Dinner with Eton was quiet for the most part, but Ian was just glad that Eton came to eat meals with him without putting up a fight anymore. Maybe they were actually getting somewhere. Of course, things weren’t completely back to normal and were still far from that point, but Ian was grateful for any progress. He was one step closer to fully getting his husband back.

Ian lifted his eyes to watch Eton eat his sirloin and baked potato for dinner. The only noise in the entire dining room was the light clink of Eton’s silverware against his plate. Ian took a sip of his red wine, missing how chatty Eton used to be at dinner. He would tell Ian about his whole day, even the little things like what kind of coffee he ordered that day. Ian missed that so much that his heart ached.

Now, there was silence. It was disheartening, but Ian was in this for the long run. That was how much he loved Eton. He would never do this for anyone else. Eton had accomplished the one thing that no one else had been able to do and that was slip past the walls that Ian put up in between him and everyone else.

“So, there is a ceremony of sorts happening this Friday night that my organization puts on every year,” Ian spoke, needing to break the silence. Plus, he needed to coax Eton to go to the annual ceremony with him.

Eton paused in the middle of chewing, eyeing Ian in a suspicious manner.

“What kind of event?” he asked as he set his fork down.

“It’s just a social event. Members talk and catch up outside of work, and we induct new members. I’ll make a speech and tell everyone about the latest developments and updates. It’s nothing too huge,” Ian replied with a casual shrug. He might’ve downplayed it a little, but he didn’t want to spook Eton.

“Why do I have to go?” Eton questioned Ian.

Ian wished that Eton wasn’t so difficult about everything now. Typically, Eton was the type of person to go with the flow and have a good time doing anything anywhere. He was literally the life of any party. Now, it was nearly impossible to get Eton to willingly leave the villa.

“Well, you always have a good time when you go. I invited you to go again before… everything that happened. I figured if you went this year too, maybe it could help with your memory,” Ian explained. He wished that Eton would realize that he was only trying to help him.

Eton stared at Ian for a few seconds before nodding.

“Okay,” he said before going back to eating.

Ian blinked a few times in surprise, not expecting Eton to back down so quickly. Of course, he was happy that Eton even agreed to go. He hoped that he could get Eton to have a good time this year, but Eton would have to stomach some of the formalities that Ian hadn’t mentioned first.

“Great. I promise that you’ll have a wonderful time,” Ian replied, hoping to himself that things went smoothly. The last thing that he wanted to do was drive Eton further away after he had been slowly but surely inching closer and closer. Eventually, things would be back to normal, and they could live their lives in luxury and happiness like they were supposed to.

***

When Friday night arrived, Ian and Eton hopped in the SUV to be taken to a multi-story, white mansion with all of the works. There was a lush, green front yard with a fountain, tall pillars towering over the porch, and more chandeliers throughout the various floors than anyone could count. It was the definition of luxury.

Ian believed that if he was going to do something, he was going to put all of his effort into it. That was how he got things done. That was how he was where he was at now. He didn’t toe the line. He sprinted across it. Now, he had everything that he ever wanted. A husband with amnesia was an unexpected curveball, but Ian never failed to eventually get what he wanted, and he wanted his husband back physically and mentally.

“This way,” Ian said as they strode into the empty foyer. He then grabbed Eton’s arm and tugged him down a short, dark corridor. He opened a door at the end, leading Eton into a room full of black and red robes hanging on racks and tables lined with full, golden masks with intricate designs carved into them.

Eton tensed in Ian’s grip as he stared at the attire with wide eyes.

“What is this? Is this… a cult?” he asked.

Ian couldn’t help but chuckle. He let go of Eton’s arm and strode over to one of the tables. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to touch Eton too much, but some motions were out of habit. Eton was his husband. Touching each other was in the fine print.

“No, my organization isn’t a cult. We’re hard workers and intellects that get things done,” he said as he picked up one of the masks. “But we ensure that every member’s identity is a secret if they want it to be.”

Eton still didn’t look all that relaxed, but he took the mask when Ian handed it to him. Using the black strap on the back, he slipped the mask onto his face, peering out of the sharply shaped eye holes.

