Chapter 45 That´s why I love you
A few seconds later, he moved away, planting a soft kiss on her neck, which made her giggle.
“You’re tickling me…” she smiled.
“I love the way you laugh,” he told her, as he pulled up his pants and zipped them
up.
“You’re sweet,” she blushed.
But, when she looked at him again, she noticed that the look on his face had changed. He seemed worried now. There was no trace of that bliss they just felt together.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, feeling a little hurt.
Was he regretting what just happened?
“Yeah, just…” he started, but couldn’t continue. “There’s something you don’t know, something I should have told you earlier, but I couldn’t.”
“What are you talking about?” she wondered, starting to get worried herself.
“If I tell you, I’m afraid you’ll get upset with me, but you’ll find out anyway…”
“Why would I get upset with you?” she wondered.
He wasn’t making any sense. Did he do something? He was looking at her in the eyes but she could see that there was something heavily pressing on his heart.
“I can’t say anything now,” he shook his head, “I just need to get you to the Bunker.”
Izabella’s mind released a silent scream. Hendrik was working for Dante! The whole Bunker club was working for him. Now, he would take her there and Dante would be waiting. There was no other explanation. She cursed herself silently for having such lousy judgment about him. She even slept with him! She was furious with herself and with him.
“I know what’s going on,” she growled at him, completely forgetting about the magical moment they had just shared. All that was left was rage.
“You do?” he wasn’t expecting her to say that.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment since I came here. I’ve actually been wondering how come it came so late,” she spoke confidently.
She felt ready. She knew everything there was to know in this place, so prolonging the inevitable was painful to everyone. It was best just to get it over with. It’s just that she wasn’t expecting Hendrik to be on the opposite side. She trusted him. She fell for him, hook, line and sinker. How could she have been so stupid!
“He couldn’t reveal himself to you just yet, the whole plan would be ruined,” Hendrik explained.
“Oh, God forbid his plan is ruined,” Izabella snorted.
“Well, you’re here because of his plan…”
“No, I’m here because of my plan!” she shouted angrily. “Because he threatened to hurt the one person I care about more than life itself. So, fuck Dante and fuck his plan!”
Hendrik watched her spit her venom for a few seconds, then started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she growled at him again.
“You thought I was taking you to see Dante,” Hendrik couldn’t stop laughing, but then quickly turned around, to make sure they were still alone. “Come on! We don’t have much time!”
He wanted to grab her by the hand, but she pulled away in time.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she hissed at him. “If Dante wants to see me, he’ll have to come to me.”
“I wouldn’t be so cocky, shouting his name so loud, if I were you,” Hendrik spoke a little more quietly now.
“Who the fuck cares!?” she shrugged her shoulders.
“Brandon…” Hendrik worded her brother’s name and the very mention made her heart skip a beat.
Izabella jumped at him, pushing him hard against the lockers. Her thin, wiry fingers were now wrapped around Hendrik’s neck so tight, that he could barely breathe.
“Where’s my brother?” she whispered.
“Bun….ker….” Hendrik managed to squeeze through half parted lips.
“Is Dante there?” she continued, pressing just a little tighter.
“No…” Hendrik tried to shake his head, as much as her grasp allowed it. “Alone… help... “
“What?”
She released his throat only enough for him to speak properly.
“He came to us for help. Asked us to keep his presence here a secret from you, until it was time for you to meet again,” Hendrik explained.
Izabella was listening but she could barely understand what she was hearing. All sorts of questions started swarming inside her mind, when she finally realized that she alone couldn’t provide a single answer to any of them. Brandon was the only person who could do it.
“Take me to him,” Izabella pulled away forcefully and Hendrik lowered his head, trying to catch his breath.
“Trust me, we’re on your side,” he assured her.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Izabella barged through the door of the Bunker, almost breaking the doorman’s nose. She didn’t even turn around to say sorry. She just kept marching down the hallway. She still thought this was all a trap. Dante would surely be waiting for her there but she didn’t care any longer. She felt hurt, betrayed. She knew she couldn’t trust anyone here and, still, she went ahead and did that, despite her own gut feeling. Now, everything had gone to shit.
She wanted to end this once and for all. Breathing heavily, she entered the big room and saw that there were only a few people there. She recognized Renwick and Raphael in the corner, a few people she saw last time and Thorne were sitting on a small couch to her left. He’d been talking to someone, who had his back turned to Izabella. The moment she barged in, with Hendrik by her side, everything froze. Everyone stopped doing whatever it was they were doing and they turned around to face her - all but that one figure, whose face remained hidden under a hat.
“Well, here I am!” she shouted at everyone but mostly at that person who hadn’t turned around yet. “You wanted me here, right? At least have the decency to face me, Dante!”
Her words echoed throughout the room. No one dared move. They looked at her, then at the figure, then back at her. There was confusion, anxiety and surprise on their faces. Of course, she expected all of those. Everything was finally out in the open. They’d all been working against her, allowing her to make a fool of herself, thinking she was safe, thinking she had made friends here, people she could rely on. But, all of that was one big
fat lie. That thought sent her to the brink of tears but she was damned if she was going to cry in front of all of them and especially in front of Dante himself.