To Capture a Thorn (The Society 2)

They never allowed this to happen in the movies. There was always a good plot to get the bad guys.

Was I one of the good guys? Was The Society?

I let the tears fall as pain took over my body and made it its bitch.

This was all too much. I couldn’t handle it.

“Are you okay?” Gideon’s dad, Lucas, asked.

At first, I didn’t speak.

Of all the people to come out here to see if I was okay, I didn’t expect it to be him. With him coming to see me, did that mean he’d already seen the tape? How long had I been out here?

I sniffled. “No.”

“I wouldn’t be either.”

“Did you know?” I asked.

“About your dad, Chloe, or Heather?”

“All of it.”

Lucas lowered himself to the ground, sitting his ass on the cold, wet grass. “Your dad, no. Chloe, she and her family have their own set of rules when it comes to the initiation process, but I don’t for a second believe it involves joining forces with your father. It also looked quite plainly she was having an affair with your father. Again, not something I was aware of. Heather’s involvement with The Society, I didn’t know about either. I’m so sorry she’s gone,” he said.

I snorted. It wasn’t a good sound. Very ugly.

His gaze landed on mine. His eyes looked so like Gideon’s, but I preferred his son’s to his.

“You’re part of The Society and it sounds to me like you know next to nothing,” I said.

I heard the bitterness in my own tone. I couldn’t help it.

The Society, so far, seemed to be nothing but one big joke. Why should I have to watch what I said about it?

“Sian, I know you’re hurting.”

“You don’t know anything. The Society claims to be this big organization that keeps everyone in line. Fuck me, social media is doing a better job keeping people attached to their fucking phones.”

His jaw clenched. He didn’t deserve my anger.

“How could you let this happen? How could you let my mom go to that horrible man?” I asked. “What good are you when all you do is hurt people around you?”

Lucas ran his fingers through his hair. I’d never seen him look so … real. It was like my words had stripped him of everything that made him this statute.

I didn’t care. He deserved everything I said to him, and more. Even though, and I hated this more than anything else, I did feel a twinge of regret. I shouldn’t have said those things to him. He didn’t really deserve my anger. My father did.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“The Society is all things, Sian. What you need to understand is it’s far-reaching. Think of it as a large empire. Each person is a cog within that empire that keeps it working. But those on the reception desk don’t know what is happening on the floors above. Nor do those on the floors above know what is happening beneath them. The Society is everywhere. It has many different members, many different means of surviving. It’s how it has stayed in power. How it has been able to garner the intelligence it needs to keep on living. Rich and poor, the members come from far and wide. I don’t know if I cross a man or woman in the street if they are the same as me. If we’re bound by an organization that has taken and given from and to me with equal measure. You can never get ahead in this world without something being taken. Life doesn’t work in only granting rewards.”

“Why do it?” I asked. “They took so much from you.”

“No, Sian. What The Society did was try to rectify my mistake. I was the one to bring Alexander into our lives. I believed in him when no one else did. He is my error. I thought he was a good guy, but the more I learn about him, the more I see my mistake has cost so many.”

“Did you love my mom?” I asked.

“Very much.”

I was still lying on the ground. “What was she like?” I asked. “I’ve never gotten the chance to know her.” I sniffled. “She has always been lost to me.”

Lucas placed a hand on my back, but it didn’t comfort me. I pulled away and sat up, glaring at him. I kept the words locked up in my mouth, refusing to let him see how deeply I hurt. Not that I was fooling anyone, I was sure.

“Your mother was … she was a force to be reckoned with. I know people think she gave herself willingly to us, but she didn’t. Not completely. She was … is … amazing. There are no words to describe her, and knowing her daughter doesn’t know her, she would be devastated. One day, Sian, I promise you, you will get to sit with your mother. You will learn how amazing she is, and you will see that all of this will one day be worth it.”