His Obsession (21 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Ursula
sat in the passenger’s side of his car as Stephen pressed the security code and
identification into the board at the side of the gate. The silence in the car
was deafening. The ring on her finger felt heavy. She’d agreed to marry him
without seeing this side of him because she loved him. There was no way she
could live the rest of her life without him in it. She loved him. She wanted to
be with him. Her decision had to be the right one.

He
drove down the long drive way. She found the many trees and darkness amusing.
It was like the opening to some kind of horror movie based around a haunted
house. After a few minutes he parked the car in a large parking lot. There were
several more cars already parked. Stephen helped her out of the car. She gasped
when she saw the mansion before her. It was larger than Stephen’s house, and
she thought that was huge.

“Wow,”
she said.

“It
has a lot of history around it.” He placed a hand at her back taking her to the
front entrance.

A
man waited inside the door. Stephen greeted him then took her coat from her.
She smiled at the man, who gave her a nod of the head. So far everything seemed
normal. Stephen opened the door to the main hallway. He led her down the hall
to another room. She took a deep breath. Her nerves were driving her crazy.
They walked through a room that held a bar. There was a sultry dark-haired
singer on stage.

They
stopped at the bar while Stephen ordered a coffee for himself. “I’ll have a
beer,” she said.

“The
lady will have a beer.” She needed to do something to calm herself.

Violet
sat next to
Cadeon
at a large table. She saw a couple
more men with their women curled up against them. They were touching each
other. Small touches on the hand, back, or face, but she saw the need she felt.
Acting on instinct, Ursula took Stephen’s hand as they walked the small
distance to the sitting area where his friends sat. The men stood when she
approached.

“Hi, everyone.
Tate, Kevin, Sean, and Lucas you know.
Also,
Cadeon
and Violet.
This man,
though, is James. He was at the party, but I don’t recall you two being
introduced.” Stephen made the introductions. James kissed her hand and let her
go immediately. She liked there was no lingering in touches with each other.

They
sat for several moments. She saw all the men exchange glances. “I’m going to
have to leave you here while I go and talk with the others. Violet will stay
with you.” Ursula nodded her head watching them all leave.

Stephen
kissed her deeply before leaving.
Cadeon
did the same
to Violet.

Seconds
later, she sat with Violet sipping her beer.

“Are
you all right?” Violet asked.

“I’m
fine. This is just ...
erm
... for me it is just a
little too much at the moment.” She tried to explain without sounding
judgmental.

“I
understand. When
Cadeon
told me about this place I
was concerned. Then I was charmed, and I found it funny.” Violet sipped from a
soda can.

“I’m
surprised you don’t drink hard. Do you want me to order you some wine?”

Violet
shook her head. “I don’t drink. I’m more of a tea or coffee girl.”

“When
did you and
Cadeon
become an item?”

“Over
four months ago. I used to work for him in one of his businesses.”

Ursula
spat beer out of her mouth, the action so sudden Violet jumped. “Shit, I’m so
sorry.” She grabbed napkins to try and clean up the mess.

“What
did I say?” Violet asked.

“You
worked for him?”

The
other woman nodded her head. Ursula finished cleaning away the mess she’d
created. “I work for,
no,
I used to work for Stephen.
I cleaned his house and cooked his dinner.”

“I
don’t know a lot about Stephen. Living with
Cadeon
is
more than enough for me. He likes me to himself, and to be honest, I like being
with him.”

“Was
he honest about this place?” She finished wiping up the beer. The woman minding
the bar came over to gather the towels. Ursula sat down with the half finished
bottle of beer.

“Yes,
Cadeon
has always been honest with me. I wasn’t with
him in the beginning. I know this life is not for every woman, but it is for
me. I love him, and it’s nice knowing I’ll always be safe.” Violet smiled
sipping her tea.

Ursula
recalled what Stephen had told her about the other woman. Violet looked really
happy.

Several
men sat in the opposite booth. Neither of them looked over at them or sent
side-long glances. “They won’t approach the table,” Violet said.

“What?”
Ursula turned back to the other woman.

“One
of the rules of the club is not to approach other women. The
staff
are
not to be dated, and the women who frequent the club are considered
taken. You’re wearing a pendant known by many to be Stephen Knox’s possession.
To the men, you’re owned by him.”

Ursula
listened to Violet. Her words should piss her off. Being owned by men was a
barbaric way of looking at situations.

“You’re
totally fine with all of this?” Ursula asked. She was pissed at her own lack of
being pissed.

“Why
wouldn’t I be?
Cadeon
loves me. I spent a great deal
of my life being afraid. He takes care of me. I like knowing when I fall asleep
in his arms everything will be okay. I don’t expect you to understand. There
have been women that he’s told me about who hated this whole thing. But for
once wouldn’t you like someone to hold you, love you, and protect you?” Violet
put her cup down. “Before
Cadeon
there was nothing in
my life but fear. I was scared to live. Now, I have him. There is nothing else
in the world I want.”

Her
passionate speech made Ursula listen. She put her empty bottle down and stared
at the pendant. Since meeting Stephen she’d been happy. He made her happy by
being with her.

“I
hope I didn’t upset you,” Ursula said.

“
Cadeon
warned me. He said you’d ask questions. I don’t
mind. You’re the first woman who has talked to me since coming here. It’s nice.
I hope you stay with Stephen. I don’t know him that well, but he seems
different with you. He seems happy.”

