Dane came out holding his face. “I can help you.”
“You stay away from me. You come near me, and I’ll f**king kill you.”
James opened the passenger door to his car. Arthur sat in the driver’s seat. Cadeon knelt at the window. “I’m begging you as a friend, James. Don’t do this. This is what Daren wants and whoever he’s working for.”
“If this was Violet would you back down until you had her in your arms? Prudence is the other half of me.”
Cadeon’s hands tightened on the window then let go. “Keep us posted.”
He nodded then waited for Arthur to move out of the way. “Do you need to talk about it, sir?” Arthur asked.
“No. I need you to get me to Veronica Star’s house. She knows something. I know she does.”
An image of Prudence in his arms flashed before his eyes. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being alone. What would Leo do to her?
Not Leo but Daren.
He fooled you, easily.
James ignored the man beside him. His only thoughts were consumed with images of Prudence being tortured. She was far from innocent, and he’d heard so many things about women put up for auction. He’d read several articles in papers and reports about it all, but none of the information he’d been given would ever prepare him for that kind of truth.
She has to be safe.
I’ll tear everyone apart who dares to hurt her.
He felt himself losing focus. Nothing else mattered to him other than getting Prudence back. How far would he go to get her back?
These were thoughts he’d never imagined thinking. What would he do to get her back? How much was he prepared to lose in order to have her safe by his side?
Nothing else mattered to him other than claiming her. The moment he saw her again James was never going to let her go.
“We’re here, sir,” Arthur said.
Without speaking, James released his seatbelt then made his way to her door. Veronica opened the door after the third bell. Her eyes widened, and he knew that she’d known something was amiss. Anger, rage, and unadulterated pain consumed him. He didn’t know what happened. One moment he stared at Veronica, knowing in his heart she was responsible for Prudence’s disappearance, and then in the next he had her pressed against the wall with his hand wrapped around her slim neck. Her husband, Daniel, was clawing at his arms where his fingers were wrapped around her neck. James wasn’t hurting her. He applied only enough pressure to scare her.
“You know something, you little bitch. What do you know?” he asked, snarling in her face.
“Nothing.” The words were hard to decipher with his grip around her neck.
“Let go of my wife,” Daniel said.
Not breaking his hold around her neck James slammed his free fist into Daniel’s face, which knocked him straight out. Veronica looked at him, startled, but he saw the knowledge in her eyes. She knew something, and she’d been the one to send Prudence to him with the pictures.
“Let go of me.”
James released her neck but kept his fingers against her skin. He’d never been more pleased about not sleeping with a woman than he was in that instant.
He slammed the door closed then got right up close to her face. “I will f**king break you if you don’t tell me what you know,” he said.
“I don’t know anything.”
“Don’t f**king lie to me!” James slammed her against the wall for added force. He no longer saw a woman in front of him but the enemy. Never in all of his life had he ever hurt a woman. Veronica, if she wasn’t careful, would change his track record.
“I’m not lying to you. I’ve never lied to you. Why are you behaving like this? I’ve never known you to be this way.” Her fingers clawed at his hands.
“They’ve got Prudence. The man in the picture you gave has taken her from me, and if I don’t give them what they f**king want then she’s dead, Veronica. Are you understanding me? Your sister will f**king die.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. They were irritating to see. His hands were shaking. The last time he’d seen his woman had been in his office. How he’d love to go back in time and take her with him.
Shoving his emotions aside, James glared at the woman before him.
“You’re going to tell me everything you know.”
“I don’t know anything.”
****
Dane glanced at the woman huddled in the corner. Mary looked broken inside. The last time he’d seen her, her eyes had been pleading with him to love her. What had he done? He’d never wanted another woman to take her place. Thinking about Prudence at the mercy of the men he’d once worked for frightened him. All of this had come about because he was too much of a f**king coward. He should never have allowed Mary to be taken into the prostitution ring. He’d been working for Dominic Green in collecting women to sell. The women were selected for their looks and size and came from many different backgrounds. Dominic had branched out to the States, where he had gotten to know Lloyd Black. Both men exported women like products to be used for men’s amusement. Because of this, the man in charge of the whole slavery ring had hired Daren Robinson to take Prudence. The only reason Prudence was taken was to guarantee James Castleden’s cooperation in helping them find a file that would implicate Daren and Henry. Mary had simply lost her value to Daren and to Henry. Daren was well known for keeping his word. He’d promised to give him back Mary in exchange for money, but instead of the money, he’d taken Prudence.
Dane couldn’t believe the mess he’d brought on himself and the men around him. James and his friends were great men and didn’t deserve this kind of problem.
“I can’t get in touch with James, but I’ve updated Sean. I think he’s about to hit the bottle,” Cadeon said. Lucas was currently looking down at the dead body of Jermaine, the barman at Ravage.
“We’re going to need to shut Ravage,” Stephen said, terminating his call.
“Who were you calling?” Cadeon asked.
“Ursula. I tell her everything. She’s locked all the doors and grabbed the gun out of my safe. No man will take her without the risk of having his balls shot off.” The pride in Stephen’s voice cut through the tension in the room.
“We need to call the cops,” Lucas said, staring at the body.
Dane couldn’t look at the man on the floor. He’d been the one to try to strike a bargain.
“You’re all fools. Do you really think you’ll get that girl back?” Mary asked. The animosity on her face cut him to the core.