Owned by the Dom: Part Two (The Owners) (16 page)

“She spent the first part of her life being hidden from sight. They have a lot more in common than you might think. I’m sure Cadeon won’t have a problem.”

Stephen stood to leave. James remained seated.

“Did you lose your manners as well?” Stephen asked.

“I’m going to try and get my club up and running again. I suggest you do the same. Before all the crap that happened they were havens for men like us. I don’t want those bastards to win.”

“That’s the fighting spirit.”

Stephen left him alone with his thoughts. James hated his thoughts more than he hated anything else.

****

Prue listened to her sister rant and rave at her for leaving the house.

“You just ran off. What was I supposed to think?” Veronica asked.

“You weren’t supposed to think anything. I’m not a child.”

“Then why are you behaving like one?”

Prue
stared at her sister and felt so angry at her. “I’m not behaving like a child. I’m trying to do something that will stop this feeling inside.” Pressing a hand to her chest, Prue growled in annoyance. “Do you have any idea what this feels like?”

Veronica stared at her with pity. She despised the pity.

“There, see, look at your face. You pity me. I see it clearly on your face, and I hate that.” Her voice rose with every word she spoke. “The man I’ve been in love with for the longest time has just driven away, and I want more than anything to stop him, and I can’t. I don’t know what to do to stop this.” Running a hand down her face Prue stared out of the kitchen window. “I ran out of this house because of what I saw on the news. I needed to get away, and I ended up in James’s house. He held me tightly and I loved that. His scent surrounded me, and I needed a break from being me.”

She stared at her sister and watched as the older woman swallowed.

Tears clogged in her throat, but she continued talking no matter how painful it was. “I forced him to have sex with me. James tried to stop me, and I begged him. He can’t deny me anything. I know that. He loves me and still made love to me. In the end, something held me back.”

“You’ve been through something
, and that is what’s affecting you. You can’t expect to be fixed,” Veronica said.

“No, I don’t expect to be fixed
, but when your family comes back tomorrow, I’m going back home, and I’m doing everything I can until I’m fixed.” Prue brushed past her sister and made her way to her room. She slammed the door closed then tensed. Growling with frustration, she opened the door then sat on the bed.

She grabbed a book off the side that Veronica left and started reading. The paperback was a romance but failed to calm her nerves. After a few hours passed Veronica came up carrying a tray of food.

“I’ve come with a peace offering,” Veronica said.

“I don’t need a peace offering.” She put the book aside then moved as her sister put the tray on the bed.

“You don’t need to leave tomorrow. I’d like for you to stay a few days.”

Prue smiled. “You’re playing mother hen again.”

“We can’t call our parents, and James will give you everything you need. Please, let me care for you for a change.”

She nodded, picking up the piece of toast. “I could never stay angry at you for too long.”

Veronica smiled.

The days passed, and Prue stayed with her sister for another week. Having Daniel and the children in the house was a welcome distraction. She saw the unease on her brother-in-law’s face. Prue knew James was the cause, but she didn’t do anything to put his mind at ease. She liked knowing James was her protector. He called her sister every day to get an update on her. Veronica didn’t know she knew about the calls. She let it slide as her love for him never stopped.

She moved back home the following Monday and started distracting her thoughts by cleaning away the mess she’d left behind. Opening the windows she blasted the house with cold air getting rid of the dust. She dumped out the rotting food then made her way toward the grocery store. Passing the papers on the way to the store she saw Henry’s picture on the front.

His photo didn’t affect her, and for that she was relieved.

After she packed away the shopping she’d bought, she grabbed the paper and started looking for a job. As she sat looking for work the bell went on her front door. She ran to open it to find the two agents who visited her before James came to her in the hospital.

“Hello, Miss Star. I’m Hubert, and this is Josiah. We wanted to check up on you.”

She stared at them amazed and then allowed them to enter her home.

“Why are you here?” she asked, taking a seat.

“We wanted to make sure you were settling in fine,” Josiah said.

“I’m fine.”

Prue moved away to the kitchen. She grabbed them a carton of juice. Being polite at the moment didn’t feel right. “Have you spoken with James?” she asked, wanting to know if he was all right.

“He’s doing fine. We wanted to make sure you were doing okay and to ask you some questions about your experience of being with Henry Warren.”

She sat down on the sofa across from them. Prue grabbed a pillow and hugged it against her as she stared between the two men. They didn’t frighten her. She answered their questions describing everything that happened from Jermaine being shot and then being recused by James. Prue didn’t leave anything out.

“Daren Robinson was posing as a man named Leo, correct?” Hubert asked.

“Yes. He was the security man at the door of Ravage and was supposed to be James’s friend, I think.”

They scribbled notes into their books, and when they were finished they stood.

She shook each of their hands and watched them leave. When they were in the car, she sagged against the door and let out a long shuddering breath. She’
d done it. She’d gotten through the questioning without a single panic attack.

Going back to the table she picked up the phone and started making some calls for a job. She was in the middle of a conversation when her door bell went again.

Talking on the phone she moved toward the door. Cadeon stood on the other side with Violet beside him. The woman looked heavily pregnant.

Ending the call she stared at the two people. “What’s the matter? Is something wrong with James?” she asked, fearing for him.

“Nothing is the matter. James thought it would be good for you to talk with Violet. I’m here to make sure she’s fine.”

Violet smiled at her before turning to her husband.

“I’m going to Ravage. If you need me call, okay,” Cadeon said.

