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.
"Are you ready to leave?"
"Yes."
The drive home was quiet, and when they walked
inside Stephen went straight to his office. He phoned his
lawyer giving him a run-down of all the problems happening with the club. His lawyer sounded pissed with the instructions, but he agreed to sort it out. After some time, Stephen shut down the computer and took a small drink of whiskey before making his way upstairs. The light in the bedroom was off. Ursula lay in the bed. He didn't know if she was asleep or not.
He threw his clothes to the floor getting in behind her. "I love you," he said.
"I love you, too."
Stephen wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. There was nothing he wouldn't do to keep her safe.
"Make love to me, Stephen."
Turning her to him, he kissed her deeply. For the rest of the night he loved her body showing her with more than words how much he loved her.