“We’re close.. We’ve got enough. I think it’s time we ordered the strike against Henry and bring him in. I’ll book the tickets, Hubert. This case has run its course.”
The two agents walked out of the room leaving him alone.
Isabella came out of the bathroom where she’d run to when the two agents descended on him.
His throat hurt from James cutting off his air supply. The bastard had a bloody good grip.
“Do you know where my brother is?” Isabella asked.
He stared at the beauty before him. Since she’d come out of the hospital, she’d started to flourish. He imagined with all the bad shit out of her life she’d soon start to have laughter in her eyes.
This woman, along with Rebecca and Mary, gave him hope for a better world. When he’d first seen them, they’d awoken a part of him he’d thought long dead. Dominic, Henry, and a few others had turned him into a monster, but the monster wasn’t part of him. It was just a small smidgen of the man he could be.
“I don’t know where your brother is, but I can take a few good guesses.” He rubbed his throat, trying to ease the soreness.
“What do you mean?”
“I think he’s gone to help James. I don’t know why he’s helping him, but it could mean they get Prudence back.”
“I don’t understand. Those men were going to help them. Why are they doing this alone?” Isabella held her stomach as tears fell down her cheeks.
He needed to stop her from having hysterics. Pulling her into his arms, Dane held her close. “They were not going to help us.”
“But—”
“No, no buts. They were not going to help us, and James needs Prudence.” Dane held her tight against his chest.
“Which is why we’re going to help them,” Sean said. They both turned as the other man made his presence known. Isabella tensed in his arms.
Sean closed the door. “Lucas and James are meeting with Lloyd. Your brother has been in touch with me. We’re going to help them get Prudence back.”
“What about Josiah and Hubert?” Isabella asked.
“What about them? They want Daren and Henry while we want Prudence. Let them go after the men. We help our friends find the woman.”
It was the first time Dane had seen Sean sober. The way Sean looked at the woman in his arms made Dane swallow past the lump inside his throat. There was so much yearning in Sean’s eyes.
“You don’t have to get involved,” Isabella said.
Sean moved closer into the room. He stopped several feet away from her. Dane watched as Sean fisted his hands but kept them firmly at his side.
“I have to do this.”
There was a lot of history between the two people in the room. He saw it and mourned for them. His thoughts turned to Mary. The young woman refused to have anything to do with him. He couldn’t blame her. He was a monster in comparison to most men.
“I regret what I did,” Sean said.
“You shouldn’t—”
“I do.” Sean cut her off from speaking. Dane loosened his hold. Whatever was going on was between the two people. He didn’t know exactly what happened between them, but it was something that had changed both of their lives. “Please, I f**ked up before. Don’t let me f**k up this time.”
After several seconds’ hesitation, Isabella nodded. “Okay, we’ll work through this together. I’d advise not to talk to Rebecca. She’s got a lot of crap on her mind, and I don’t want her to be involved.”
Both men agreed with her. Dane didn’t know how they were going to help Lucas and James; he only hoped they could do something to get Prudence back.
****
James sat beside Lucas, and they both sat across from Lloyd Black. Getting a meeting with the criminal hadn’t been that difficult. Sean had been involved in arranging it for them. The thought of Sean sent a chill of unease down his spine. Sean was known for being irrational and a drunk. Lucas assured him they could trust Sean.
Still, James wasn’t happy with having Sean help them.
“So, I’m being visited by James Castleden and his minion.”
Lucas tensed beside him. In the last few hours, James had learned a great deal about the man beside him. He was proud, hard, and didn’t like being considered someone’s pet or minion.
“I don’t think you should be testing him, Black. I mean, your officers need to unlock the door to get to you. Lucas can do a lot of damage in that time,” James said, warning him.
Lloyd sneered, glancing behind him. He wasn’t a high risk prisoner as he was only doing time for assault because Rebecca hadn’t died. But he was doing an extended sentence. Glancing at the man, James saw the true evil in his eyes. He’d not associated much with the Blacks, and he saw why. Being in their company irritated him. Lloyd was in his fifties and held all the spite and malice of a man scorned. From what James had learned about this man, Lloyd hadn’t been scorned. He’d been responsible for the kidnapping and sale of women of all ages.
He’d used their clubs to vet his f**king women, and James hated the way Lloyd had taken advantage of the women and the two clubs. Up until a year or so ago, Possession and Ravage had had a high reputation for discretion. Since his son had pushed their names through the mud it was up to James and Stephen to clear their clubs’ names once again.
“I’ve heard a great deal about you,” Lloyd said, looking at Lucas.
“Your sister was one ripe peach.”
Lucas tensed. James feared the man beside him would react, but as quickly as the anger overcame him, Lucas relaxed. Lloyd was playing with them. He and Lucas needed to be smarter.
“She’s a beauty, my sister, and she’s doing better than ever before,” Lucas said.
“Speaking of a beauty, Rebecca is doing splendidly well. She smiles all the time, and her smile lights up the whole room. I’ve never seen three people more in love,” James said.
Lloyd tensed this time. He glared at them across the table. “How dare you?”
“You lost all right to Rebecca. She’s a free woman able to love and to f**k whomever she chooses.” James leaned forward locking his fingers in front of him. His posture gave him an air of confidence when in truth he was fighting the urge to slug the man before him.
“What are you doing here?” Lloyd asked.
“Dominic Green, Eugene Black, Daren Robinson, and Henry Warren.”
There was no visible change to Lloyd Black apart from the fact he appeared frozen to the spot.