Stephen frowned. The person had to be Paul. The police came to ask them some questions. He called his lawyer to begin the deal to get Eugene.
“How is Isabella?” he asked Lucas.
“She’s not woken up. Whatever has happened to her, the doctors don’t know if she’ll wake up. There was the cold, and from the track marks she’d been taking plenty of drugs.” Lucas stopped talking. Stephen understood. The pain of everything was too much to deal with.
“Excuse me, Mr. Knox, Mr. Sanchez, there is a phone call for you. They want Mr. Castleden and Mr. Ashwood as well,” a nurse said to them. Stephen left Ursula with Tate and Kevin as all of them went into the doctor’s room. “He told me to escort you here.”
The nurse closed the door behind her. The speaker phone beeped on the phone. Stephen pressed the button waiting for the person on the other end.
“I see you got my message.” The unmistakable sound of Eugene Black sounded on the line.
“What the f**k have you done?” James asked.
“Patience, James, Patience. I’m surprised you’re not thanking me. Not only have I cured Rebecca’s problem about getting out of the house, I’ve also given you your freedom. Possession and Ravage will be no more,” Eugene said.
James looked angry.
“What do you want, Eugene?” Stephen said.
“I want to meet. I think the abandoned warehouse from where Dominic took Violet would be the best location.”
“Why? You got what you wanted. The clubs are in tatters. Your message has been received loud and clear,” Stephen said.
“Actually, it hasn’t. There is something else I want from you. I paid a pretty penny for Violet. I want my money back. She would have gotten me so much more where I would have put her.”
“You’re not having Violet,” Cadeon yelled.
“I don’t want used goods. Did you know there are a lot of men looking for virgin women? I mean millions of pounds or dollars for the use of one.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” Stephen asked.
“Because you have information that connects me to this crap. My father is in prison. I don’t want the same. Give me what I want, and Ursula won’t disappear along with all the women connected to the club. You don’t want to mess with me. I’ll be at the warehouse in one hour. Be there, or lose everything you’ve ever known.” The call rang off.
“Dane is not in the country yet. He can’t help us,” James said.
“Suddenly it’s a good idea?” Stephen asked.
“Sarcasm won’t get us anywhere.”
“We have copies of everything. I’m coming with you. I’ve got my contacts in the police force. They’re already smoothing over the impact of the exposure of the clubs. The exposure now is based on the media’s attention. They’re not going to bring us in for questioning. They want answers to the disappearance of women,” Lucas said.
“Then get in touch and tell them where we’ll be in an hour.”
“Stephen, without Dane we don’t have much to go on,” Lucas said.
“We’ll get him to talk. I’ll go in first. I want someone to stay at the hospital with Ursula and Violet.”
“Tate and Kevin won’t leave Rebecca. They’ll be safe with them,” Sean said.
Stephen nodded. “Don’t you two want to stay here with Isabella?”
“She’s out of it at the moment. In a coma. The doctors don’t know if she’s going to wake up. I want to get this dealt with before she does,” Lucas said.
They made arrangements. The men left the room to go and get the people they would need for a showdown. An hour’s notice wasn’t great, but if they could work it right, they would get everything they needed.
His mobile went off.
“It’s a trap,” Paul said the moment he turned the phone on. “He’s going to try and kill you, and he’s already trying to kill the man you’ve got travelling here.”
“Why are you helping me?”
“I don’t. I’m not like him. His plan is to get rid of all of you and force that woman to drop the charges against his father. He’s mad, and I want nothing to do with this. I thought I was supposed to do a couple of messages, and that was it.”
Stephen told Paul what was going to happen. By the time he rang off he was pleased to have been planning for something like this for the past few weeks. He hadn’t thought Eugene would attempt something this soon, but he had to live with it.
Ursula sat waiting for them. Sean and Lucas had already left. He didn’t know what they were doing exactly. He hoped they would get what they needed.
“What’s going on?” she asked. He stroked her hair then kissed her on the lips.
“I don’t want you to leave the hospital,” he said. “You’re going to be safe here.”
“No, something is happening. You can’t keep me in the dark, Stephen.”
“This is for your safety. I can’t do this if I don’t know you’re okay.” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “I love you.”
“I love you. Don’t go. There are others who can go. Don’t go.” She begged him. The tears filling her eyes tightened his gut.
“Don’t do that, Ursula. I’ll make it back. I love you.”
She held onto him for as long as possible. James pulled him away from her. She watched him go.
“We’ve got a date to set,” he shouted to her.
“What?”
“For when we get married. I want to set a date.”
Chapter Eighteen
She watched him walk away. Tate and Kevin were sitting staring at the door to Rebecca’s room. They looked angry. Violet lay on the couch, her head in her hands. Ursula sat next to the other woman while her heart felt broken. The hours had passed in a blur. The sun was beginning to rise outside the window. She should be in bed with Stephen where none of these problems could reach them.
“How can you sit there?” Ursula asked the other woman.
“Cadeon asked me to.”
Rubbing her hands over her pants she stared at the window outside. The minutes passed, and all she thought about was the worst.
“I know where they are,” Violet said.
“What?”
“I can’t sit here waiting. They’ll go to see Rebecca in a second. When they do, we’ll leave out the front. Cadeon gave me his car keys.” Violet made the plans while staring at the clock. On cue, both men stood to go to Rebecca’s room. Both women removed their shoes and ran to the door of the hospital. They wanted to make as little sound as possible. Violet ran to Cadeon’s car without any footwear. Ursula stumbled putting her shoes back on. The car was fired up as they pulled out of the hospital.