Ch. 10 - The Baker

For the first time in Thomas' company, Alexis felt fear as he glared at her with his steel grey eyes.

Should I not have said that? she wondered, instantly regretting her lax in safeguarding that one secret she still kept.

"Well?" he asked when she didn't answer.

"Nothing. I don't know," she answered sporadically.

Thomas' gaze was interrupted momentarily as he looked back to the road. Silently, he stared ahead seemingly watching the street, but there was the motion of thought apparent in the way his eyes darted in different directions; a movement not necessary on such an empty road.

After a few moments, he pulled the car over and stopped the engine, taking a deep breath before turning back to Alexis.

"You're not in any trouble," he said, his voice soft despite the rage that was evident in his eyes. "I just want to know why you would say that."

"I guessed," she lied.

"No, you didn't." His answer was straightforward as always, and Alexis could tell, from the way he always read her, that he already knew exactly what she had meant. "Is that why you used to hide? Were you hiding from someone in particular?"

"No," she continued on her pretence, regardless. "I just liked hiding."

"Alexis," he said, his hand quickly reaching for her chin, gently lifting it so their eyes met. "You trust me, right?"

She nodded, the unspoken trust between them stronger than words.

"Then I want you to answer me … truthfully. Can you do that?"

Alexis hesitated, biting her lip. "Not if you're going to ask about ... that," she mumbled.

Thomas sighed, cursing softly under his breath and turned away, resting his head against the seat - the frustration evident in his expression.

"Women usually like doing that because they like the man, and they've agreed to let him do it, you understand?"

Alexis stayed silent, puzzled by why a woman would agree to something like.

"But no man should ever do something like that without the woman's agreement, but you're not even a woman," he continued with a shiver in his breath as he held back his anger. "It shouldn't have been allowed to happen at all."

It wasn't a direct accusation, but his words cut deeper than intended, and Alexis, feeling a shame se couldn't understand, whispered, "Will I still be the Blackthorn Princess?"

"Huh?" Thomas turned to look at her. "Of course. Nothing can stop you from being our princess. You didn't do anything wrong."

He reached for her face, wiping away a tear she hadn't noticed. "I just want to make things right," he said. "Can you tell me who did it?"

Alexis hesitated, torn between saying the name and shaking her head.

"Close your eyes," Thomas calmly suggested.

Alexis obeyed.

"Now take a deep breath, and just say the name. It'll be over quickly."

Will it though? She wondered, but under Thomas' soothing instruction, she complied and took a deep breath before uttering. "The baker."

"The baker?"

"The bakery in Primrose Avenue," she continued before reopening her eyes.

Thomas offered a soft smile. "That wasn't hard, was it? Do you want to tell me what happened?"

It wasn't difficult at all, she agreed, and she supposed since it was already known and she had revealed the man's identity, telling Thomas the rest wouldn't make much of a difference.

"He caught me stealing from his shop one day, but he promised not to tell the police. Instead, he offered me more food, buns, and things like that," she confessed. "I'd go to him at night to collect them, and he would ... do things."

Thomas didn't react. His face was still as he watched her, waiting patiently for her to share without pushing.

"One night he told me he was going to make me a cake, he said I had to do something first, and …" Alexis paused and clenched her teeth before pulling her head out of Thomas' grip and turning away from him. "I don't want to say what he did," she whispered.

"It's okay," Thomas reassured her. "You don't need to say anymore."

That was right, she thought at his response and a second tear fell from her eye before she dropped her head into her arm, nestling he face in te crook of her elbow.

Thomas' reaction was just as she had imagined it would be, a small word of comfort and then silence. Alexis lifted her head to peek over at him, and found him once again caught deep in thought.

"I didn't want him to do it," she rushed in her defence before the moment was lost. "But he was big, and heavy, and I couldn't stop him."

Hmm, Thomas let out and a small smirk crossed his face as he turned back in his seat and restarted the car.

Alexis leaned back in her seat, comforted by the low hum of the car as she wondered what the next move would be. Would Thomas tell Vincent? Would Vincent try to get answers from her? And more importantly, what was that smirk that Thomas had made before he started the car?

It wasn't a smirk filled with humour like the playful type that Geoffrey and the others gave, rather it had a sinister edge to it. An edge that only intrigued Alexis who turned slightly to watch him after he put the car radio on to play a low soulful tune.

Thomas held an empty but calm expression as he drove, pulling his leather gloves from his pocket and putting one on each hand while still controlling the car. Next, he took a phone from the glove compartment and typed a short message after it started up.

Why he had a second phone in his glove compartment Alexis wasn't sure, but there were still things she was learning about the men despite their close-knit living over the last two years.

He waited a short time for a response and after reading the message he turned the phone back off and put it back into the glove compartment.

He was almost back to his usual demeanour except for something that Alexis couldn't quite put her finger on. Maybe it was his overly blank eyes that seemed focused on the road ahead, yet distant at the same time, as if in his own world.

Is he still thinking about what I told him? she wondered, turning to watch the scenery as it slowly passed by.

