It Comes In Three's

Chapter 127

Alex’s POV

I fry up some bacon, being the first one to wake up this morning.

Yesterday was a lot to say the least…

I woke up early, determined to take Lottie’s mind off of what I had told her last night. I had never planned to reveal the truth about the murders, but I felt overwhelmed and broken for the first time in my life after everything that had happened.

I just had to protect Lottie and our unborn child, no matter the cost, but I knew I couldn’t keep this secret forever. Especially having dealt first hand with her own mother…

The witch is dead…

Today was the day I had decided to text my teams, telling them to go after their own targets. I also stated that I did not want anyone dead, but I wanted them left terrified and shaken up a bit.

I want to believe that when Tommys family find out what we have done, by taking out their three main allies, it will scare them off enough to quit trying to seek revenge.

If they stupidly choose to ignore our warning, and continue to pursue Lottie and my family, I will have them taken care of too… but until then, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

I just need to create a sense of normalcy after the chaos of yesterday.

As I cook, I can’t shake the images of what happened from my mind, but I push it aside for now, focusing on the task at hand.

I hear movement down the hall, indicating that Del and Jace are awake. Before five minutes or so pass and they both emerge with puffy eyes – mirroring my own state. There’s an unspoken tension in the air as we all try to process what happened, having never had to take things that far in a mission with three kills in the one day.

Despite the heaviness in our hearts, we put on a brave face for Lottie and Anna, knowing that we done the right thing.

Anna is the next to join us in the kitchen, her eyes curious as she looks at the three of us. “What happened yesterday, seriously? You all look awful!” She asks cautiously, grabbing some toast.

“We can’t tell you everything, Anna, but just know that we had to handle a dangerous situation.” Del replies, his voice firm.

“We did what we had to do to protect Lottie and the baby, people wanted her dead.” Jace adds, his eyes still haunted and full of exhaustion.

Anna’s mouth falls at the statement, choosing not to push us for more just yet, as she senses that there are things we don’t have the energy to reveal, at least not today. Lottie will no doubt fill Anna in on what I had told her, and perhaps that’s what she needs to get things off her chest.

The four of us eat breakfast together in silence, each lost in our own thoughts.

Finally, Lottie comes downstairs, looking exhausted and wary. Her eyes meet mine, and I can see the mixture of emotions swirling within her. I don’t want her to hate me or to ever fear me for what I have done…

I know she’s struggling to process everything, and I hate that I had to burden her with this truth. After all, her mother had to die at my hands last night, so of course she would be shaken up.

To my surprise though, Lottie moves around the counter, taking a seat beside me at the island offering me a soft smile as she grabs a plate.

“Lottie, I was thinking we could go shopping today. You know, for baby stuff,” I suggest with a shrug, trying to lift her spirits, hoping that my tactic would work.

Her eyes brighten slightly at the idea, finding a glimmer of hope in the thought of preparing for our child’s arrival. “Yeah, sure, that sounds good.” She replies softly, her voice sounding dry and croaky.

The tension in the room eases slightly as we all try to focus on something positive and make small talk. Jace and Del were planning on heading down to the gym to see how things were looking there, and Anna had a day planned with Kev who was picking her up shortly.

Just what I needed… a day alone with Lottie doing something normal!

We finish breakfast, and I go upstairs with Lottie to get ready. I know she needs time to process everything, and shopping might be a welcomed distraction for her. So far, she doesn’t seem to be pushing me out which I am thankful for, however, I know that deep down she is most likely hurting that things had to result in death like they did.

We both shower, change, and grab what we need before heading out to the car – finding Anna, Del and Jace to now be gone already as we make it downstairs.

We climb into my car, a heavy silence still among us, as I sigh gently and drive towards the mall.

“I don’t want you to hate me, doll…” I mumble, the sentence leaving my lips before I can process my own words.

Lottie turns in the seat, eyeing me slightly, seeming deep in thought. “I could never hate you Alex. After everything you’ve done? All to protect me? Im not an idiot. I know that my mother was always dangerous and would have stopped at nothing to see me dead. She had to go… but of course I still feel a bit sad about it.” Lottie’s words shock me, as her tone remains steady when she speaks.

*Im just sad that you had to put yourself through all of that trouble for me too. I don’t want anything to happen to you now, because you don’t deserve to go to prison.” She continues, her eyes shifting to look down.

She’s more worried about me getting caught than she is over the actual deaths… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but she actually gets it…

“I can’t get caught, doll. We’ve covered our backs in more ways than one. Please don’t worry your pretty little head about that.” I confirm, holding conviction in my tone as I don’t want her to stress over my actions.

She’s terrified about being left on her own… that’s what this is…

“I’ll never leave you.” I state with conviction. Lottie nods slowly, inhaling a long deep breath, as we pull into the mall parking storey.

We climb out of the car, walking towards the mall entrance, finding it to be quieter than normal – perfect.

“Where to first, doll?” I ask her, wrapping her small hand in my large one as she studies our surroundings in thought for a brief moment.

