Page 62 of Never Tell Secrets

The Never Tell Clubhouse was a snoring monster sleeping off a night of drunken debauchery. Strewn everywhere were half-clad bodies, leftover remnants of alcohol, drugs and sexual props I couldn’t even begin to name. A few giggles still echoed here and there, the last people standing winding down their night just like us.

We reached the stairway of the entrance hall and I moved to go downstairs to the front door but Alfie stopped me. “We aren’t leaving that way?” I asked.

“We have to find Kal first. Unless you want to keep that thing on?” He nodded at my collar. I pressed my fingers to it, I’d forgotten it was there. And Kal had the key. “Come on, I know where he’ll be.”

He led me down another hallway, turning me in circles until finally he stopped at a door, laughter emanating from the other side. He stepped in and I followed, finding all four of his Tellers gathered round a snooker table in a dishevelled state.

Immediately, I thought of the article I’d read all that time ago, the first time I’d ever learned about the Never Tell Club. If I’d told past Lola we’d one day be standing in that room, she’d have called me crazy.

“Alfie!” Damien lifted a half empty whiskey bottle. He slouched in a chair, one leg thrown over the arm, his trousers undone and his shirt lying open, revealing an impressive torso. “Come for a drink?”

“I came for the key.” He nodded at Kal who was bent over the snooker table, a sharp focus on his handsome face as he landed a shot perfectly.

“I’m surprised you made it till the morning.” He smirked as he walked over, producing a key from his pocket. He was about to unlock my collar himself when Alfie snatched the key out of his hand, much to Kal’s amusement. “I half expected you to run all the way home in tears after that display with my little bunny last night,” he continued as Alfie freed me from my collar. “You handled it better than I thought you would though.”

“You knew I wouldn’t like it?” I asked, rubbing my neck. I was disturbed by how bare I felt without it.

Kal chuckled, each of them echoing his laughter. They’d all known I would hate exhibitionism–was I that easy to read?

“Well…shit.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We won’t hold it against you.” Cas smiled at me. He sprawled in his chair, his trousers were unfastened too–had he and Damien spent the night together or had they just shared someone else? I decided I didn’t need to know and stopped that line of thought right there.

“That’s a relief. I am curious though why you thought the idea of Alfie with a‘commoner’ would be…what word did you use, Cas? Obscene?” I raised my brows at him, my voice light.

They stared at me, confused. Alfie stepped forward.

“She might have read an article from back in the day.”

“Oh, well, probably all of us thought that. Still do, to be honest.” Cas laughed. “Tell me, do you really have to share a bathroom? With other people?”

“Yes, it’s just awful! Daddy just cut my allowance to only a million pounds a month so now I’m practically living in squalor. I could only buy my poodle two new Gucci jackets this month, she was so depressed I had to send her to the spa and then?—”

“Alright, Lo.” Alfie cut me off, openly laughing. His Tellers looked between us.

“Can you stop making him laugh?” Damien said. “It's like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs.” Before I could bite back, Mr West straightened, commanding my attention. Unlike the others he was still perfectly put together, apart from his jacket which was neatly folded over a chair.

“Miss O’Connell, we’re wealthy bastards, but on the whole, we aren’t as ignorant as we used to be.” He gave me a stern look.

“Fair enough.” I shrugged and turned to Alfie. “I need to use the bathroom before we go.”

“There’s one right through there.” Damien gestured to a side door. I thanked him and followed his direction. I couldn’t help but feel their watchful gazes as I moved. I felt like a deer walking through a wolf den. Something caught my eye as I passed Damien.

“Someone got a hold of you, huh?” I pointed at the scratches down his neck, the bite marks on his ear lobe.

“Yeah. I think that friend of yours is part hellcat,” he said and Cas chuckled. I flicked my gaze between them, getting a whole new idea about who they might have shared last night.

“Isodon’t want to know.”

“My lips are sealed.” He grinned, sipping his whiskey.

“Doesn’t matter. She’ll give me all the gory details herself, whether I want them or not.”

“Fine by me,” he shrugged, “but just for the record, she was the one driving the train. I just went along for the ride.”

“An unwilling passenger, I’m sure.”

I headed into the bathroom, grateful for a few moments of peace. I found myself in a powder room, a row of mirrors and an array of toiletries lining a long dressing table. I looked around and found another door that must be to the actual bathroom. This place was like a damned maze. I reached the door and jumped back as it was pulled open from the other side, revealing a familiar redhead.