“There is nothing here. I promised Prudence that I’d protect her. I can’t even find a f**king file.” He slammed the half empty bottle into the hearth then grabbed the nearest painting with two hands. James threw the painting to the floor. The expense of the art was lost on him with his anger at losing the only thing precious to him.
“James, you need to stop,” Sean said.
“Why? You turned to the drink when your woman was gone. Fuck me, you turned to the bottle when she f**king turned back up.” James went to the next picture.
“We need to stop him,” Stephen said.
When he moved to destroy the third picture in the far corner of the room, James paused as he saw a safe imbedded in the wall.
“Are you seeing this?” he asked. Lifting his left hand in the air, he gestured for the three other men to move closer. Turning the picture around in his hands he saw the key on the other side. His father had never told him about this safe.
As he tried to grab the key his vision suddenly became blurred. “What … the … fuck …?”
He turned to see Stephen holding a syringe.
“We shouldn’t have used that crap,” Lucas said, catching him in his arms.
“What did you want to do? Watch him lose sight of everything. He’s losing his mind. Prudence is not here, and he’s dying inside. I’ve never seen this happen before.”
Lucas caught him before he hit the ground. James wanted to rant and rave at the three men. They had drugged him. He didn’t know what with, but from the feel it was some kind of tranquiliser.
He heard what they were saying even though none of it made sense. Across his vision he saw Prudence with her beautiful dyed black hair with red lights underneath.
His Prudence.
His woman.
His very reason for existence.
James’s eyes closed against his will.
Prudence!
****
Sun shone through the window. James opened one eye feeling the effects of the whisky he’d consumed the night before. He lay on the sofa inside his office. His head pounded against his skull. The pain felt like a bunch of small hammers were hitting against his head.
“I see you’ve decided to wake up,” Stephen said.
James turned to the sound of his friend, who stood in the doorway nursing two cups of coffee. “What happened?”
Glancing around the room he saw the chaos around him.
“Lucas, Sean, and I have been monitoring you throughout the night.”
“You stuck some drug in me.” He touched the back of his neck feeling the tense muscles give against his touch. “Why?”
“You were out of control. You’ve completely torn apart your father’s old desk. We didn’t know how much the room could survive if you decided to attack anything that moved.” Stephen moved closer into the room. He handed a cup to James then stood staring down at him.
“Do I need to be monitored like some virus under a microscope?” James asked, taking the coffee. He turned to see the safe imbedded in the wall. His father had never showed him that safe.
“We left everything the way it was before you passed out. You were merely given a sedative. James, you needed to sleep. What you were doing was out of control.”
He listened to Stephen talk as the pain struck him once again. Prudence was gone, and he needed to get her back.
James opened his mouth ready to speak when the sound of his cell phone ringing interrupted him. Sean came charging through the room.
“It’s him,” he said, handing the cell phone to him. James stared down at the anonymous number. His hands shook as he accepted the call. Lucas stood at the door with his arms folded.
“Hello,” James said.
“James, how are you doing, boss?” Daren laughed at his joke down the line.
“What do you want?” James tightened his fist around the cup of coffee. The handle snapped off, and hot coffee spilt everywhere. He cursed, standing.
“What’s that I hear? If you’re thinking of sweet talking me with those words then I’m very disappointed in you.”
“I spilt coffee, all right.” The chance of hearing Prudence’s voice changed his attitude instantly. “Is Prudence there? Is she all right?”
A sigh came over the line. He wanted to slam his phone against the wall but held off the desire. Hearing Prudence’s voice meant more to him than cutting this bastard off.
“She’s sleeping right now. She looks so peaceful. I see why you love her. She looks ripe enough to pluck.”
“Don’t you f**king touch her,” James said. The image of her perfect na**d body entered his head. He understood what Daren was saying. No man could resist those curves, at least he couldn’t.
“You’re in no position to order me, James. I’ll do whatever the f**k I like to her.” Some commotion came over the line. The sound of Daren cursing then more movement followed. “I was only calling to see if you’d found what I need. I’m not too far from being in England. Prue will love England. Well, she’ll love what she gets to see.”
“You promised,” James said. “I’m looking for what you need. Keep Prudence safe and out of harm’s way.”
“I’m doing all I can. Hurry the f**k up. Otherwise you’re going to wish you’d never met me.” The line went dead.
“I already wish I never f**king met you.” James glared down at his phone. He wanted to throw it, break it, or at the least do something to take out his aggression. The phone beeped letting him know he had a message.
He opened the message, and an image of Prudence asleep on a bed flashed on screen.
“You want her to live? Do as you’re told!” The print along the bottom came into view.
James fisted his hands, turned towards the wall, and started hitting the brick wall with all of his might. He didn’t stop even as his knuckles turned red from the wounds. Sean wrapped his arms around him halting the progress of his pain.
“Stop this. Killing yourself slowly is never going to win her back. You’ve got a chance to get Prudence back. You need to start focusing,” Sean said.
Once he was back on the sofa again, James stared at the three men. Shame filled every pore of his being. Losing control was not on the list of things to do. His knuckles ached from hitting the wall.
Shaking his head, James tried to remember everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.
“So, Cadeon has gone and taken his woman. Where is Dane?” James asked.