"You never answered me," Alexis said if only to stir some kind of interaction.

"About?"

"If you do that with women too."

Thomas glanced over from under his furrowed eyebrows, it was his usual frown but softened somehow.

"It's not really something I'd like to talk about with you," he finally said.

"I told you something I didn't want to talk about," she rebutted.

He gave a second glance, this time from the corner of his eye as a small smile appeared on his lips. "Very well. No, it's not something I do."

"Why not?"

"Quite simply because I find all that laughing and talking soft, sweet things tiresome, and most women prefer that."

"That's why Geoffrey and Ren get so many women," Alexis commented, recalling their manner when they're with a woman. "Geoffrey likes laughing and talking sweet things."

"He does."

"You're more sullen and moody," she suggested.

"I'd prefer serious to moody, thank you, Alexis."

"Sullen and serious," she corrected herself.

"Right," he said with the hint of a laugh. "And most women don't tolerate sullen and serious when they're out for a fun night."

"Hmm," she agreed, remembering the fake laughs and smiles of the women who would hang from Geoffrey's arm. "Well, I would tolerate you," she said.

"Really? I thought you were somewhat in love with Geoffrey."

"In love with?" she'd never thought of it in that way before. "Well, I do love him. And Ren, and Ben, and Jeremy. I love all of you. I suppose I love Geoffrey the most, well, aside from Vincent. I love him the most most." Alexis gave a satisfied smile at the end of her explanation.

Thomas looked over quickly, his frown deepened once again. "Not romantically, I hope."

A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I don't understand the difference in all the terms you're using. Isn't love just love? You love someone or you hate them. I hate most people except for you guys."

Thomas nodded. "I like how you think. It's much simpler like that," he said before turning his attention back to the road.

Contemplating Thomas' comment about love, Alexis turned to look out of the window. Did she love Geoffrey in a way other than how she thought? She did enjoy being with him the most, but then what did that mean about how she loved Vincent? For him, she would do anything, or be anything.

Anything except that anyway.

If that was romance she didn't want any part of romance. A subtle ache settled in her chest as the complexities of emotions weighed on her.

"Aren't we going home?" she asked, noticing they were on the opposite side of town from where they lived.

"There's something I need to do," he said curtly.

It wasn't unusual for Thomas to speak in such a way, even after the small conversation they'd just had, but there was a strange feeling that only seemed to grow as the streets became more and more familiar.

They were the same streets she had lived on not too long ago - the same streets that those two men had grabbed her from, and, after turning one last corner, they were on the same street as the bakery that she used to visit.

"Why are we here? What are you going to do?" Alexis panicked, pulling her seatbelt free.

Thomas immediately reached out with one arm and pinned her back into her seat and a shiver of unease ran up her spine as the realisation that they weren't going home hit.

"Do you remember what I always tell you when we go shooting together?" he asked as she wriggled under his grip.

"What?" she asked, her focus on the street rather than his question.

"What do I tell you?"

"Er …" What does that even have to do with anything? she wondered, though her mind couldn't help but search for an answer to his question. "To be shooting partners we need to have complete faith in each other," she rushed.

"And do you?"

"What? Do I what?" she said, her voice reaching a crescendo as the bakery came into sight.

"Do you have complete faith in me?"

Alexis composed herself, both inside and out, and turned to face Thomas. Of course, I do, she thought before nodding slowly.

"I will never let anybody hurt you, do you understand?"

Alexis nodded again.

Thomas pulled over and silently watched the bakery. The main light was out, but lightning was visible from the back of the shop.

"Does he usually close up with someone or is he alone?" he asked.

"He's usually alone."

"And is there a second entrance?"

Alexis nodded and pointed to the alley that ran along the side of the shop.

"So, here's what you'll do. Go up and ring the bell and when he answers, ask if you can go in."

What? She thought as a shudder ran through her. "I don't want to go in there."

"Don't worry, he won't …"

"Please ..." she interrupted. "I don't want to go in there."

Thomas gently clasped her chin in his hand. "Remember what I told you. You don't have to worry about anything. I'll be right behind you." Thomas waited for Alexis' acceptance and then leaned over her and pulled the door handle.

Alexis' heart beat rapidly, heavily and out of any usual rhythm as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

Blackthorn men aren't scared of anything, she told herself, and took a glance back at Thomas who was now also out of the car and leaning on the wall nearby watching her.

Alexis took a step forward, her legs feeling heavier with each movement as the night air seemed to close in around her, carrying an ominous stillness that echoed her internal turmoil.

As Alexis neared the door, she could almost feel the air of Thomas' presence behind her, a reassuring anchor in the sea of her fear, and then she stood before it – a poorly kept door, its blue-chipped paint a feeble attempt to conceal the secrets that lurked beyond.

Summoning every ounce of courage, she raised her hand, and with a hesitant breath knocked.

The sound echoed in the silence, sending shivers down her spine, and the seconds that followed felt like an eternity, the anticipation hanging thick in the air.

Then it opened.