The Secret Society

chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

HPOV

WTF.

WTF.

WTF.

I closed my eyes and pretended to finish with Jane after ten minutes. I figured that seemed like a realistic amount of time, and quite frankly, I wanted to get the hell out of there.

I went straight to the bowl and noticed Ella's keys were still inside.

To say I was over the f*****g moon, stars and damn sun would be an understatement.

I just hoped she would hurry up and give us some alone time together before Evan and Lucy came out.

I couldn't hate Evan one hundred percent, in all honesty. He had brought my Ella to me, and for that I would be eternally grateful.

But I detested the ground he walked on.

For the Lucy situation.

For tricking Ella into joining the Society.

And for everything that had happened to her because of him.

Half an hour later, Ella came out of the room with Caius tagging behind her.

Me and Caius briefly nodded to each other before he headed off in the direction of his office.

Ella came running over.

I picked her up, hugged her and kissed her as though my life depended on it.

"Caius?" I asked, looking into Ella's eyes.

"He isn't so bad. In truth, he was a little helpful this evening."

"How so?"

Because I'd be damned if she was going to say anything that even remotely resembled a compliment about that man.

"Oh, Mr Delacy, you have your secrets and I have mine," she teased.

"You never did tell me about your plan," she smirked.

The plan.

I couldn't, in truth, tell Ella about the plan because it involved...well, it involved me being too selfish and causing pain to a lot of people.

I couldn't do it.

I looked into Ella's eyes.

I may have to do it.

She smiled at me and I pulled her close to my chest.

Could I live with the fact that I was the one who caused Evan and Lucy's disappearance?

Could I ever look Lucy's family and mine in the eyes again?

Could I look at Ella again without loathing myself for being the cause of their deaths?

No.

I couldn't.

And therefore the plan was f****d.

The plan was simple.

Make sure Caius discovered Evan and Lucy together again.

The beating was obviously a warning.

The next time they wouldn't be so lucky.

I was going to get them together one last time, make sure they were taken from our lives so Ella and I were free to be together.

But I wasn't a monster.

I wasn't that evil.

I couldn't do it.

Not being able to do it meant Ella and I were stuck in this Society for however long Caius felt was necessary for us to remain in this hell.

I hated him.

I hated him.

Could Caius be eliminated, I wondered?

Caius dead.

Society finished.

We were free.

Ella and me.

Free.

I had connections.

My father had connections.

Goodbye, motherfucker.

Caius taken down.

Caius was going down.

"Ah, but my plan isn't something you want to know about," I smirked at how happy I suddenly felt about taking the bastard out.

He had taken people out for no reason whatsoever.

I would be taking him out for ruining people's lives and then killing people for not agreeing with his ways.

He deserved it.

Claire deserved to be free.

"And neither is mine," Ella smirked.

"You know Room 6 and 7 are free," Ella winked up at me.

A lump got stuck in my throat at the thought of making love to Ella.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her alongside me, heading towards whichever room was free.

I opened the door and pushed Ella gently against the wall, kissing her with so much passion that her whole being consumed me.

I hitched Ella's right leg around my waist and pulled her closer, causing us both to moan against each other's lips.

"Say it to me," I pleaded, needing to hear Ella say those three words.

"I love you," she called out around my lips.

"I love you so much, Henry."

And that was when I became undone.

I picked Ella up by the hips and lowered us both onto the bed, making quick work of our clothes.

I lay over Ella, kissing her and holding her as close to me as possible.

"Henry, love, we don't have time," she moaned.

I knew she was right, but I wanted to savour every part of her that I could.

"I need you," she whispered.

God knew how much I needed her.

For five months, we had been living on stolen moments.

Five months of longing.

Five months of secrets.

Five months of falling deeper and deeper in love with each other.

I worked my way back up Ella's body, kissing every bit of flesh before pulling her close.

We moaned out in unison at finally being together.

Ella's hands wove through my hair, causing my own moans to become louder.

"God, Henry," Ella moaned out, causing my legs to shake slightly.

What the hell this woman had done to me was unreal.

Ella's hands moved to my back, her fingers tracing over my skin as I held her tightly against me.

I attacked her lips because they looked so damn edible I couldn't resist.

A few minutes later, we both lay there, breathing heavily.

I frowned because, f**k, I wanted a whole night with Ella.

I wanted us to make love for hours at a time.

I wanted to wake up beside her.

I wanted a normal life with her.

Not some rushed few minutes while constantly worrying about getting caught.

"I f*****g hate this," I moaned while kissing down her neck. "I hate having to move from you now when I just want to lie here all night making love to you."

"I know," Ella whispered. "I don't want to ever leave."

"We really must go, Henry, before anyone realises."

I knew she was right.

Damn it.

I didn't want her to be.

But she was.

A quick few minutes together was all we had for now.