“What do I do while I’m here?” Eton asked.

Ian grabbed a black robe and slipped it over Eton’s head, encouraging Eton to slip his arms through the sleeves as the robe fell around him. He wanted to run his palms over Eton’s back, but he forced himself to step away.

“Stay by my side,” Ian replied as he slipped on a red robe and his own mask. He didn’t want Eton to stray off too much, especially since he wasn’t acting like himself. Also, if the spy happened to be here at the ceremony, Ian didn’t want them to know that Eton was awake. That would just put Eton in danger once again.

“That’s it?” Eton asked. His eyes swept over Ian’s figure for a split second before darting away just as quickly. That seemed to happen a lot.

“I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself,” Ian replied before stepping closer to Eton’s side. At this point, they would usually hold hands or walk out arm in arm, but things were different now. “Ready?”

Eton sighed and nodded.

“I suppose that I have to be,” he said.

Ian turned and led Eton out of the room and to the main hall where a crowd of people were scattered throughout the large room. Some were masked, while some were not. Red robes dotted a sea of black robes as members chatted in groups with drinks in their hands. A pianist and violinist performed a soft piece toward the back of the hall.

Eton’s head turned every which way, taking in the sights. He was so caught up in looking at everything around him that he nearly ran into a server carrying a tray of drinks. He quickly stepped out of the way, crashing into Ian’s side.

Ian wrapped his arm around Eton’s waist out of reflex, anchoring Eton to his side to keep both of them from falling over. He placed his other hand on Eton’s arm.

“Are you okay?” he asked, their eyes colliding through the holes of the masks. His heart stopped for a second as he held Eton close. If his hearing was superhuman, he was sure that he would be able to hear Eton’s heart rapidly beating.

Eton stared at Ian for a second before swallowing hard and stepping away.

“I’m fine,” he said with a slight defensive tone. He motioned for Ian to keep walking.

Just like that, the intense moment was gone. Ian found that traces of the old Eton appeared in brief moments, but it was like he was stolen away immediately afterward and replaced with this version of Eton who didn’t even want to touch him and thought that he was an abomination in God’s eyes. It gave Ian emotional whiplash.

After gathering himself, Ian did his rounds throughout the hall with Eton trailing behind him. He tried to get Eton to have a drink and relax, but Eton turned his nose up at a mere glass of champagne, muttering something about drunkenness being a sin. Ian was starting to grow tired of all this random religious talk.

As he moved about the hall with Eton, Ian bumped into the person he'd been looking for.

"Morris!"

"Barabossa!" The two men exchanged a firm handshake. Morris was without  his mask, his expression was solemn as he delivered his latest update.

“We've captured a spy,” Morris whispered to Ian.

Ian’s breathing stopped for a moment as he stared hard at Morris.

“Are you sure?” he asked Morris, moving close to whisper so that Eton couldn’t hear.

Morris nodded his head.

“He’s upstairs,” he replied.

Ian tightened his jaw, his hands itching to strangle this spy who had been making it damn near impossible to catch De Leon.

“Hold on,” he murmured to Morris before looking around. He spotted Josh nearby and waved him over. “Watch Eton. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

“Yes, sir,” Josh said before moving to Eton’s side.

Eton spun around to look at Ian.

“Where are you going?” he asked, sounding confused and even a little worried.

“I’ll be right back,” Ian promised before following Morris through the crowd. He felt bad about leaving Eton, but he needed to take care of this spy. Traitors of the organization paid for their actions to the highest degree. Betrayers were never left alive. They would just keep making the same mistake as before.

“I carried out that sting operation you ordered and found one of our agents with details of our plans to capture De Leon in the Bahamas. Idiot didn’t think to encrypt the files,” Morris muttered as they hurried up the stairs to the top floor of the mansion. “He was going to send them to one of De Leon’s contacts. I remember seeing his name in our database.”

Ian shook his head, his entire face starting to heat up under the mask from anger. He made his members work hard, but he treated them right. They were paid well and protected. He didn’t understand why they would betray him when they knew what the consequences for that were.

