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 p**n 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 f**ker 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 f**king 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 f**king 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 f**king 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.