The Crystal Bracelet

Lilies for Lily

Chen Xave was left beaten in the alley behind the Soho Saloon. He made the grave mistake of going out alone. He was still angry over not being able to get near Lily that he went to drown his sorrows in liquor. Unfortunately that made him an easy target for Din's henchmen. They practically picked him up out of his seat and carried him through the back door of the pub. His feet never really touched the ground. One thing that was known about Din and his men was that they were all oversized fighters. Most of the men Din had hand picked from when he met them in martial arts training after college. They were fierce men. Some were ex-military yet all of them were just built for fighting. Din was not as large as his men but since he was in charge he didn't need to be as scary. He was the one with the money and the know how to run a business. The three men that Din sent to take care of Xave were all high level experienced fighters. They were able to beat Xave with just a few punches. None of them were out of breath it was such an easy job.

A passerby saw Xave lying face down on the ground and called for help. Xave was unconscious.

Lily walked down the stairs to her apartment and noticed that Fin wasn't around. She looked both directions for him. It surprised her that he wasn't there to escort her so she picked up her phone to call Din.

"Hey, did something happen to Fin?" Lily asked as soon as Din answered.

"I gave him some time off." Din said with a tired voice.

"Why?"

"You should be safe today." Din said.

Lily's heart pounded in her chest. She knew that Xave was probably clinging to life somewhere this morning. She hoped he was not badly wounded.

"oh." Was all she managed to say as she hung up the phone.

Gavin watched from across the street as Lily walked alone today. He didn't see the oversized man following her today. He too looked up and down the street as if something was amiss. Lily's face looked grim when she hung up the phone.

Gavin called his security team leader.

"Yes Boss." The voice on the other end of the phone answered.

"I need two men to watch Lily's every move until further notice."

"Yes Sir."

Both men hung up the phone.

Gavin watched as Lily walked onto the campus. He played with the crystal bracelet in his hand. He was going to find a way to put it on her wrist.

Chen Xave woke up in a hospital room with monitors beeping and an IV in his arm. His face hurt badly. He tried to look around but his eyes were so swollen he couldn't see more than a sliver. A doctor in a white coat was looking at his chart at the foot of his bed. The doctor noticed Xave's movement.

"Don't move too much." He advised.

"You've been beaten pretty severely. Its in your best interest to lie as still as possible and not speak."

Xave nodded his head slightly. That simple movement was extremely painful.

"I'm going to give you some more pain medicine to help you rest." The doctor said after Xave nodded.

A few moments later Xave was back unconscious and sleeping.

Gavin received several emails from his security team with far off photos of Lily. He saw that the look on her face today was not as lighthearted and carefree as she normally was. He felt something was upsetting her. She went to her usual café with her friend for lunch. She hurried back to her classes promptly at 1pm as always. Gavin stared at the photo of her looking down as she walked. She looked so small and innocent. He wanted to protect her for the rest of his life.