Page 60 of Mitch

“Yeah well, the kid obviously has about as much self-preservation as her mother.”

“No, kids are like animals, they can sense things. Maggie knows you won’t hurt her.”

His face hardened. “Don’t push your luck, Autumn. You won’t change my mind, and emotional blackmail won’t work on me.”

Autumn said no more; she had a feeling it was in the lap of the gods now. She just wished there was a way to contact Mitch. She knew he’d be going out of his mind with worry. The last kiss they’d shared came into her mind later that night as she lay in bed. It had been sweet and sensual and full of all the things she wished she’d said to him.

Mitch Quinn had changed her life, shown her what a true partnership looked like and she’d fallen in love with him. It hadn’t been her choice to fall in love but a beautiful shock from the blue, and it was something she’d cherish no matter what happened in the next few days.

Her only wish was that Maggie stayed safe, that her baby lived a long, healthy life. It wasn’t giving up, she’d fight with everything she had, but the rest was up to the fates and the men of Eidolon.

Knocking on the door, she waited for Allen to open it.

“What do you want?”

He’d said little to her since the conversation in the tunnel, and she was okay with that, what more was there left to say?

“Can I have a piece of paper and a pen, please?”

“Why?”

“I want to leave a note for Mitch in case I don’t make it out of this alive.”

Allen watched her for a long moment, his face a mask she couldn’t read. Then he closed the door in her face. Sighing, Autumn sat on the bed, her back going straight when he opened the door again and shoved a pen and notepad at her.

“Thank you.” She smiled at him with hesitance.

Allen nodded and stepped back, closing the door with finality.

Autumn began to write, not knowing how to start such a letter but knowing she had to at least try and express in words how she felt. It was one of the things that had hurt most when Terrell died, not being able to express her feelings.

The following morning when the door to her jail opened, she handed Allen the letter.

“If this goes wrong, make sure Mitch gets this letter please.”

He eyed it before nodding and placing it on his kitchen table.

Today was the day, she felt it in her bones. By the time the sun went down this would be over, she just prayed her smiley Roo would be safe.

* * *

“What’s he saying?”Mitch nodded to Anton, who was sat in the middle of the room with a bag over his head.

Decker grinned, and it was the coldest thing Mitch had ever seen. “Oh, he’s very talkative, wants the world to know how clever he is, how great and totally contradicting the other two.”

“What about the other two?”

“They gave Allen up in a heartbeat. Told us how he killed Terrell, how he set up the deal with Henderson, where the silo entrance is on his property.”

“Nice.” Mitch crossed his arms, a sneer curling his lips. He might hate Allen but that these men would give him up so easily made him uneasy.

“Oh yeah, they’re real treasures,” Deck said with a mocking grin that didn’t reach his eyes.

“What’s Anton saying?” Mitch and Deck kept their voices low, so the man who was tied up didn’t hear.

“He reckons he killed Terrell, that he masterminded the deal with Henderson. He says Allen has lost his nerve, that he didn’t want to get involved.”

“What do you think?” Mitch valued Decker’s opinion; he was the smartest mind he knew and could read people better than anyone.