Both men crowded her bombarding her with questions. She didn"t know what to do. They were both larger than she.
"Get the f.u.c.k away from her," Stephen yelled pushing both men out of the way.
"She knows where Isabella is." Lucas shoved the photo up into Stephen"s face. She gazed at the photo and saw the same woman from the park.
Stephen turned to her. "Do you know the woman in this photo?" he asked.
"I went walking in the park a few weeks ago and b.u.mped into a woman who looked very similar. She was dirty like she spent most of her time on the streets. The resemblance is remarkable from what I remember."
"What park?" Sean asked.
Ursula gave them directions, and both men headed toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Stephen called back.
"This is the first real lead we"ve had. I"m going to go find my sister," Lucas said.
Cadeon and the others left with the two men. Ursula looked at Stephen. "I could be wrong."
"But you could be right. It has been over five years since either of those men have seen this woman." He gave her the photo. "I"m going to help them look."
She gazed at the picture then followed him outside. "I"m coming with you." Everything was moving so fast. Ursula didn"t know if she could keep up with everything. Stephen drove in the direction she told him.
"Stay here," he said when he got out of the car.
"You can"t expect me to stay here while you"re all looking for her."
"That"s exactly what I want you to do. This is dangerous. I want you to be safe." He kissed her then walked off inside the park. She watched as they walked round the park where she"d b.u.mped into Isabella. With a sigh of frustration she got back in the car. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the photo, flipping the card between her fingers. She glanced down at the photo in her hand, putting the light of the car on. When she"d seen her, she"d been upset, but she was sure it was the same woman she"d b.u.mped into in the park.
Ursula saw the lights of their torches as all the men ran around the park looking for the woman. She felt wrong sitting in the car while the others were out looking. There was a free torch, which she grabbed, and then began searching. The bushes were thick, and the darkness made them scarier.
Everything was moving fast, and she felt she was struggling to keep up. "Isabella?" She shouted the woman"s name to no avail. The cold was bothering her. She wrapped her jacket around her body trying to keep out the chill. Sean stopped beside her.
"Are you sure it was her?" he asked.
"She looks very similar. I can"t guarantee."
There was a noise in the bushes. They froze as the sound came again. Sean pushed the leaves out of the way. He took the torch from her and shined it through the darkness. There on the ground lay a body curled up.
Sean went towards it. Ursula followed behind. The tension in him couldn"t be mistaken for anything else.
The body didn"t move when he approached. He handed her the flashlight. She pointed the light near the body"s head. Sean turned her over.
"Isabella." He cried out her name holding her close. "She"s freezing." He pulled her in close. His shouting alerted the others. They helped them out, Stephen shooting her a glare as they walked. Lucas took her from Sean. They pushed her matted hair off her head. She was pale, thin, and looked dead.
Stephen wrapped his arms around her as they checked her pulse. "She"s got a pulse, but it"s weak." There was no movement from her.
The next few hours went by fast. Sean and Lucas drove Isabella to the hospital. Cadeon left to be with his woman while Tate and Kevin said they were going home.
"You"re not going to Rebecca"s tonight?" Stephen asked.
"She"s been on edge. We don"t want to scare her. After tonight I just want to go home."
"We"re going home," Stephen said.
Ursula didn"t argue as he drove back to his place. He was silent. The anger inside him could not be mistaken. She watched him lock the door then turn around to her. Stephen pressed her up against the wall, his anger clear.
"Do you have any idea the kind of danger you were in? Anyone could have been there tonight. I asked you to stay in the car," he said.
"I wasn"t going to leave you alone. I"m not built that way, Stephen."
"You don"t understand anything I"ve told you. There is a man looking to bring me down. He"s not against using you to get to me. I"m talking about selling you, Ursula. He trades women as wh.o.r.es. This is what he does."
"I"m right here. Nothing happened."
He cupped her face, caressing her cheek with his knuckles. "If anything ever happened to you I wouldn"t forgive myself."
"Nothing is going to happen to me. I"m right here. I"m not going anywhere." She grabbed his face to kiss him. He let her. Their pa.s.sion clawed at them until they were up in their room, making love on the bed.
They were too distracted to hear the phone, which rang until it cut out.
Stephen pulled out of Ursula quickly to answer the phone. She moaned in protest. Their lovemaking had gone deep into the night, and he hadn"t wanted to leave the snug fit of her p.u.s.s.y.
"h.e.l.lo," he said.
"Stephen? You need to come to the hospital." Cadeon was on the line.
"What? Why? Is something wrong with Violet?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Ursula turned on the light. He caught a glimpse of her red a.s.s from his hand the night before. His c.o.c.k stirred at the thought of taking her again. She"d become insatiable in the last few days. She wanted him constantly.
"Violet is fine. Rebecca Black was attacked in her home. She"s in the hospital. Tate and Kevin are ready to kill. We were all distracted, Stephen. Lucas and Sean finding Isabella that easily after all this time was a trick. Also, before you get here, turn on the news." Cadeon hung up.
Stephen frowned at the cryptic message, his heart pounding.
"What"s going on?" Ursula asked.
"Rebecca has been attacked." He turned the television on and flicked to the news channel. Ursula gasped while he felt immeasurable anger. Someone had exposed his club. James came onto the camera trying to get past the press as he got into his car.
"Exposed, a club designed to lure women for men"s pleasure or simply a rich man"s control. This is Anna Stern reporting live outside the location of Ravage. A BDSM club, which is connected to Club Possession another local-"
He turned the television off, unable to deal with the rest of what the woman would say.
"Is this bad?" she asked.
"It"s bad enough. First, we need to get to the hospital. I don"t want you at home alone. If the media are determined to run this story then we need to stick together. They"ll be hitting here next."
Stephen dressed and called for his security team to pick him up. Ursula ran to get dressed as he went to his office. He"d begun dressing while talking with Ursula. He b.u.t.toned his shirt up as his mobile phone went off.
"h.e.l.lo," he said without looking at the caller"s number.
"I never meant for that woman to get hurt." It was the voice of a man on the line.
"Who is this?"
"He"s going to call you in an hour. It"s a trap. You need to be waiting. I signed on for money. I didn"t sign on for this," the man said.
"Paul?"
The caller hung up.
Stephen was more confused. Another call came through as Ursula walked into the room. It was his security team letting him know they were ready. Getting out of his house became similar to a jigsaw puzzle. There were paparazzi everywhere. The driver had to dodge all the people who stood in the way.
When they arrived at the hospital there was more press. His lawyer had everything in place for Dane to be transported out of England. Ursula was shaking. He wrapped his arms around her as they got out.
"Is it true you abuse young women?"
"How can you be engaged to him?"
The badgering questions kept coming. Stephen rushed her inside. She covered her ears. The nurse was waiting to escort them upstairs. He recognised her from the last time Rebecca had been in the hospital.
James and Cadeon were in the waiting room. Violet lay curled on the chair next to her man fast asleep. Tate and Kevin came out of one room while Sean and Lucas came out of the other.
All four men looked like they"d seen death.
"What happened?" Stephen asked. Ursula helped him to focus.
"A couple of guys broke into Rebecca"s place. They trashed everything and then-" Tate couldn"t finish.
"Her neighbour alerted the police. The house was in Cadeon"s name, so they called him first," Kevin said.
"Was she ... raped?"
"No. They slapped her around. Someone stopped it. There was an ambulance already on the way when the neighbour called the police."
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 b.u.t.ton 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.u.c.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 c.r.a.p. 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."