“He’s going to pay for this,” Ian spat as he ripped off his mask, rushing past Morris to go down the hall and to the only room at the end. He threw it open and stormed inside of a dimly lit room, pushing past his other members to stare down at Lofton, a member of multiple years, tied to a chair. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Lofton stared up at Ian with a straight face, a few strands of straight, black hair falling against his sweaty forehead. He was a middle-aged man, having spent years doing intel and security for Nox.

“I’m not telling you a damn thing, so don’t even try to get it out of me,” he said bitterly.

Ian scoffed before striking his hand out and gripping Lofton’s collar so tightly that the material dug into his neck.

“You know what’s coming for you,” he snapped in Lofton’s face. “If you don’t talk, I might as well cut out your tongue.”

Lofton swallowed hard, but he kept his face still and stony.

“Has he said anything?” Ian asked Morris as he let go of Lofton’s collar.

“No, sir,” Morris replied.

Ian threw a hefty punch, his fist colliding with Lofton’s jaw to make his head snap to the side.

“He will,” Ian said, shaking his hand to get rid of the ache.

Lofton spat out the blood that had welled up in his mouth. He gritted his teeth and tilted his head up, still not backing down.

“Fuck off,” Lofton replied.

Ian snapped his fingers, reaching back as one of his black and white robed members placed a knife in his hand. He tilted his head at Lofton, staring him down. He didn’t know everything about Lofton, but he didn’t need to know the details to torture someone. Everyone broke at some point, or he just killed them.

“You know, I might make this quick if you just answer a few questions,” Ian said as he leaned close, pressing the tip of the blade against Lofton’s cheek right below his eye. “Are you the only spy?”

“You’ll never know,” Lofton said, meeting Ian’s gaze.

Ian dug the tip of the blade into Lofton’s cheek, slicing downward to cut him. He ignored Lofton’s hiss of pain. He would revel in the pain of a traitor before feeling sorry for them.

“Why are you so loyal to De Leon? You know that he’s either going to kill you or make you a useless lackey,” Ian asked, sounding as fed up as he looked. De Leon was the scum of the planet. He had no idea why people worked for someone as slimy as De Leon, who would rather shoot someone than pay back a debt.

“He pays me better,” Lofton smirked.

“I’m sure that money will certainly be worth it when you’re six feet below,” Ian growled in his face. He tightened his grip on the knife and got to cutting, piercing Lofton’s skin anywhere he could see. He ignored Lofton’s grunts and shouts of pain. The sounds of torture fell deaf on Ian’s ears at that point.

Morris and the other members stayed back, surrounding Ian and Lofton in a circle as the torture persisted. Ian asked his questions over and over again, hoping that each new cut and punch wore away at Lofton’s loyalty to De Leon. Lofton was sturdy, though. He refused to say a word.

“I’ve grown tired of this,” Ian muttered beneath his breath. He reached out to Morris, taking a handgun and cocking it. He leaned close to Lofton, preparing to ask one more question before he carried out the final punishment. “What is De Leon up to? I know he’s not just running from me.”

Lofton started to chuckle.

“Well, he knows that your little boy toy is awake,” Lofton replied as a smirk crept across his face. “He wants Eton to be his little pet.”

Ian didn’t even let Lofton take a breath after he spoke before placing the barrel of the gun against Lofton’s forehead and pulling the trigger. Blood splattered against the floor and some of the robes of his members, but not a single person in that room flinched. This was routine.

“Let’s hope this serves as a warning to any other possible spies,” Ian gritted out as he took a step back from Lofton’s limp body. Before he could make another move, he heard something faint. It could’ve been a footstep or a hushed breath, but it was loud enough to make him and everyone else in the room look toward the door.

The door was cracked an inch, and a wide eye peered through the space. In an instant, the eye disappeared, and quick footsteps thumped down the hallway away from the room.

Ian cursed beneath his breath and cocked the gun. It seemed like he had possibly found another spy, and he had more than enough bullets to ensure that his organization was completely loyal without exception.