“What’s it going to be, son?”
****
Dane pulled out of his memory. His palms were sweaty, and his heart raced. No matter how many times he looked back he couldn’t see another way out. His life had been cemented in that moment. There was nothing he could do except live the life that came. The life he’d lived so far had been one of violence and pain with no end in sight. From the age of twenty-one, he’d become the face of terror for Dominic’s gang. His boss owned every part of him. His parents had died several years later when he was twenty-seven. At the time Dane hadn’t seen the point in leaving. In seven years he’d killed and caused so much damage that staying with Dominic had been the best plan.
He looked around the office. James Castleden didn’t know how lucky he was. He had a good business, and even with the freaky sex shit, he could have a good family. No matter what Dane did, he’d always have the guilt and the remembered look in the victims’ eyes when he made them draw their last breath.
Shaking his head, he stared down at his hands. They were his biggest weapons and always had been. He pushed the thoughts away and focused on the problem at hand.
The guy was asking for several hundred thousand dollars in exchange for the girl he’d wronged. It was a lot to ask for. He was prepared to do everything he could to right the wrong he’d done. The FBI couldn’t do a thing about it, and neither could the men who’d set him free. Dane wanted it all to end. The guilt and the anger were a part of him no matter what he did. Once the email was sent, he erased all traces from it and then fired up the computer, putting more security in place so that no one could hack James’s files, before going back to his seat.
He liked the men who were willing to help him. They were taking a chance on him even though they knew he was a convicted murderer. He leaned on his knees staring at the ground. His life had been filled with a lot of bad choices, but none of that excused his behaviour.
When James had called him a pimp he’d defended his own name, yet he was exactly what James accused. One time when he’d been told what to do, he’d never thought it would have been to fool an innocent woman.
He shook his head. His worst sin was the one he couldn’t undo. No matter what he did to win her back, the woman who’d fought to get away would never look at him the same.
Chapter Three
James couldn’t believe Prudence was standing in front of him. This was not the girl he remembered. Everything around them disappeared until it was only the two of them in the room. She smiled up at him, the same welcoming smile he remembered when he went to pick Veronica up from her house. Prudence had been living with her for a short time while she was at college. Just thinking about it, the time that had since passed felt like a lifetime ago.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as everything came rushing back. He saw the flash of disappointment in her eyes and refused to do anything about it. No matter what his body said or what any other organ said, Prudence Star was off limits to him.
“Besides checking out the hottest club around?” she asked.
“You know you’re not allowed here, Prudence.”
“Why do you still call me by my full name?”
“Because it is your name.” And I like it. He didn’t add the last part. The last thing he needed was for her to know how she’d affected him. She was twenty-three years old, and he was forty-six years old. He was too f**king old for her. She deserved someone … normal. The word alone made him shudder. James didn’t consider himself abnormal, until Veronica reacted the way she did over his lifestyle, he knew Prudence would never be for him. Prudence was his ex-girlfriend’s little sister. He shouldn’t be thinking about her in any way, even though her body was pure sin. Look at those curves, the way her skirt moulded to her hips. He’d seen the way her ass looked. Every part of her tempted him like a moth was tempted by a flame.
“Whatever. I’m here because of Veronica.”
He froze at the sound of his ex.
“What does she want?”
“I don’t know.” Prudence moved away from him to grab something from her coat. James watched as she bent forward exposing the base of her back.
Fucking hell!
He ran a hand over his face trying to forget what he’d just seen. Sweet, little, innocent Prudence had a tramp stamp along the base of her back. He hadn’t got a good look at the design, and he knew ink when he saw it. The desire to bend her over the bar and have a closer look was too strong. Shaking his head, he shot a glare to her friends before turning back to Prudence.
“Here it is. She was adamant that I give this to you. I’m surprised she didn’t call you herself. Her marriage is not going well.”
“That was over between us, Prudence. You know that.” He took the white envelope she offered wondering what Veronica wanted him to know. Their last meeting hadn’t ended well. In fact, it was one of the worst break-ups he’d ever been part of.
“I know.” They stood in the one spot staring at each other. The guy who’d been pawing at her was waiting to pounce again.
“Back off,” James said to the guy as Leo and Jermaine appeared through the crowd.
“You found her,” Leo said.
“Yeah, I found her. Get that boy out of my club.” He turned back to Prudence to see her smiling.
“Thank you.”
“I don’t like seeing men paw women in my bar. Thanks for this.” James walked away before he did something he’d regret. She was too young, and he needed to remember that. He passed Leo and Jermaine telling them that they could let her stay as long as they kept an eye on her. James didn’t want her anywhere near the basement of the club. The basement was where the real action began. The basement contained his very own dungeon.
Pulling his cell phone out of his pants pocket he dialled Stephen’s number. Stephen was the owner of Possession, an exclusive club for men who felt possessive about their woman. James held a place in the club, which he rarely used. He much preferred his BDSM club. The people who visited his club understood him.
He knew he held the possessive gene just like his father before him. However, his need went a little deeper than needing to know every detail of his woman’s life. His need couldn’t be easily sated with seeing his woman. James required complete submission, his woman on his terms doing everything he said without argument. Several years ago he’d tried the straight and narrow lifestyle. It wasn’t for him. Veronica had seen to that at their final meeting.