Confessions: Henri (Confessions Series Book 5)

by Ella Frank

  In every way that counted, Henri was the bad boy full of confidence. But as his body tensed beneath Bailey’s, and he finally let go, he grabbed Bailey and pulled him in tight, as though Henri were afraid he was going to disappear.

  As Bailey’s body clenched, his body began to tremble and his orgasm raced down his spine.

  Then, just as it was about to hit, Bailey raised his head, wanting to watch Henri’s face, and that was when it happened. That was when he saw that confident exterior crack open and the vulnerable man beneath reappear.

  Henri was looking up at him as though Bailey had just handed him the moon, and he was so beautiful, and so very real in that moment, that Bailey knew whatever was happening was special. It was something he was going to fight to hang on to if he had to, and it was that knowledge, that deep-seated truth—that he could really come to love this man—that finally hurtled him over the edge and tumbled the two of them straight into the euphoria that waited on the other side.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  CONFESSION

  My reality is something I have to deal with, but how can I ask that of him?

  THE DISTINCT AND terrifying sound of a gunshot blasted through the still night air like a lightning bolt, striking and hitting the empty transit shed where he and Priest’s princess—Robbie—had taken up post.

  They’d been hunkered down now for what felt like an eternity, waiting in the silence for some kind of sign from Priest that he’d found Julien, and everything was okay. This was not a good sign.

  “Was that a gunshot?” Robbie said, as he sprang to his feet.

  Henri peered out the dirty window he’d been crouched in front of, and when all he saw was a whole lot of nothing, he said, “Shit. Don’t fucking move.”

  To his credit, Robbie froze exactly where he was. “Was that a—”

  “Yes,” Henri said, and then jabbed a finger at the floor. “But you gotta sit down. Stay out of sight.”

  “But I—”

  Henri turned away, effectively cutting off communication as he looked back out the window, desperately trying to see something, anything, and he was thankful when Robbie did as he was told.

  It had been a couple of minutes since the gun had gone off, and as the silence now surrounding them became close to deafening, a door at the end of the warehouse flung open and Jimmy slipped outside with the two duffel bags in hand. “You motherfucker.”

  Henri’s stomach revolted at the sight, bile rising in his throat fueled by fury, as he thought, If that fucker is running out of there upright and fully abled, then who the hell isn’t?

  Please don’t be Joel, please don’t be Joel, he thought over and over again. But when the alternative hit him, and Julien’s kind, handsome face came to mind, Henri cursed, knowing that if Joel lost Julien, it’d be as if he’d died anyway.

  Fuck.

  Shoving that dismal thought aside, Henri got to his feet, moved down to the second window of the shed, and stopped. He stood there for a second, watching as Jimmy slithered between a row of buildings, keeping to the shadows as though that would help hide him from the world, but Henri was an expert when it came to existing in the dark, and he’d made a promise that he planned to keep tonight.

  Knowing he needed to get the fuck out of there or risk losing his target, Henri dug the burner phone he’d brought with him out of his pocket, and set the timer for fifteen minutes before handing it to Robbie. “You stay here until that phone rings.”

  Robbie looked down at the cell and then back to Henri. “Wh… Huh?”

  “If it doesn’t ring in fifteen minutes, you call the cops.”

  Robbie blinked a couple of times, the shock of the night clearly rendering him mute, but then he looked at the numbers counting down on the phone.

  “Got it?” Henri asked, and when Robbie nodded, Henri turned and headed toward the exit.

  “Where are you going?”

  Henri didn’t stop, his adrenaline now working right alongside his anger to spur him into doing what he should’ve done years ago to protect Priest.

  Where was he going? He was going to right the wrong that had been brought into the world the day Jimmy fucking Donovan had been born, and he planned to do whatever he needed to end this nightmare tonight.

  When he reached the exit, he looked back to the young man who had somehow charmed his way into his heart over the last couple of days, and was content in knowing that if he were to die tonight and that gunshot had been for Julien, at least Priest would have this beautiful man to love him.

  “Nowhere you need to worry about, bright eyes.” Henri winked at Robbie and pushed open the door that led to the narrow staircase they’d climbed up to get there. “Remember, fifteen minutes,” he said, and when Robbie nodded, Henri disappeared down the stairs.

  As his feet hit the ground floor, Henri quietly opened the side exit and slipped out into the night, careful not to make a sound. The silence in the air was louder than any noise he’d ever heard, and as he followed the same path Jimmy had taken, he made sure to stick to the shadows.

  It was cold down there by the river tonight, the wind making the air feel like tiny needles were pricking his skin as he moved faster, and as the sound of feet on gravel crunched up ahead, Henri followed it.

  As he tracked the sound to the left and headed toward the #6 Bridge, Henri’s mind began firing off all kinds of messages to his brain, and images and memories flashed through his mind like an episode of This Is Your Life—just a really fucked-up one.

