Beneath the Surface
Callum
Walking through The Society’s door brings no comfort or sighs of relief.
If anything, my blood pressure spikes a bit.
The physical reaction starts to set in as my back tenses.
It’s hard to imagine anyone feeling happy in a place like this.
When you have money and everything you want in life, you’re constantly chasing a happiness you can’t find.
My Father has been searching since he was a teenager.
I wonder if Mom ever thought that she was his happiness.
My mind wanders to Scarlett. She fills me with a joy that I didn’t know existed. Bliss that I never want to let go of.
Vines cover the home’s dark stone build, matching the personalities that live within it. He better be in here. I reach into the glove box for Scarlett’s file, before entering through the side door.
The silence of the empty, lavish marble hallway greets me as I enter. It’s dark in the sitting room, but I spot a small light on in the study. I tuck the folder under my jacket as I walk toward it.
He sits in a leather armchair, his back facing a wall of books. He has the newspaper in his hands. On the side table, his heavily poured drink accompanies him.
“You knew.”
He doesn’t look up.
“I know a lot, Callum.” His tone is sharp like his physique.
Benedict Mercer’s personality wasn’t shaped by privilege.
He worked for his position within my grandfather’s company.
It almost makes me hate him that much more.
He was brought up by nannies and boarding schools and did everything he could to make sure that I would turn out successful.
Instead of trying to break the mold and become involved in my upbringing, he chose to do the same thing that was done to him, but worse.
He saw what he could’ve changed and let the things that he resented define me too.
Amid it all, he built a fortune five hundred company and claimed his role as a Higher within The Society.
Now he’s the silent leader that many follow.
“Do you know about what happened to Scarlett?” I ask.
“Who’s that?”
Liar.
“Scarlett Voss. She was almost raped four years ago. Her dad is Jake Voss, and her mom is Vanessa, the one who’s bills you’ve been paying. Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
His right eye twitches and he doesn't answer. I can’t take my eyes off him. I look for a sign, anything that might give him away. His silence is powerful. I pull the folder out from beneath my jacket and slam it onto the table next to him.
His dark eyes rise to meet mine. Finally, I have his attention.
“It’s below you to steal, Callum.”
“Oh, but it’s not below me to kill, as long as it’s for The Society, right?”
I recall all the times he’s used me through The Society to clean up his messes. Something he could never do—he doesn’t have the strength.
“You’re willing to give up on your brothers for this?”
Brothers. Family. They try to instill these values in us early on, that way you’re less likely to betray them. They provide a sense of belonging just to take advantage of your name or your skill. My downfall is both.
“I don’t have brothers. You were too busy fucking around to produce another heir.”
“Watch it, Callum.”
“Watch what? The lies? Watch you drag this family through hell with you instead of protecting us, like a real man? Watch you turn into everything you always hated.” His face turns cold.
I can’t stop. “And yes, I know. About how you were raised, about how you resent it. Yet, you’ve become just like him. ”
He slams his glass down on the table and stands. His height matches mine and our noses barely touch as he grabs the collar of my shirt.
“You think you know? You have everything! I gave you everything!” He spits through his teeth. “And in return, all you have to do is what you’re fucking told.”
I push my chest up against his, unafraid. He’s created this beast within me.
“I’m so close to having it all. So fucking close. And I never will. You did that. You did that!”
He lets go of my shirt but doesn’t back away.
“You aren’t protecting her, Callum. You’re putting a target on her back. You did this.”
A part of me shatters because I know he’s right. I step back, my teeth firmly pressed against each other. Have I made things worse by trying to help her? Would The Society have left her alone after that night? No. This is what he wants.
“No one touches her. You make that known. Because I can protect her. I will protect her. From them—from you.”
My breath picks up as my nostrils flare.
“Keep down this path and see where that gets you. See where that gets her, Callum. There was a Society before you, and there will be one after you. Just know that the future you’ve worked toward will be gone. What will you have to show for all of this?”
He isn't just referring to my career, he means her. Fists form at my sides.
“Don’t mistake your obsession for love.” He smiles.
I picture wrapping my hands around his neck and squeezing the life out of his body. I need to get out of here before I kill him. I grab the file and leave.
As I walk away, I shake the manila envelope toward him. “Next time, at least get someone else to do your paperwork. Your calligraphy is too obvious.”
I shove the door open and rush to my room. I don’t bother turning the light on as I enter. I’m glad I didn’t pass my mother on the way. She’s probably already drunk in bed or at another event for one of her charities.
The room’s darkness feels like home. I throw the file in the top drawer of my desk, then walk over to the punching bag in the corner of the room and shove it away from me.
“Fuck!”
I need to be sure that she’s safe, but that means I can lose everything. All of my work for The Society will become nothing. It’s eating me alive. I hit the bag to stop my skin from crawling.
I should stay away from her. And if she stays away from me, they’ll leave her alone. Lies. They’ll never leave her alone. Not after this, not after me.
I hit the bag until my knuckles bleed. For the first time in a long time, I’m severely torn. I can’t keep her safe if she’s not with me, but I can’t protect her if she is. I’ve done this—I sealed her fate, and I need to make it right.
I pull my phone out of my pocket. The tracker I put on her car tells me she’s at home.
I lock the top drawer to my desk, change my shirt, and head out toward my Jag.
As I pull onto her street, the sky rumbles and fills with lightning, almost cinematic. I spot her car in the driveway, and the lights are on in the kitchen. Heavy rain hits my windows—I can’t tell if her dad is in there.
I sit in stillness. My breathing syncs with the droplets of rain against the hood. She didn’t ask for this. She wanted me to leave her alone, but my obsession couldn’t keep me away. I smirk at the irony.
Is that what this is, obsession. I can’t let him be right—
The passenger door opens.
Scarlett pulls her hood down, revealing her wet hair and faint smile. She slides into the seat.
“Hey.” She says, shyly.
Scarlett’s never shy, especially around me.
“What’s the matter, Angel?” I grab her chin.
Her skin between my fingers feels like heaven might exist.
“Nothing.” She looks out the front of the window.
“I’m not going to ask again.” I squeeze her face enough to force her eyes on me.
“You left. You practically witnessed me having a meltdown and then you left me…”
“Scarlett—”
She pushes my hand away from her face. “No, you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to come and go whenever it’s convenient for you, Callum. Am I not worth more than that?”
She’s worth everything.
“I get it your scared, but I’m scared too Callum,” she adds.
“Scared?! You think I’m scared? No, Scarlett. I’m fucking terrified.”
Her face drops, telling me she didn’t expect it.
“You are the one good thing in my fucking life. The reason I do as I’m told.
The reason I go to class and try so hard.
The reason I do things you’ll never understand.
I don’t care about this.” I grab my shirt and point at the interior of my car.
“I care about you. I’ve cared about you for four years, and now…
now I’m realizing I can’t fucking live without you. ”
It kills me that she thinks of herself as an issue, when she’s the solution. My heart pumps faster and I force the air out of my chest. I stroke her face with my thumb. Her wet eyes lock with mine.
“I can’t say those words, Angel.” I don’t tell her, but the moment I say them is the moment I’ll die for her. Instead, I take her hand and place it on my chest.
“But this— this beats for you. I’m yours. Until my last fucking breath.”
She quietly sobs. There’s so much I can’t tell her, so much I’m protecting her from. But the one thing she should fear the most is what I can’t protect her from—me.