“Let’s try this place first!” Lottie begins to pull me in the direction of the first little baby boutique she sees, causing me to smile at her growing excitement.

Lottie seems to perk up a bit, her eyes lighting up as she looks at baby clothes and toys. I can tell that she’s still processing what I told her, but for now, she’s trying to find joy in the little things.

“Alex we don’t even know the gender yet! Do I just buy everything in neutral colours for now?!” Lottie turns to me, holding up a cute little outfit in white.

“Whatever you want to do, doll. When can you find out the gender anyhow?” I question, as we walk around the store and pick out cute little comforters and shoes.

“Uhh, I think around fourteen weeks? I’m only about five weeks in I think… I have a doctors appointment this week just to check me over with it all if you want to come?” Lottie explains, as I nod at the information instantly.

“Of course I do, I’ll be at every single one.” I state firmly, causing her to giggle – a sound I had missed hearing.

We pick out a few more items for the baby from this store, and I make sure to keep her close, holding her hand as we walk. I want to protect her and our unborn child with everything I have, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them both safe for the rest of my life.

“We will have to clear out one of the spare bedrooms and make it a baby room too Alex!” Lottie exclaims, her eyes widening at the exciting suggestion.

I smile at her, knowing she will make the perfect mother already…

“Of course, what room do you want to use? There’s still a large space at the back of the garden for another building beside the man hut too… we could build a play room out there?” I throw out the suggestion, as Lottie halts in her steps and almost squeals at the idea.

“Really?!” She jumps slightly, as I chuckle and nod. It’s not like we don’t have the space for it out there…

As the day goes on, I notice that Lottie’s mood starts to shift, and she seems more at ease. I know that this is just the beginning of a long road ahead, but I’m determined to face it together with her.

We shop some more, even looking at prams, as Lottie admires a beige coloured pram with gold and black details. “Alex I love this one so much…” She breathes, noting the travel set that comes with it in the same aesthetic.

“Get this one then? It will work for a boy or a girl.” I suggest, as she turns to view the price tag – her eyes growing wide.

I’m insulted…

“Excuse me! Can we purchase this full set!” I call out to a staff member, an older woman who looks shocked when spotting us both.

For one, she’s probably doubting that we could even afford it, and for two, she probably thinks that we are too young to have a baby…

She can get fucked!

“Uhh yes certainly! The whole set? I’m afraid this limited edition piece only comes as the set; you can’t purchase the items separately.” The woman clears her throat, as Lottie remains silent from beside me.

“Yes we want the full thing and can we have it delivered to our home address too.” I comment, as she looks taken aback for a moment before she nods frantically and gestures for us to follow her towards the till.

I pull out my card, as the woman adds it up on the till and places it as a home order… she asks for our address, as I recite the neighbourhood – again earning a shocked expression.

“Are you thee uh… home owner?” The woman asks, as I nod, earning another shocked expression.

She’s just being damn right nosey now…

“Ok sir… well that’s no problem at all… I’ve placed the order and the whole set will be delivered tomorrow for you both. Your total is $1,862.” The woman stumbles over her words, turning the card machine as I put my card in and pay with ease.

She looks startled, having not expected for us, so young, to afford such items for our unborn child which is what made the whole purchase all the more

sweet.

Lottie eyes me, as we take our receipt and exit the store together – having now purchased one of the main things for the baby already.

“You couldn’t help yourself could you?” Lottie sniggers slightly, as I smirk in confirmation.

We decide to make a last stop to purchase some baby dunk sneakers, in a few different colours, before feeling accomplished for the day.

We head back to the car, piling our bags into the trunk, before climbing inside.

As we start driving, an incoming call rings through the car, showing Rosalind’s name – causing me to tense up knowing what this must be about…

“Answer it Alex?” Lottie states, wondering why I seemed so hesitant.

The whole plan now was to be more open with Lottie… hiding this won’t do anybody any good…

With that, I click the green button on my wheel, pulling out from the car park as I speak- “Rosalind, what’s up?” I question expectantly.

“Alex we have her, we have Sofia! Where will we bring her?” Rosalind states, wasting no time, as Lottie’s face contorts at the news.

She’s probably wondering why I wanted to see Sofia, after everything that happened… she doesn’t know yet that Sofia was actually the individual who had chased her down the street that day….

“My office, I’ll head there now and wait for you.” I instruct her, knowing that Lottie was ready to explode from beside me any minute now.

This seriously isn’t what she thinks…

‘Perfect see you soon!” Rosalind states, before I thank her and we end the call.

‘ALEX ARE YOU JOKING ME?!” Lottie fumes, yelling out loudly as I cringe at her tone.

“Lottie, let me explain first! It’s not what you think!” I rush, as she shakes her head and scoffs.

“Not what I think?! Why the hell do you even want this girl back at your office after what happened?! Did you plan on even telling me about this?!” Lottie continues to raise her voice as I drive, losing her temper.

I better explain myself here… and fast!

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EJ Kincaid

the firecracker has come out

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