The Secret Society

Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

EPOV

The knock at the door startled me. I slowly crept over to try and peep through the hole, then his voice sounded like an angel.

“Ella, please answer if you're there.”

Henry.

I had never opened a door as quickly in my entire life. As soon as the door opened, Henry ran for me, picked me up and hugged me with every ounce of strength in his body.

“God, Ella, I've been so worried,” he called out before crashing his lips against mine.

My hands wove through his hair, pulling him closer to me. His scent, his taste; everything about him was too damned perfect.

“Henry,” I whispered, half hoping he would listen and half hoping he would just take me then and there.

“Yes, babe.”

My heart sank slightly as he called me that.

“Caius... Evan... Lucy.”

Way to go, Ella. Ruin a perfectly good moment.

Henry pulled away from me and set me back on my feet.

“Caius is... dead, Ella.”

“What?” I yelled a little too loudly, but secretly relieved and a little devastated. “How?”

“Claire called me to tell me. She never went into detail, but it was not from the beating I gave him.”

Relief hit me hard because I had just got Henry back. There was no way whatsoever I was about to let him go.

“She also got told by Caius that Lucy and Evan are alive.”

“He took all his clothes,” I whispered out. “Sorry, I think I should have said they have taken his clothes.”

“No, Ella. Claire got the information from Caius. His men didn't touch Evan or Lucy.”

“And for what reason would you believe he would tell Claire the truth?”

I was pissed he would believe it.

“He has no reason to lie to her, Ella. If she says they're alive, then I believe her,” he called sternly.

“I am more than confident Evan would not just leave his garage. I am more than confident he would not come and take all his clothes. And what really gives it away that he had not taken the stuff himself is the photos of his late mother. They were not taken. He would not have left them behind for nothing.”

Henry's face turned that strange pale colour again, the one where I questioned if he had momentarily died.

Henry raked his hand through his hair. I could tell his mind was working overtime, but for that briefest moment, I wanted him more than anything.

I wanted to forget about everything that had happened. I wanted his body close to mine. I wanted to feel safe, even for just an hour, to rid everything from my mind before we got back into this nightmare of a conversation.

So that is what I decided to do.

Think of yourself now and again, my mother would always say.

I pulled on Henry's top to bring him closer to me. I stood on my tiptoes and very gently placed my lips on his.

“Ahh,” I sighed at the sensation. Nothing quite felt better than this.

“I love you,” I breathed out desperately.

“You will never know how much I love you,” Henry called in my ear, causing my whole body to shake.

“But I think I should head home to see if Lucy's clothes are there. I need to check the security cameras.”

I think I may have gripped him a little too hard as Henry jumped slightly.

“Please don't leave me yet,” I begged. “I need you.”

Because I am an absolute selfish woman when it comes to Henry.

My hands shakily began to undo the buttons on his shirt. Henry's hands grabbed hold of mine to stop me.

I closed my eyes and shook my head slightly, completely humiliated and embarrassed with myself.

My eyes deceived me and a single tear fell down my right cheek. Henry removed his hands from mine and brushed the tear away while placing his finger under my chin to tilt my head up.

A smile slowly appeared on his face, causing me to smile too.

He was infectious.

“Do you really think you can handle this right now? Emotionally, I mean,” Henry asked.

I suddenly realised he didn't know that this was what I needed.

“Yes, Henry. This is what I need,” I pleaded with him.

Henry bent at the knees, picked me up bridal style and asked me where the spare room was.

I appreciated that he did not want to sleep in the same bed that Evan and I had made love in.

I pointed him in the right direction and Henry threw me onto the bed. My whole body felt like sparks were flying from me in all directions.

I craved him.

Henry pulled my skirt down slowly, kissing each piece of skin he passed. His cold, soft lips felt like silk against me and I closed my eyes, revelling in the sensation.

Keeping my eyes closed, I continued to feel Henry as he pulled my panties down and kissed up my legs, stopping at my navel where he slowly pulled my top up, kissing each piece of skin he passed.

When I finally opened my eyes, both Henry and I were naked. He placed his knees between my legs and hovered over me, his lips inches from mine and an adoring smile on his face.

“You are so beautiful,” he called before closing the distance.

His tongue traced along my lips, begging for entrance. I sighed in pleasure and tasted his tongue against mine, sucking lightly as he tried to pull away.

I raked my nails slowly down his back, feeling his body tremble above me. Henry kissed me so passionately I held back the need to cry, because this was everything I had ever wanted and more.