We both got up and got ready.

Ella went first into the dining hall.

I followed five minutes later, just enough time not to look guilty.

Lucy and Evan followed behind me.

Evan coughed.

I wanted to ram my fist down his throat and tell him to f*****g cough in someone else's ear.

That s**t was just annoying.

"Ella," Evan called as though his life depended on seeing her.

That bastard.

She is mine.

"Everything okay, Henry?" Lucy called from behind me.

"Yeah, everything is just Lucy."

I couldn't bring myself to call her love, babe, anything along the lines of resembling affection.

At this moment in time, she annoyed the hell out of me.

Risking everything for this man.

She could have been killed for God's sake.

All for what?

Him.

The following morning I sat at my computer in the office, scrolling through my contacts.

Which motherfucker could keep his mouth shut and not go straight to Caius asking for more money to get me done over?

Yeah.

Hitmen were double-crossing bastards at times.

I eventually came to the perfect man.

Nathaniel Armstrong.

Greatest hitman.

Brilliant reputation.

And, most importantly, he wouldn't f**k me over.

"Nathaniel," I muttered to myself.

No.

That was ridiculous.

"Amanda."

I called through to my secretary.

She came through, eyeing me up and down as always.

I wouldn't deny having a young girl worship the ground you walked on and fancying you like crazy did have its slight perks.

She would do anything immediately for me.

Not s****l-wise, of course.

"Yes, sir," she smiled.

"It's Henry, and would you be so kind as to get Nathaniel Armstrong on the line for me?"

"Of course, Henry," she called and winked before turning.

She actually winked!

But her eyes weren't chocolate brown and pulling me in.

So I shook my head, laughing, and got back to business while waiting for the call to be put through.

Ten minutes later, Amanda buzzed through.

"I have Mr Armstrong on the line for you."

"Nathaniel."

"Henry Delacy."

"I need your help."

"May I presume this is business?" Nathaniel asked.

"Yes," I replied, although there was doubt in my voice.

"Then you best fly out to me. I'm in Paris for a week. Get the next flight out."

"Done. I'll call you when I land."

"See you soon, Henry," Nathaniel called before hanging up.

I buzzed for Amanda to come through again.

She stood there glaring at me.

Damn, she was good.

"Can you get me the next flight out to Paris, please?"

Amanda nodded and walked out of my office.

Twenty-four hours later and it was touchdown in Paris.

I called Nathaniel immediately and arranged to meet at a local café.

Doubt was suddenly clouding my mind.

I can do this.

I repeated it to myself over and over.

I can do this.

This was for everyone.

Everyone who had ever been killed because of the Society.

Everyone who had signed without realising the extent of the agreement.

Everyone who wanted out.

Everyone who had lost a family member because of Caius.

Every future person who was going to be f****d once they joined and could not get out.

This was for everyone.

Caius was going down.

The doubt left my mind.

I walked outside the airport and into a taxi.

It's the right thing to do.

Nathaniel was sitting reading a newspaper when I walked into the café.

You could not miss him.

He had more muscles than Mr Universe.

I walked straight over.

Nathaniel stood up to shake my hand.

"Nice to see you, Henry. Please, take a seat."

"Nice to see you too, Nathaniel. Shame it is in unfortunate circumstances."

"So tell me, who's the target?"

"Caius."

"The arsehole has it coming," Nathaniel laughed.

"I have been waiting for someone to call the hit. I briefly considered doing it for fun, but knew eventually I would make a shitload of money if I just waited."

His grin was infectious.

"I'll pay you anything you want, Nathaniel. This is a life-and-death situation."

Well, it was if Lucy and Evan decided to meet one more time.

I was more than confident they would be killed.

"It always is with this arsehole. I fly back to the States next month. Consider it done then."

I nodded out of sheer excitement.

But one month was a hell of a long time.

I just hoped Evan and Lucy could wait that long.

"Since I am more than happy to do this, three hundred thousand dollars," Nathaniel called while looking up at me.

"I'll give you half a million, Nathaniel. It is more than worth that much."

"Deal."

Nathaniel raised his hand to shake mine.

Without hesitation, I grabbed his hand and shook it back.

Caius, you royally f****d up not letting us leave.

"And free of charge, I'll take out his bodyguards," Nathaniel added. "They're quite loyal to him, so I have no doubt they will attempt to find his killer."

"Thank you."

Although I should have tried to stop him, I knew he was right.

Once this was over, I wanted a happy, normal life with Ella.

Not looking over my shoulder on our wedding day.

Yes, I planned on eventually marrying her.

It might seem quick.

It might seem stupid.

But I knew from the moment I saw her that she was the one.

She's nothing like any woman I've ever met before and never will again.

She will be mine.

We will be free.

And we will be together.

I just had to make sure we survived long enough to get there.