The Owners: His Obsession Part 12

She nodded and watched him pull out of the gate. Ursula watched the gate close before going back inside. There were some bits to clean away from the party last night. She finished clearing away the gla.s.ses and food, and then she vacuumed the carpets. When everything was done in the other rooms she went back to the kitchen where their breakfast plates were left. She moved the plates out of the way and then stared at the card he'd given her. The plastic glinted up at her making her feel uncomfortable. How could she take the card from him? There was no way she'd be able to pay him back.

Ursula cleaned away all the breakfast plates and frying pans, and then she grabbed the phone and dialled her sister's number. Her mother had given her the number when they last talked.

"h.e.l.lo," Caroline said.

"Hi. Have I called you at a bad time?" Ursula asked.

"It's a Sat.u.r.day. Of course it's a bad time. Why do you think I left mom and dad's? They always wanted me up early." She heard some movement then the sound of a tap. "I'm getting the coffee on. Why are you so perky?"

"I've been up awhile." She thought of Stephen. He made getting up worth the early rising.

"Yeah, you sound like a woman who has been laid properly."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ursula said with a giggle.

"Mom has already phoned and told me you've got a new man on the scene. I've heard all about Stephen, but I don't believe a word of it. It was good to hear you'd gotten rid of Paul. He was a slime-ball."

They talked for several minutes catching up. All the time Ursula kept staring at the card in her hand.

"Actually, there is something I haven't told mom about Stephen."

"Really.The good girl being naughty. You know I was proud when you stood your ground about Paul even if he was a total loser. This just makes me giddy. Does he have a job? Is he cute? Tell me if he's in a band?"

Ursula laughed. Caroline had a reputation for s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g things up. She still loved her sister.

"Stephen is older than I, and you may have heard of him. Stephen Knox?"

There was silence on the other end.

"You're dating the Stephen Knox? Ursula, he's rich beyond your wildest dreams and, holy s.h.i.+t. You're banging one of the wealthiest men." Ursula scrunched her nose up. "I haven't told mom or dad."

"They're not going to like it, Ursula. His reputation is not the best. He's in the media with snotty models not to mention the fact you don't have a fortune to your own name." Caroline said everything she'd already been thinking herself.

"I know that, but I like him, Caroline. He's nice, and he makes me feel special."

"Are you in love with him?"

Ursula thought about it. She loved the way he smiled and the moods he had. "Yes, I think I'm in love with him."

"Wow, you'll have to tell them. Springing that surprise on them wouldn't be good."

"He's agreed to go next week. I figured if he was with me then they wouldn't be a problem."

"You're surprising me more and more."

"He gave me a credit card," she said. She wanted her sister's opinion on the next stage up.

"Is he treating you disrespectfully?"

"No, not at all. He wants me to use it."

"Then don't think it's a big deal. He clearly wants you to have it. I'll be at the parentals' house next week. I want to meet the man who my sister is in love with."

"Caroline, don't embarra.s.s me."

"Would I do that to you?"

"Yes."

"Then enjoy. I've got to go. My own man is moaning about being alone. Take care, and have fun with your rich guy."

She put the phone down still hating the card in her hand. Shaking her head, she walked up the stairs to put the card in her purse.

Afterwards she took a quick shower.

The house was large. She'd been in every room. Her favourite room was his library. The scent of the books always soothed her chaotic mind. She needed to write a paper for her psychology cla.s.s. Opening the curtains, she let in plenty of light then went investigating the books in his collection. He owned plenty of cla.s.sics, along with textbooks.

Ursula gathered the books she needed and took a seat. The moment she opened the first textbook, she was absorbed into her studies.

Stephen met James outside his club. The other man wore a pair of leather pants, white s.h.i.+rt, and leather jacket. Stephen couldn't help but chuckle at his attire.

"Stephen Knox is laughing early in the morning. This is news to report. Should I get a hold of the media? Your woman must be good for you," James said as he got in the car.

"Ursula is none of your concern. I'm happy. Cadeon is meeting us at Rebecca's. He has a key."

"I hope your thoughts are not true. I would hate to have to deal with the Dominic s.h.i.+t again." James closed the door, securing his seatbelt.

"Everything adds up. I don't like this either."

"Have you done any digging?" James asked.

"Nothing new. I haven't gotten around to it this morning. I don't want to alert Ursula. She still doesn't know about Possession, and at the moment I want to keep it that way."

"You'll have to tell her eventually."

"Not today. At the moment this is too dangerous for her. I want to keep her as safe as possible."

"Black is dangerous, I'll give you that, but prost.i.tuting women? Or buying them? I don't get it." James stared at him.

Stephen knew it sounded far-fetched. "There is a lot of s.h.i.+t going on in this world that I don't agree with. Money is money no matter how it is earned. If you've lost a large sum of money and you need to get it back and quick, wouldn't you do everything you could to get it back?"

"I'd earn it the good old-fas.h.i.+oned way. I'm not wired to earn off the backs of women, Stephen. I never have been."

He knew James spoke the truth. Stephen would do the same. No woman would earn his crust.

"Well, I wouldn't turn a woman black and blue," Stephen said.

"I would turn a woman's a.s.s red, but I'd never abuse her. Hitting a woman in violence is wrong. I don't agree with it. If Lloyd is looking to get out of jail then I don't know how we can stop him."

"I don't think him getting out of jail is the problem, James. I think the means he is going to use is the problem." The more he thought about Lloyd the more he began to worry. He could use the clubs as leeway to try to get out of prison. Possession and Ravage could easily be shown in the wrong light.