Henry grazed his fingertips down my ribs and I gasped at the sensation it caused me. His hands travelled lower, bringing a shiver through my entire body.

My arms wrapped tightly around his neck, pulling him closer so I could slowly lick and kiss him.

After a few very quick moments, I began pushing my hips up as I felt my orgasm about to come. As if he knew my body to a tee, Henry moved faster and kissed me harder.

I tried to return the favour to Henry, but he was having none of that.

“This is about you this afternoon, love,” he whispered.

Love.

I nearly passed out with the tenderness of his words.

We moved together, slowly at first, then with increasing urgency. Every touch felt like it was pulling me further away from the nightmare surrounding us.

Far too quickly, the moment was over.

I wanted this to last all evening, when in fact the need for each other meant we were left breathless within a few minutes.

Henry lay on his back next to me and pulled me so my head was lying on his chest.

“This feels so perfect,” Henry whispered.

I was not sure he wanted me to hear or whether he had just thought aloud, so I lay there breathing in his scent.

We lay silently for thirty minutes before Henry squeezed my arm and laughed slightly.

“Were you falling asleep, babe?”

“No,” I laughed back.

I hadn't realised that I may well have been. I had never felt so relaxed in so long. I felt like a new me for the briefest of moments.

I kissed Henry's chest while moving to lie on top of him. Henry's face turned a little more serious.

“Ella, I really need to go check out the security cameras. Would you like to come with me?”

I nodded and went to jump out of bed, but Henry grabbed my arm and pulled me back on top of him.

“I want your damn fine lips, babe, before you go anywhere,” he called.

Before I could say a word, my lips were brushing against Henry's.

I loved him so much.

It just didn't seem possible.

HPOV

Making love to Ella was always the best feeling in the world, and as much as I believed that I should have gone home straight away, seeing Ella standing there crying made me feel like I had just stuck a knife in her heart and killed her soul.

Once Ella told me she needed this time together, I couldn't refuse.

I doubted I could refuse her anything for the rest of our lives.

I held Ella's hand in the car all the way back to mine, placing our entwined hands on her knee.

Ella held tightly onto my hand and, as we pulled up to my... well, extremely extended mansion, I could feel her hand holding tighter.

I quickly glanced over to notice her eyes were widened in surprise.

“So I knew you were rich, but not this... well, this rich,” Ella called out in shock.

“It's nothing,” I replied, because it felt that way now.

“Millions?” Ella asked, causing me to laugh slightly.

“Let's just leave it at money is no object, love. Anyway, come on,” I called while parking the car. “Let's go check Lucy's wardrobe.”

A two-minute walk took us twenty minutes.

Ella just stopped and stared at every room in the house we had to walk through. Up until the bedroom there were only three, and the mansion itself held forty rooms.

I figured it was best not to show her anymore.

We'd be here until next week.

“I don't feel right going into Lucy's bedroom,” Ella called.

“It's mine too,” I reminded her.

Ella shot her head up to me with a slight smirk on her face.

You know that look that tells you, whatever! The bedroom is always the woman's, so don't think you're fooling anyone.

Yeah.

That was the look she was giving me.

She was, needless to say, right. I always ended up in one of the many spare rooms when we had a tiff.

“All her clothes are here,” I called while opening the walk-in wardrobe that was the size of a bedroom.

Ella walked in and gasped at the sight before her.

I mean, I am not one for wardrobes and shoes, but I had to say Lucy had this wardrobe like a damn design studio. It was magnificent.

“She would not leave all this behind,” Ella called out.

“She has more than enough money to start over, Ella. Maybe she wanted to start afresh,” I tried to reassure her.

I did not believe Lucy would leave all her clothes and shoes, but with all the money Lucy had, starting again was not a problem at all.

“How the other half live,” Ella whispered while shaking her head.

“What is that meant to mean?” I asked, shocked at her words.

“There are so many families with nothing, and the price of everything in this wardrobe could feed an entire country for a year,” Ella moaned.

“Lucy and I, in fact, donate a lot of money each month, Ella. Don't doubt Lucy. We have both worked damned hard to get what we have achieved today. We deserve to have perks in our life and, like I say, we donate hundreds of thousands a year to worthwhile causes.”

“I'm sorry. I did not mean to offend you, Henry,” Ella called while putting her head down.

I noticed she blushed slightly.

I may have just overreacted slightly.

“No, Ella, it's fine. I just overreacted... We really have worked hard for what we have, though.”