  There was the night his mother had died, her face all bloodied and bruised…

  Victor locking him in the shack alone, sometimes for nights on end…

  Joel leaving him behind without a trace…

  And Jimmy and Victor sending a “handler” to handle him, the day he’d turned ten…

  He had been a victim of circumstance his entire life, and as he crossed the road and headed under the bridge, he spotted Jimmy up ahead and decided that tonight, he’d be no one’s victim.

  Henri removed his gun from the back of his jeans and made sure the safety was off and the suppressor was on. Then he ducked across the street to the embankment littered with garbage, needles, and who the fuck knew what else.

  He had one shot at this or he was as good as dead. There was a reason Jimmy was still alive today, and that was because he never hesitated where others did. But there would be no hesitation from Henri, not when he finally had a chance to end this monster’s reign of terror.

  Henri darted under the bridge, the whistling wind providing just enough noise to keep his steps stealthy, and when he spotted Jimmy crouched by one of the pillars with his head bent over the duffel—no doubt reveling in the blood money he’d just acquired—Henri decided it was time to make his appearance.

  With his gun raised, Henri stepped up behind the old man and pointed the muzzle at the back of his head. “Hey there, motherfucker. Remember me?”

  Henri barely recognized the cold tone of his own voice as he stared down at the asshole in front of him, but Jimmy sure as hell did.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Victor’s boy.” Jimmy chuckled, and the sound made Henri want to retch, but he kept his eyes on the target, knowing one wrong move and the tables would be turned. “I should’ve guessed you’d be here tonight. If anyone could make you come out of hiding, it would be Joel.”

  Henri clenched his jaw as his fingers tightened around the gun.

  “Tell me, though, because I could be wrong,” Jimmy said conversationally, as though he didn’t have a semiautomatic aimed at the back of his head. “Isn’t Joel shacked up with two men who…aren’t you? I mean, I know you two were close as boys, and, well, later as fuck buddies or whatever, but this is a little bit desperate, don’t you think?”

  Henri shoved the gun flat against the thinning red hair of Jimmy’s head. “Shut up,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “Oh, sorry. Did I hit a nerve?”

  He’d hit several, but Henri wasn’t about to
let Jimmy know that. “You didn’t hit shit. You’re done, Jimmy. You can’t win here tonight. You can’t talk your way out of this or have one of your thugs come save you.” Henri bent down. “I’m going to kill you and no one is going to care. Now get up.”

  Jimmy went to look over his shoulder, and Henri pressed the gun so hard into his head that he was shocked he hadn’t fractured Jimmy’s skull.

  “I told you to get on your fucking feet.” The order was issued through teeth that were clenched so hard that Henri was surprised they hadn’t cracked. As Jimmy struggled to his feet, Henri stepped in close and urged him forward, using the gun as a guide.

  “Have to say, I’m impressed.”

  Jimmy had always been a talker, and even now, as Henri led him down to the edge of the river, the arrogant bastard still thought he could talk his way out of this. It was going to be Henri’s pleasure to prove him wrong.

  “You were always kind of the…runt of the litter. Milder, meeker, never wanting to hurt anyone. Yet here you are, pointing a gun at me.”

  “You don’t count as a human being, so I don’t mind hurting you.”

  “I understand, I understand,” Jimmy said. “What you’re really trying to say is that you’re still a pussy. Still a weak little shit who hides instead of fights. But now that Joel’s dead, who you gonna hide behind?”

  As Jimmy’s words echoed in the darkness, Henri’s blood ran cold.

  He’d known somewhere deep down that there was a possibility that the shot he’d heard had hit Priest. But in the back of his mind, he’d fooled himself into thinking that if Priest had died tonight, he would’ve somehow felt it.

  But now Henri’s hand began to shake. “You’re lying.”

  “Why would I lie? You have a gun pointed at my head.”

  “You’re trying to fuck with me, and it won’t work.”

  Jimmy chuckled, and the sound made Henri’s skin crawl. “It already has.”

  “Shut your fucking mouth,” Henri spat out, his vision now turning a furious shade of red, as he steadied his hand and shoved Jimmy closer to the edge.

  “Okay, but I want you to know it warms my heart to know that even with all your failings, we managed to make a man out of you.”

  “You didn’t make anything out of me.”

  Jimmy shrugged as he looked out across the murky water. “I’m about to make you a murderer, and no matter how much time passes, that’s something you’ll never forget.”

  The ringing in Henri’s ears was so loud that it drowned out all other thoughts. He stared at the monster in front of him and thought of all the people Jimmy had killed, all the families that he’d terrorized—and then Henri thought of the boy he’d loved and would never see again.

  “Murderer” was a title he could live with if it meant that Jimmy Donovan no longer walked the earth. He pulled the trigger, Jimmy fell face-first into the Calumet River, and Henri made good on the promise he’d sworn to uphold tonight.

  HENRI STARTLED OUT of sleep and jerked upright in the dark. As sweat poured off his brow and his heart thundered out of control, he looked around the unfamiliar room he was in and began to panic.

