The Secret Society

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Caius POV

"They are doing what?"

I slammed both fists down onto the new desk my assistant had just purchased for me.

Yes, my assistant happened to be my wife as well, but who cared about technicalities?

"Sorry, sir. They have been spotted together on several occasions."

My loyal employee stood rigidly in front of me. I could see the poor man was shaking.

As though I would take it out on him.

He had worked for me for more than ten years. He knew better than most that I didn't punish people for delivering bad news.

Usually.

"And what exactly have they been getting up to on these occasions?"

Tell me I wasn't going to have to order another hit already.

"Five of the seven occasions have been spent in a motel, sir. The other two were for a meal."

I stared at him.

"Five?"

"Yes, sir."

"Five motel visits?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you're only telling me now?"

"We would have told you sooner, but you always say they have the ten-chance rule."

Ah.

The ten-chance rule.

Many people thought they met someone here and immediately fell in love. More often than not, it was simply because they knew they couldn't have each other.

So I gave them ten chances.

Ten meetings.

Ten opportunities to decide whether what they were feeling was genuine or simply forbidden attraction.

Usually, by the tenth meeting, they realised they were not actually in love and everything returned to normal.

I allowed it once per person.

I wasn't an evil man.

Well...

Not entirely.

After all, they had signed the contract.

If they broke the rules, that was hardly my fault.

"What should we do, sir?" John asked.

I briefly considered putting the hit out on them.

But that would mean no more Ella.

And Evan White was one very lucky man to have her defending him.

Had he not been, I might have already dealt with him permanently.

"Rough them both up and give them a warning."

John nodded.

"Oh, and John?"

"Sir?"

"Go easy on Lucy."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Henry is a good man."

I could practically feel everyone's eyes burning into me.

Don't judge me.

Henry Delacy was a good man.

Like I had said, I wasn't exactly Dr Evil.

I simply had a reputation to maintain.

"Consider it done, sir."

John nodded and walked out.

I sat back in my chair, tapping my fingers against the desk.

After a moment, I pressed the button on my computer and watched the financial information begin scrolling across the screen.

Ella Jones.

$1,800.63.

Evan White.

$2,367.00.

I rubbed my forehead.

Why had I allowed them to join?

Oh yes.

Because I was an i***t who had found Ella Jones rather attractive.

It was usually the rich and elite who joined.

People with money tended to understand the importance of rules.

Well...

Most of them.

Henry Delacy.

Sixteen million dollars in offshore accounts.

We miss nothing.

Another eight million elsewhere.

Lucy Denali.

Twelve million.

Both of them had worked incredibly hard to get where they were.

That was something I respected about them.

Yes, their families were wealthy and powerful, but neither had simply relied on family money.

They had built something themselves.

And now they both wanted out.

I knew neither of them had fully understood what they were signing up for.

That was why they had to wait.

The rich should always read before they sign.

Idiots.

There was a knock at the door.

Then came the unmistakable sound of Claire's shoes clicking across the stone floor.

I lifted my head.

She drove me insane.

But what sort of husband would I be if I allowed my own wife to get herself killed?

Even if we hated each other most of the time.

Besides, she hadn't tried to divorce me.

She knew perfectly well what would happen if she attempted to take half my properties and money.

I wasn't that nice.

Click.

Click.

Click.

I looked down at the floor.

I had to get carpet.

Those shoes were beginning to annoy me.

"What?" I asked as Claire entered.

"I heard John talking about Evan and Lucy."

"Don't miss a thing, do you, Claire?"

"It's my job to know these things."

"What do you want to know?"

"You're not ordering the hit, are you?"

I sighed.

"Please don't."

I stared at her.

"What the hell? Has someone been sanding down your stone heart?"

"You still make my ribs hurt from laughing."

She smiled sweetly.

"You still make my stomach turn every time I see you, so what's your point?"

"They don't deserve to die over this, Caius."

"They're not going to die."

"Good."

"So you can run along and turn back into the cold-hearted woman I know."

Claire rolled her eyes.

"Do you always have to be such an ass?"

"To you?"

I smiled.

"Yes."

She knew exactly which buttons to press.

And, annoyingly, she was very good at it.

"Fine. I'm going shopping."

"Go on. Buy out every shop in town while you're there."

I glanced down at my desk.

"And order me a new carpet for this room. Your shoes are making my stomach turn."

"I hate you."

"Yes, well..."

I smiled.

"I love you, sweetheart. About as much as I love my stone floor."

Claire stormed out.

I smiled to myself.

I really shouldn't have annoyed her that much.

My bank account was about to suffer.

I briefly considered putting a limit on her card.

Three hundred thousand dollars should do it.

Then I changed my mind.

I didn't even know which bank I used.

Claire handled all of that.

She would probably find a way to have me killed if I interfered.

Seven hours later, John returned.

He walked confidently into my office and looked directly at me.

"We believe that will be the last time they see each other outside the Society."

"Good."

I leaned back in my chair.

"You were not too lenient with them?"

"No, sir."

"Good. If you catch them in a motel one more time..."

I paused.

"...deal with it."

John nodded and left.

I turned back to the computer.

I found the financial information strangely fascinating.

Most of these people could walk outside and buy almost anything they wanted.