I didn't want that part completely dismissed!

“Come on,” I called while taking Ella's hand. “Let's check the tapes.”

I knew since the clothes had not been touched that there was no way the video would show anything, but it was always possible Lucy could have called back for something.

Anything.

She had to have.

Ella remained quiet and moved faster this time while I took us into one of the libraries to check over the tapes.

“So many books,” Ella called in awe.

“Yes, and this is not the main library,” I joked.

“Do you read much?” I asked.

“I love reading. I love the feeling of being lost in someone else's life, trying to understand how they feel, even if it is fiction. There is no better feeling.”

I could personally think of a few, but decided to keep quiet.

“Take whatever you want,” I called to her while fast-forwarding the tapes.

I went through the tapes at least ten times.

They showed nothing.

For which I was completely and utterly devastated.

“I think we should go see Claire,” I called out.

“Don't you think the police will be there? And I hardly believe she would want to see us while her husband has just died.”

I did not want to mention he was murdered, along with his two guards who thought they were something special.

Murdering scum, all three of them.

I nodded my head and pulled out my phone, texting Nathaniel to tell him the funds had been transferred with the million bonus, and then called Claire.

She answered immediately.

“Who would do this?” Claire answered me straight away.

“I am more than sure there are quite a few people who held a grudge against Caius.”

At this point, considering she had lied to me, I couldn't quite give a damn what I said to her.

“Claire, you lied to me. Don't tell me Caius did not kill Evan and Lucy.”

“Henry, that is what he told me. He did not want them dead. God, they have not even been missing a day yet. Lucy could walk in the house any minute now.”

“He may not have wanted them dead.”

I highly doubted that.

“But he called the hit and they are.”

“Henry, they are alive somewhere. He promised me.”

“Can you honestly tell me you trusted what he told you?” I was seething.

“Henry, what he told me was the honest truth, and I am now telling you, as my husband is being hauled away in a body bag, that he did not kill Evan and Lucy.”

“You lying son of a b***h, Claire.”

I slammed the phone down and called the police.

Unfortunately, until they were missing for twenty-four hours, there was very little that useless police department would do.

“Now what?” Ella asked while sitting there chewing her nails and tapping her feet.

Nerves were evident, and I just hoped Claire was telling me the truth.

I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head.

What the hell do I do now?

For the rest of the evening, after dropping Ella off home, I continued calling Lucy's mobile, but it constantly went onto the answering machine.

I slammed the phone onto the floor and went driving around the city, knowing it was no good.

Why would they go missing and just stay local?

I went to every bar that I knew Lucy liked. I called in every restaurant, every motel.

I turned Seattle upside down.

Nothing.

After getting home around 10 p.m., I called Mrs Denali and explained how Lucy had gone out before I had woken up and had not been seen since.

She became hysterical.

She, like myself, knew this was not Lucy's nature.

If she was running off to start a life with Evan, she would have at least contacted her mother.

The following day the police came around and opened a missing persons report.

Ella and I stayed away from each other for the next week, calling each other frequently but refraining from meeting each other until we found out what had happened.

On the tenth day, the dreaded news arrived while Mr and Mrs Denali were sitting in our house.

I took the call.

“Their bodies have been found. There was an accident. It looks like they were going too fast and unfortunately, Mr Delacy, the car skidded over the side of the cliff.”

I looked over to Mrs Denali and, judging by the mortified look on my face, she collapsed.

“Oh God, no!” she screamed out. “Not my baby!”

What the hell did I do?

What the hell did Lucy and Evan do?

Were they being chased and that is how they skidded and crashed?

There were too many questions going around in my head. I couldn't quite take in what I had been told.

Lucy was dead.

Lucy was dead.

“She cannot be,” I called out.

“She would not be so foolish. She just wouldn't.”

I began talking incoherently.

“Lucy would have known, surely she would have. Is that really her down there? I cannot believe it is.”

“Henry, what are you talking about?” Mr Denali asked.

“I just don't believe it is her body. I don't believe she would have been so irresponsible.”

Had they planted the bodies? But where would they get two bodies from?

“I need to get out of here,” I called while picking up my car keys and heading to where the police had told me they had found their bodies.

As I arrived, all the air crew and ambulances were there pulling the car up.

Then I saw the black bags.

“I need to see,” I called while hurrying over to the body bags.

“No,” the paramedic called. “It is not something you want to see, trust me.”

“Trust me,” I snapped. “It really is something I NEED to see.”