He didn’t say anything as he downed his drink. Since Prudence had entered Ravage on Friday, training or taking a sub for the weekend hadn’t been on his mind. None of them held any appeal. He pushed Kevin out of the way and got up.
“Get me those details.” He left the dungeon without a backward glance. Some people tried to catch his attention, he ignored them, pretending he hadn’t seen them. James walked out of his club and asked Leo to get him a cab to take him to Possession.
He waited while Leo talked to the taxi firm. They used one who knew the score and kept their mouths shut.
Once inside, the driver didn’t speak to him or acknowledge his presence. James stared out of the window trying to get the black and red haired beauty out of his mind.
At the gate to Possession, he typed in the twelve digit number for his access code. The gates opened and immediately shut when the car drove down the path leading up to the house. When the taxi stopped, he paid some money for them to wait while he was inside.
He was surprised to see there was no doorman when he entered. James kept his coat and made his way down to Stephen’s office.
Lucas and Sean were coming down the stairs looking like they’d just been to hell. He saw Lucas give him a nod of the head before leaving.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” Sean said. The man looked like he’d aged twenty years.
“Are you still drinking from the bottle?” James asked.
“No, I drink from the glass and keep the bottle close by.” Sean walked away leaving Lucas and James alone.
“Where is the doorman?”
“I think you need to talk to Stephen.”
Lucas walked past him leaving James alone.
He knocked on the door and heard his friend’s muffled voice letting him know the door was open.
Walking into the room James was shocked by what greeted him. There were piles of paperwork on the table. Dane sat in the centre of the room looking through some of the mounds of paperwork.
Stephen looked up. “James? Is that you?”
“The one and only. What’s going on?” James asked, stepping around the room.
“I finally emptied the basement of the house that Dad kept hidden. These are all the backlogs of files on the members of Possession.” Stephen went back to reading.
“Why don’t you have a doorman?”
“He quit when he was attacked at the door by a pair who’d managed to get an access code to the gate. They didn’t look like regulars. They were members of the press. After the attack there was an exposé on the people who worked here. I compensated him, and his job will still be here when all this crap dies down.” Stephen explained without looking up.
James looked at the never ending paperwork.
“How did they get the access codes?”
“Someone hacked our security. I’ve had Tate and Kevin put a tighter lock on things. I’m hoping it will hold up any possible threat. I’ve had it up to here with them.” Stephen raised his hand above his head.
Dane hadn’t looked up at him. James didn’t like this other man. For him, he represented all the crap that was happening. If it weren’t for men like him then he wouldn’t be in this position, and maybe Prudence wouldn’t be breaking into his thoughts.
“I’m getting them to boost my security. How is Ursula handling things?” he asked. He liked the other woman. She made Stephen calm and showed him what it meant to be a possessive man.
“She’s not saying anything. I know she hates the fact she can’t finish her degree. Her family are being difficult. They’re worried about her being with me. It is a mess. Eugene really f**ked everything up for us.”
Eugene Black was the man responsible for putting Possession and Ravage in the spotlight.
If James could get his hands on the little f**ker he’d have killed him all over again.
“Why are you going through the old files and all the old members?” James asked.
“To see if I’ve missed something. I’m following my gut in this one, James. I think there is an answer in here. I have no idea what. Ursula thinks I’m barking mad.”
“Is this because of Lloyd Black?”
“Partly. You do know he was friends with our parents, don’t you?”
James shook his head. He hadn’t known. James frowned as he recalled what Stephen had said about the files being in the basement.
“I thought the files were either on the computer or here,” James said.
“That is what I thought. Only within the last twenty years has information been going on file. My dad printed everything off and stored it away in the house. Possession was not the original house where the club met.”
“Where did the club usually meet?” James asked.
“At my house, the one that has been passed down through each generation of Knox’s. Some of the stuff here is in writing. I think it dates back easily a hundred years.” Stephen closed and file and threw it on the floor.
“Anything with Black and Knox?”
“Yes, you’re not going to like it. This here has the three files of Knox and Black, but there is also Castleden, James. Something went on among our families, and I’ve no idea what it is.”
****
Dane listened to them talk. They were getting close to putting their history together. He’d figured it out the moment he read the files. It was done in code and one he’d easily been able to decipher. These two men had no idea how tightly they were wound with the Black name or how tightly the Black name was wound with Green.
“I’m going to get a drink,” Dane said.
Stephen nodded his head then continued talking with James.
He liked both men and knew when they saw the truth, they would be in for a world of hurt. Dane walked out of the office and down to the bar. He saw Lucas and Sean drinking, which made him hesitate. Staring up the flight of stairs, he walked to the top floor to the far end. He gave three knocks, and Isabella opened the door.
She looked at him like he’d gone mad. Behind Isabella, Rebecca stood.
“What are you doing here?” Rebecca asked.
“I could ask you two the same question.” He pushed past them and slammed the door glaring at them.
Neither of them showed any fear.
“I told you when I came here after getting out. Your being here is not good,” Dane said. All three of them had agreed a few years ago what was going to happen. He didn’t like how it was going. This could all turn on their heads.
“Things change, Dane,” Rebecca said.