Beautiful houses.

Beautiful cars.

Beautiful women.

And yet they came here.

They signed contracts.

They accepted rules.

They gave me control.

It never ceased to amaze me.

A dead person couldn't speak, after all.

---

Thursday Evening

Well.

That had certainly shaken me.

Henry came into my office asking how long he would have to remain in the Society.

He wanted to know the ways out.

For the briefest moment, I genuinely wanted to tell him.

I wanted to stand up and shout:

"For someone supposedly so intelligent, how have you not worked out that there is an incredibly easy way out?"

But where would be the fun in that?

It was only a brief thought.

Henry wasn't going anywhere yet.

An hour later, Claire stormed into my office.

I knew it was her before she even appeared because the first thing I heard was:

"Hey, dickhead."

I looked up.

"Yes, Beast?"

"What did they do to Lucy?"

"Oh, she had a little beating."

Claire's eyes narrowed.

"She's still alive, isn't she?"

"Obviously."

"You disgust me."

I sat upright.

"I disgust you?"

"Yes."

I stared at her.

"You do realise my stomach tries to climb out of my throat every time you walk into this room?"

Claire folded her arms.

"And?"

"My eyes would rather be blinded than look at you every day."

She rolled her eyes.

"And?"

"And you are possibly the most irritating woman on the planet."

"That's a little harsh."

"Which part?"

She glared at me.

"Go to hell, you arrogant, middle-aged bastard."

"Anything else?"

"Would you like some home truths?"

"Go on."

She had no intention of leaving until she had said everything she wanted to say.

"You live in another century, Caius. You make people sign ridiculous contracts, trap them in this Society and then punish them because they dare to question you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That's the general idea."

"You are pathetic."

"Thank you."

"You're nothing but a man who needs rules and contracts to make himself feel important."

That one hit slightly too close to home.

Claire continued.

"You're probably sitting there thinking I'm the unreasonable one."

The annoying thing was that she knew me far too well.

"God, Caius. Ella and Evan couldn't come tonight because of his injuries and I had to act like some heartless b***h on the phone."

She paused.

"Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"No."

"Of course you don't. You get everyone else to do your dirty work."

"That's one of the perks of having money, sweetheart."

Claire stared at me.

"Just tell them how to get out. Let them move on. Don't ruin their lives any longer."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would."

Her voice softened.

"My life is meaningless, Caius. If you killed me tomorrow, I wouldn't care."

That silenced me.

"At least I wouldn't have to look at that pathetic face of yours every day."

I stared at her.

"Claire."

"What?"

"Get out."

She smiled.

"Gladly."

"Now."

Claire turned and walked towards the door.

I watched her go.

Then, for reasons I couldn't possibly explain, I found myself staring at her as she walked away.

It had been nearly eight years since I had wanted my wife.

Eight years.

And suddenly...

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

I must be getting old.

I hated the woman.

Obviously.

---

The Following Thursday

I stood in the dining hall watching Ella and Evan walk through the doors.

The moment Ella passed me, I felt my entire body react.

I quickly folded my arms across myself.

Nobody noticed.

At least I hoped nobody noticed.

Claire began the usual sweep.

Ella's name was pulled first.

I watched her reach into the bowl.

She dug around.

I secretly hoped she would pull my keys.

Instead, she pulled Henry's.

The king of the crop.

The keys everybody wanted.

Even I had to admit Henry was unfair competition.

The redhead picked my keys.

I rolled my eyes.

I couldn't stand her.

Three hours later, everyone had left.

Claire walked into my office and stood silently in front of my desk.

I looked up.

"What?"

"Have you thought more about my offer?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"I'll get you killed if you want."

"Argh!"

Claire screamed so loudly I genuinely thought my ears might bleed.

"Caius, just let them go."

"They're not leaving."

"They're all unhappy."

"That's not my problem."

"It should be."

I leaned back.

"With any luck, Lucy and Evan will meet again."

"Caius, be serious."

"I am."

She stared at me.

"You cannot kill them over this."

"I haven't killed anyone."

"Yet."

I ignored that.

"Think of Aiden Scott."

My expression changed immediately.

She knew exactly where to strike.

Aiden Scott.

The one mistake I couldn't erase.

He had fallen completely in love with Cindy Parker.

They had disappeared.

Refused to return.

And now they were somewhere beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

He had been a good kid.

One of the nicest people I had ever met.

I should have pardoned him.

I should have let him leave.

I should have made an exception.

But I hadn't.

And that was something I would carry with me forever.

Claire watched me carefully.

"Could you live with yourself if you did that to Evan and Lucy?"

I looked away.

"Evan deserves consequences after what he did to Ella."

"He deserves a lot of things."

She stepped closer.

"But he doesn't deserve death."

Nobody deserved death at my hands simply because I had an ego.

Or because of who they loved.

I looked back at her.

"Claire, just go."

"I hate you."

"I know."

She turned towards the door.

I watched her leave.

The door slammed shut behind her.

I sat alone in the silence.

The computer screen lit up again.

Financial information.

Names.

Numbers.

Secrets.

And suddenly none of it interested me.

I had some major decisions to make.

And for the first time in a very long time...

I wasn't entirely sure what the right one was.