For Life

16. His world

Rose Clark POV

I had the best morning.

Ever since I woke up, I have been showered with flowers all throughout the morning from Austin.

It's now 3 PM and since waking up, I have been given way too many 'gifts' and something tells me that it just doesn't stop at flowers.

Max and I have decided to place them throughout the house so they don't go to waste and they aren't all in one place, I know Austin wouldn't mind if I moved a few things around either, Max is having so much fun doing this that it's hard to tell him no, so that's what we've been doing all morning.

We are now sitting and talking as we snack on some fruit.

"Will you marry Awstin, Rose?" Max asks, innocently looking up to me as he bites into an apple.

The question surprises me slightly, I have no idea what to say to that.

Will I? It's complicated for sure, Austin is... well, he's a dangerous man, he's older and probably has no thoughts of settling down or having a family, it's too dangerous, right?

"I don't know." I say honestly, trying my best to smile at his now frowning face.

"Please! Awstin is cool and he lets me play with his toys!" He says, grabbing my hand with big hopeful eyes.

Wait-

"What toys?" I ask.

Max stands up and grabs hold of my hand and drags me towards the stairs, apple still in hand. He leads me to Austin's office that sometimes he disappears into to take phone calls away from Max and me, as Max opens the door he runs across the room to Austin's table and then opens a drawer in the desk.

He picks up a box and places it on the table then opens it, I move forward to see what he is talking about.

"Look! A-Aren't they cool?" He says excitably as he picks one up.

I have no idea what to say.

Why would Austin have something like this in a box?

"Max, why did Austin show you these?" I point to the box of old toys, pictures, and albums in the box.

Their pictures of people I've never seen before, but the young boy in most of these photos are a  passing resemblance to Austin, in one photo he is standing next to a man who looks like Austin now, but slightly older and with a beard.

Max shrugs and picks up an old coloring book from inside the box and grabs some crayons. "I was bored and h-he said I could play if I promise to not break anything."

I see... still... how am I just hearing about this?

A sudden noise from the doorbell makes me jump and it makes Max look up to me confused, as he should be.

Nobody ever rings the doorbell, Austin has men around the property that handle visitors, they even delivered the flowers that he had sent, nobody but his men and Austin and are allowed to enter the house.

"Stay here okay, Max? I'll go answer it." I say to Max and he nods his head, continuing to draw in the coloring book.

I walk outside of the office and close the door behind me then make my way towards the stairs, as I make my way down the stairs I can see the shadows of two people behind the front door, clearly women by their long hair and height.

I don't know why but I have a bad feeling.

Walking towards the front door I slowly open it and that's when I see the two women turn and look at me with a smile, that sends a shiver down my back.

"Hello." One woman says, her french accent very thick.

The other woman clears her throat. "I'm sorry to come unannounced, Austin sent us to pick you and the boy up." 

What? Austin never mentioned any of this and for some reason, I don't believe them. "Um, can I just call Austin first?" I shift back slowly and put my hand into my back pocket for my phone.

I glance behind them and see a body on the floor near the gate, when my eyes shift from the body to the woman in front of me, I can tell instantly they knew that I had seen the body.

The woman grabs my hand and shoves me into the house while the other shuts the door behind her. "I wanted to do this quietly, but those brutes were certainly asking for it, weren't they sister?" The woman asks the other.

Sighing, the other woman goes into her jacket and whips out a gun, and points it to my head. "Shut up Daisy, go get the boy." She snaps at the woman called Daisy, who nods then heads upstairs, gun in hand.

What? NO! "P-Please, what do you want?" I rush out, panicky as I keep my focus on Daisy disappearing up the stairs.

The other woman laughs. "Your boyfriend to suffer of course, he has to pay for what he did." There's a pause. "I figure you know who he is, yes?" 

I nod my head slowly and she presses the gun to my head. "This is just business sweetheart."

"Who are you?" I ask, glaring up at the now smirking woman with a gun pointed towards my head.

She hums as I hear screaming coming from upstairs, Max's voice echoes as he screams 'NO!'

"MAX!" I call out, tears falling from my eyes onto my cheeks.

"He's fine." 

I glare up at her and she smiles. "I'm Angel." She presses the gun roughly into my temple. "I'm Austin's... well, we used to be friends, but now? Now I'm his worst fucking nightmare." 

In a split second of my eyes focusing on Max then on Angel, I only see her raise her hand a slight moment before she whacks the gun straight across my head, the screaming voice of Max makes my head pound as I feel something cold run down my face, my vision turns blurry and then black.

I hear nothing and see nothing, I can't hold on anymore as the sounds around me block out and I'm out cold.

Austin, where are you?