  His breathing was erratic and he felt hot all over. Just as he was about to reach for a light so he could see where the hell he was, there was movement beside him, and he remembered—Bailey.

  Fuck. Henri squeezed his eyes shut and brought his hands up to his face. The dream had been so real that he felt as though he were still inside it. But he wasn’t, and everyone who mattered was alive—Robbie had texted not long after Henri pulled the trigger to tell him that—and now everything was, as they say, ancient history.

  As he tried to calm himself down, Henri felt a hand on his leg.

  “Hey.” Bailey’s voice was soft and raspy from sleep. Henri looked down and could make out the sharp angles of Bailey’s face. “You okay?”

  No, he fucking wasn’t.

  Bailey rolled to his side and said, “Bad dream?”

  Don’t I wish, Henri thought. He tried to banish the memory that had somehow managed to escape the black hole he’d locked it inside of. But knowing he needed to say something, he managed, “Yeah, that must’ve been it.”

  “Come back down here,” Bailey said, and then tugged on Henri’s hand and placed a palm on his chest. “Your heart is racing.”

  “I know,” Henri said. “Stupid dream.”

  “Mhmm. But that’s all it was.” Bailey pressed a kiss to Henri’s shoulder. “Just a dream. It’s over now.”

  Right…

  A few minutes later, the soft sound of Bailey’s breathing indicated he’d drifted off again, but as Henri lay there, staring at the ceiling, he knew there was no way sleep would find him now. That guilty conscience he’d been so good at ignoring sure had, though, and as he turned his head on the pillow to look at Bailey, Henri knew he’d never truly be free, that this nightmare would never be over.

  What he’d done that night was a reality that he had to live with, but how in the world could he ever expect Bailey to?

  Coming Soon

  CONFESSIONS: BAILEY

  Release Date: OCTOBER 28th, 2019

  Join Henri and Bailey as they continue to navigate the exciting and scary emotions that come with falling in love and opening yourself up to a happily ever after that you never knew existed…

  You can pre-order CONFESSIONS: BAILEY now!

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading

  CONFESSIONS: HENRI

  I hope you enjoyed finding out more about the mysterious bad boy Henri Boudreaux. If you did, please consider leaving a review on the site you purchased the book from. He would be MOST grateful.

  If you would like to talk with other readers who love this series, you can find them HERE at

  Ella Frank’s Temptation Series Facebook Group.

  Special Thanks

  I would like to thank everybody who picked up Confessions: Henri to find out for themselves what kind of man this lone-wolf bad boy would end up falling for. Who knew it would be a shy cop with a heart of gold? Right?

  I loved writing every single word of this book, even though Henri wanted to stay mysterious for a little longer than I wanted him too—yes, he was being a stubborn bastard. But we’ll forgive him, since he’s not good at letting people in.

  Bailey, however, has gotten past that tough exterior, and now it’s time to dig even deeper. It’s time to see the real Henri. But will Bailey like what he finds once he uncovers the complicated layers that this man uses like a shield?

  I can’t wait to bring you Confessions: Bailey (Confessions Series Book Six), the conclusion to these two and their unlikely love story.

  So on with the thank yous!

  Brooke Blaine. Thank you so much for putting up with every single version of this story I gave you (including one version that wasn’t even this book). But this version was the perfect version, and just proves that I was supposed to try all those others first to realize that! Thank you for working with me and putting up with me over the past few months. Now let’s go celebrate in NYC!

  To my husband. Oh, this poor man… I can’t tell you how many times he sat down with me to listen to me plot out this book, change my mind, change the characters, change directions, and then tell him I decided to do something completely different the next day. He is a total trouper, the most patient person on the planet, and I couldn’t have done this without him.

  Thank you, Arran, for being so flexible and amazing. You’re the best editor I could ask for, and you are stuck with me until you decide to cut me loose. I appreciate everything you do.

  Judy, as always. I rely on your eyes to find the things my eyes, Brooke’s eyes, and Arran’s eyes didn’t catch, and I am always amazed how many hands a book can go through and still have several simple words missing! Thank you for having my back.

  To Hang Le, whom I am in complete awe of. Every single cover she sends my way gets better and better, and this Confessions Series is so beaut
ifully branded that I feel fortunate to call them my own. Thank you, lady! (I can’t wait to show everyone Bailey <3)

  Thank you, as always, to my readers! I can’t tell you how much I love going back to this world; it’s like coming home and bringing all my friends to visit my family. I hope you all come back to visit again in October!

  Until next time,

  MUAH!

  Xx Ella

  About the Author

  If you’d like to get to know Ella better, you can find her getting up to all kinds of shenanigans at:

  The Naughty Umbrella

  And if you would like to talk with other readers who love Robbie, Julien & Priest, you can find them HERE at

  Ella Frank’s Temptation Series Facebook Group.

  Ella Frank is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust and is the co-author of the fan-favorite contemporary romance, Sex Addict. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”

  Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.

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  For more information

  www.ellafrank.com