Prue
watched as Cadeon cupped Violet’s cheeks and slammed his lips down on hers. Prue yearned for James’s touch in that moment. Only when Cadeon was satisfied with his possessive kiss did he pull away.

“I’m fine
, and I’ll call the moment I need you,” Violet said.

Cadeon turned to leave. She let the other woman inside then closed the door. “I’m sorry about that. Cadeon worries at the smallest of things.”

Violet smiled then rubbed her stomach.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Prue asked.

Two visits in one day.

“Hot chocolate if you have it.”
Violet followed her through to the kitchen.

“You can sit down on the sofa if you want?” Prue made them both a hot chocolate before joining the other woman in the living room.

“I’m sorry for invading your space. James thinks it will be good if we both talk.” Violet’s subtle English accent came through as she spoke.

“Is this because of what happened with you and Dominic Green?” Prue asked. She saw the other woman didn’t even flinch at the mention of the man’s name.

Violet smiled. “Yes. I’m sorry to hear about you being taken. Cadeon grabbed me, and we left everything to the others. He hated leaving them in the middle of everything, but he feared for me. Ursula stayed with us as well.”

Prue smiled, unsure what to say or how to take the woman in front of her. “I really don’t know what to say to you.”

The other woman smiled. She couldn’t believe Violet was younger than she.

“I noticed you didn’t shudder or flinch when I said Dominic’s name,” Prue said. There was no reaction from Violet. In that instant Prue envied the other woman.

“I’m thankful that his name no longer scared me. There was a time, not long ago, when I couldn’t control myself when his name was mentioned.” She sipped her chocolate then placed the hot cup on the coaster. “My heart would race.” She pressed a hand against her chest. “And my palms would go all sweaty. I couldn’t think or get the right words out. He scared me so much. I think Dominic Green was my father.”

“What?” The words came out of her mouth before she even
thought them.

“My mother worked for him as a prostitute. She ran away when she was pregnant with me
, and for the longest time she kept me a secret. Dominic had a hold of all of the women he worked for. Any child born by his women would eventually work for him.”

Violet paused to let out a breath.

“You don’t have to tell me this,” Prue said, feeling the lump in her throat.

“You’re troubled. I see it in your eyes. This is not who I am. The girl who was hidden away and everything else, that was stuff that happened to me. The real person is the woman I’ve become. I’m Cadeon’s wife and soon to be the mother of his child.” She rubbed her stomach. “He’s taught me not to be ashamed of who I am. What I went t
hrough made me a strong person.”

Prue sipped the chocolate as the first tear started to fall.

“My mother, when she gave birth to me, knew I’d become Dominic’s property, and when I was at the right age, he’d start selling me for money. She did everything she could to protect me until she killed herself.”

“Your mother killed herself?” Prue asked, shocked. This woman had a horrid upbringing in comparison to her own.

“Yes, I ran away. I did everything I could to get away. Then I met Cadeon, and everything has fallen into place. I’m in love. I’m safe, and I’m happy. You saw the way he is.” Violet smiled.

“He’s possessive.” Prue agreed, smiling. She recalled the feel of James being just as possessive with her. There was a dominance with James that she loved. He needed to be in control.

Not the other day. He let you take control and do what you wanted.

“You spent most of your early years being hidden away?”

“Yes, when my mother had visitors she’d make sure I couldn’t hear anything or that no matter what I was hidden from sight. She protected me in her own way. No one hurt me.”

“How have you gotten over that?” she asked.

“Being hidden away?”

Prue nodded.

“For the most part, I let Dominic win because I refused to come out of the dark. I stayed hidden by changing my name and staying away from everything. I realised that all that was happening was he was winning. I didn’t have anything to look forward to in life. He won at everything.”

“What changed?”

Violet smiled, sipping her coffee. “When you wake up one day and wonder where the time has gone. I left England, and when I thought back over my life I realised I’d done nothing except hide. Dominic won because I couldn’t be myself.”

“Everything changed with Cadeon?” Prue asked.

“Yes, everything of importance in my life. He gave me a life by loving me.”

Prue smiled. She wished in her heart it could be that easy for her.

Violet talked with her for several more minutes before she phoned Cadeon to pick her up. Prue saw her out of the house and waved after them.

For the first time Prue was happy for the silence in her room. Closing her eyes, she moved through her house and went to her small garden in the back. The cold air kept the neighbours inside, which she liked. Having to force a conversation was incredibly difficult for her.

Prue inhaled the cold air hoping for the freezing temperatures to fix her mind of all of its problems.

“Come on, Prue. What is wrong with you?”

When no answers came she moved back inside. Locking the door she walked over to the table and threw the card that James had given her into the trash bin. She didn’t need to talk to a professional about her problems.

Picking up the phone she dialled the supermarket and arranged for an interview for the following day. She didn’t want to be controlled by her fears
, and working in a public place where she needed to interact with others would be the perfect solution.

****

“I talked with her, James. I don’t know if I helped or hindered,” Violet said. “I did all I could. She seems fine if a little raw around the edges.”

James stared at the woman sat in Cadeon’s lap.
He envied the love between them. They were an unstoppable force that couldn’t be broken.

“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done, Violet. I really appreciate it.” He tapped her knee then sipped the hot coffee. They were at Possession, which was open once again. Several men had returned with the opening
, but many were still dubious about the press and other activities. Stephen sat with Ursula in his lap. Lucas and Sean were absent while Kevin and Tate sat with them but continued to stare at where Rebecca sat in the corner.