complicated, was her feeling, so she waited while Alex spoke softly into his phone.
Immediately after ending the call, he swung around and faced them with a very serious expression. "We have to go," he announced with a voice absolutely filled with matter-of-fact urgency. "Now." His gaze then switched to Lily's, which showed obvious concern but also determination. "It's not safe here. I'll ex
plain everything, but we really have to go. Trust me."
- Writer