"f.u.c.k, he better not have a death wish. If he tries to take my club down, I'll f.u.c.king kill him," James said.

They sat in silence for the rest of the journey.

Cadeon sat in his car waiting for them when they pulled up outside her house. They all got out, the cold biting Stephen through his jacket.

"I told Tate and Kevin to not bother today. They're meeting us with the others at the club."

"Okay," Stephen said.

Cadeon knocked on the door. It had been a few years since Stephen had last seen Rebecca. The door opened, and her head popped round. He noticed she didn't greet anyone but Cadeon.

"I've got some friends with me who want to ask you a few questions." The door was left open, and Cadeon escorted them all in. They found Rebecca in the sitting room. She'd wrapped a blanket around her. She sat on the farthest end of the couch.

"I'm sorry. I'm cold," she said.

"You don't need to be afraid, Rebecca. I care about you. How is everything with Tate and Kevin?" Cadeon asked.

"They try to help me. I find it so hard. I want to go outside. My doctor doesn't think I have that symptom she mentioned. She thinks I'm repressing memories, and it makes me think I don't want to go outside." Rebecca chuckled.

"Do you remember me?" Stephen asked taking the seat in front of her.

"Yes."

"And me?" James asked.

"Yes."

"We need to ask you a few questions."

"Ask away. I don't have a lot of guests. I'm not slow. I'll answer anything you need me to." She gave a nod at all of them.

"Are you comfortable talking about your time with Lloyd Black?" Stephen asked.

He noticed the fear in her. She fidgeted on the couch and stared between him and Cadeon. "Yes," she whispered. "I'll talk about him."

"What about your own life?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Stephen glared at James. "We've recently come into some information that may be crucial to something that is happening. Do you recall much of your life before marrying Lloyd?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Ask me anything about Lloyd, but I can't tell you about my past."

"Why?" Stephen asked.

"Because I'll be in trouble. I'm only allowed to say that I met Lloyd and fell in love. I'm not allowed to say anything else."

Stephen nodded his head. He would need to wait until Monday to get the answers he needed.

"I want you to tell me about Lloyd. Were you his only woman?" Stephen asked.

"No. He would have meetings at his house where a selection of girls would come. He'd pick them out, and then the others would leave," Rebecca said. "I had to provide entertainment after he made his purchase."

"He brought these women?"

"Yes. He always said they were a good investment. Men always needed a hole to f.u.c.k, and they kept him in the lifestyle he was accustomed to." He saw the tears in her eyes. The barrier she was fighting against was breaking down. "When he had the meetings I was so afraid. He would warn me that if I didn't please the man he handed me to, then he would sell me, too, and make sure I didn't have a good life."

Her hands kept rubbing her legs.

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you everything when we went to the club, but he made sure I was never alone. The pain if another man spoke to me hurt so much. I wasn't brave enough to fight him. I wanted to fight him all the time. I was never strong enough." Cadeon wrapped his arms around her. Stephen watched the woman come apart at the seams. Guilt filled him to the very core. He hadn't been paying attention when this woman needed it most. He'd been too upset by the lack of a woman in his life to give a s.h.i.+t about anyone else.

He would change it. Every member was being thoroughly checked from now on. All his existing members would be investigated.

"The man you had to entertain, what was his name?"

"Dominic, and he was British. I never knew his last name."

And there was the connection he needed. Cadeon comforted her while James and Stephen left. They drove in silence to Possession. He pressed the security digits then waited for the gates to open. Like always he went through the back entrance.

When they were in the privacy of his office, Stephen lost it. All his anger he took out on the furniture in his office. James stood in the corner with his arms folded, watching him.

"Tras.h.i.+ng your office is not going to change anything that happened. This was not your fault," James said.

"Not my fault?" Stephen threw the computer to the floor. The screen smashed. "Do you think my father would have let that slide? He would have known instantly what was going on. What did I do? I sat back and did nothing." He walked over to where James stood. "That woman has no life because of me. She lives in a house that she refuses to leave. What kind of life does she really have? She depends on a lot of people, James."

"And you think tras.h.i.+ng your office will solve all of those problems?"

"Your father gave you one piece of advice, to look after the club and make sure all members are safe. You've done that. Ravage is flouris.h.i.+ng, and you're in complete control of everything you do. My dad asked me to keep Possession in the same high regard. I f.u.c.ked it up, James. He asked this one thing of me, and I messed it up." He started to laugh at the situation. James stared at him. "Do you know what the funny thing is? I was jealous of all you. You knew what possession was all about, while I thought it was a load of c.r.a.p. I now know it's not."

He stared round the office, the same office his father had used and his father before him. There was a lot of history in the room, and he'd trashed it.

"You've f.u.c.ked up, so deal with it. You don't have to spend the rest of your life messing up. Rebecca got hurt. You're on the ball now. Don't mess up again."

"That simple?"

"I wasn't always a dominant, Stephen. When I found out about my parents' preferences I freaked out and rebelled. It was only after time that I realised the real person I was. This is who I am. The woman I meet has to accept me how I come. I'm not going to change."

Stephen nodded, unable to do anything else. There was a knock on the door, and Lucas entered. He took one look at the mess then left.

"I guess we're meeting elsewhere." James left him to go find Lucas. Stephen grabbed his cell phone to call Ursula. He needed to hear her voice.

The call carried on without answering. When it went to voice-mail he hung up and re-dialled her number. She answered on the third ring.

"h.e.l.lo," she said.