Her
ring turned on her finger. Ursula stared down at the small diamond band. She’d
agreed to marry him. She would have to tell her sister, her parents, everyone
she loved that she was marrying Stephen. The panic rose inside her. She didn’t
like being the centre of attention. She didn’t know how she would get through a
wedding. Ursula lifted her hand up to show Violet the ring.

“Is
that what I think it is?”

“Yes.
He proposed before we came over.” Violet cooed over the ring. Ursula smiled at
her response. The ring felt heavy on her finger. After some time Violet offered
to take her ‘round the club. Ursula followed the other woman as they moved from
room to room.

“From
what
Cadeon
tells me this whole place is Stephen’s.”

Just another thing to make me
nervous.

****

Stephen
passed the file to James who began looking through it. He knew the instant he
got to the photographs as he began cursing under his breath. The moment James
finished he passed it to the other men. He waited until all of them had seen
the file before commenting.

Lucas
closed the file then put it down on the desk. Stephen had cleaned away the mess
in his office during the week. This was the only place he knew to be safe and
secure.

“I
don’t like the look of those pictures,” James said first. “Everything else can
be put down to hearsay, but those pictures can damage our reputation. What do
we know on Ursula’s ex?”

“Paul
Mellor hates working. He finds a woman, settles down,
then
lets her work until she kicks him out. From my sources he’s been doing it since
he turned eighteen,” Sean said. “According to what Stephen has said, he spent
most of his time watching porn while Ursula was at work or college.”

“So
we can rule out him running the show?” James asked. He clearly looked
concerned. Stephen understood the concern. That single picture of him punishing
his submissive did not paint James in a very good light.

Stephen
sat back and thought about everything that had happened in the last few months.
“I think
it’s
Eugene Black.”
 

“It’s
Eugene,” Tate and Kevin said in unison.

“How
do you know for sure?” James asked. “That little fucker has been off the scene
for awhile.”

“He’s
the sole trustee of the Black fortune. There have been large amounts of funds
being transferred into his bank from a British investor. That selfsame investor
was putting money into Dominic’s account,” Tate said.

“How
come we’re only learning about it now?” Stephen asked.

“Because I had to do a deal with a very bad man.
Do you
remember all the men who were with Dominic the night we took Violet back? There
was one man who swore to tell everything he knew. None of us or the police
listened. I’ve been to see him. He’s British and was deported back to his own
country. I went to see him.” Tate explained everything in detail. “His name is
Dane Wood. From everything he’s told me, Eugene and Dominic had a deal.
Together they would export and import women to be sold on the black market. He
can link the two together.”

“Black and Green?
Are you fucking serious?” Sean asked.

“Doesn’t matter about their last names.”

“What
does Dane want in the process?” Stephen asked. He would pay a great deal to see
Eugene off the streets.

“He
wants out of prison. Dane said he didn’t change one prison for another. His
family owned Dominic a debt. Dane paid it with his service. With his boss gone,
his service is over,” Tate said.

“We
can’t get him out of jail,” James said. “He’s a criminal.”

“A criminal with a lot of information and evidence, which is what
we don’t have.”
Stephen ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ll make the
call. You get in touch with Dane and have everything set up soon. I’ll get my
lawyer to him. You’ve got to make sure he’ll talk.”

“There
is another catch,” Tate said.

“What?”

“He
wants in on the club.
A complete new life.
His old
life will end with him being assumed dead or something like that. No one from
his old life knows about him. He doesn’t want to go back to England.” Tate
continued explaining all the details.

“I
can’t guarantee that.”

“You
don’t know the full extent of what this guy knows. He could be a huge help to
our own government as well as added protection over here. He’s a big man with a
hell of a lot of power. My best guess as to why he’s waited this long is
because he’d been waiting for the right people to get in touch with him.”

Everything
Tate said made sense. Stephen knew he’d have to do a deal. “Call him. We’ll get
this sorted out. Remind him this could take a few months. None of us are judges
or lawyers, but we’ll get everything paid so he gets a decent hearing and
whatever else he needs.”

“There is no way we could work to
have a criminal transferred. We don’t have that kind of power,” James said.

“We don’t have that kind of power,
but my contacts who were after Dominic will want whatever information this Dane
has to help bring down other criminals. They’ll make a deal. It will take time
and will require a guarantee that he’ll be watched. Sean and I can provide
that,” Lucas said.

“I don’t like it, but at this moment
that’s our only option,” Tate said.

They
all nodded in agreement. There was nothing else they could do. Everyone left
the office apart from James.

“Do
you have any fucking clue what you’re doing?” James asked the moment the door
closed giving them privacy.

“I’m
doing what needs to be done. We can’t take Eugene down. We don’t know where he
is or what he’s doing. This is our only shot.” Stephen stood up to leave the
office.

“You’re
talking about housing a criminal!”

“I’m
talking about saving the fucking club and protecting my woman. I don’t give a
shit about anything else. If you’ve got a better idea I’m all ears, but until
you do, I’m taking the criminal.” He slammed out of the office to see Ursula
waiting for him. Violet was leaving with
Cadeon
.

James
walked out of the office. He ignored Stephen and went straight to Ursula.
“You’re a lovely girl. Please, keep an eye on this one.” Then he walked out.