His Possession (The Owners)

by Sam Crescent

  The drive took close to two hours, and the sun was already setting by the time he made it over to club. He punched in the twelve digit number, drove down the drive and parked in his usual place. The man on the door told him he’d find Stephen in his study and that they were expecting him.

  During the early evening visits the club was only just starting its day’s worth of business. He saw the rooms being cleaned. The bar was having a restock of deliveries. Cadeon walked through until he found Stephen’s office. He knocked at the door and waited.

  “Come in,” Stephen called.

  “Sorry it took me so long. I was over the other side of the city. Traffic was a nightmare. But I guess you’ve got news for me? Why did you make me come here? Why not call me at home?” Cadeon asked as he entered the main office. Immediately he noted Tate wasn’t the only member present. Looking round he saw Kevin, Sean who was a nasty rich son of a bitch, and the man who owned the club, Stephen. “What’s going on?”

  “What do you know about Violet Moore?” Stephen asked. Being the owner of the club it was Stephen’s responsibility to make sure everyone was safe. He’d been the one to take the call the night Rebecca Black’s husband had attempted to kill her. There was so much history between the men in the room, Cadeon suddenly felt overwhelmingly sick. He thought about the question.

  “She’s twenty-one. Her mother is dead, and she has no other siblings. Growing up was hard for her, and she doesn’t like to talk about it. Violet is no threat to anyone.” Cadeon looked from one man to the other. “What’s going on? What do you know and are not telling me?”

  All of the men looked at each other. He knew something was going on, something he had no knowledge of. “Tell me. I was the one who asked you for this, Tate.”

  Sean nodded his head.

  “Violet Moore has a reward on her head for seventy-five thousand dollars. Preferably alive,” Tate said.

  A block of ice engulfed his heart. “How is that possible? Someone would have recognised her.”

  “It’s not your public hit. This is black market stuff. Ever heard of a Dominic Green?” Sean asked.

  “The name rings a bell.” Cadeon knew who the guy was. Violet had called his name out during one of her nightmares.

  A piece of paper was handed to him. “He’s the most wanted man in the world. Dominic Green is the lowest of the low. Everyone is terrified of this guy. No one will come in to testify, and those that do have ended up dead. There doesn’t seem to be a law precinct where he isn’t known.”

  “What does he want with Violet?”

  “From what we can gather, Dominic recruits impressionable girls from all over the world. From America to London and through to Japan. That’s how far and wide he can go. No one can touch him. Rumour has it, when he takes a girl she becomes his possession. Everything she earns, whether it’s on her back or helping to deal drugs, he’s got a hand in it.”

  “Again I ask what the fuck this has to do with my woman?” Cadeon shouted.

  “Well, the possessions go with everything. If a girl has a sister and no family, the sister becomes his. If one of his girls gets knocked up the baby is born and grows and then becomes another little earner for him,” Sean said and stood. His hands were shaking.

  “What does this mean? That Violet is a whore?”

  No, he knew she wasn’t a whore. He’d been her first, and he’d be her fucking last. No man threatened his girl.

  “No. From what we can gather her mother, Valerie Walter gave birth on the quiet. She saved up enough money. Violet was an unexpected baby. Her mother gave birth in secret, and she kept Violet a secret. Most women in her occupation end up having their children taken off them. We don’t know everything that happened in Valerie’s case, but her daughter stayed with her.” Sean handed him some photos.

  “How could she have afforded this?” Cadeon glanced down at the baby photos of Violet.

  “You ever wondered why Violet talks really slow and watches everyone?” Sean had seen her when Cadeon had brought her to the club. As Cadeon thought about it, he had noticed how she talked slowly and quietly. Never raising her voice. “I can see you can get my meaning. Valerie Walter was born in the United Kingdom. Violet Moore is a British Citizen with an American working visa. Dominic is looking for her because she’s part of a debt that was kept hidden. Valerie kept the existence of her daughter quiet. She was schooled by a local priest who took pity on the girl.”

  Cadeon glanced down at the other piece of paper handed to him. Violet at eighteen. Her full name was Dakota Violet Walter.

  “How did you know all this?” There was so much information for him to take in. His head felt full as if it would burst if he wasn’t careful.

  “We travelled to England and found the place. I’ve been hunting Green for a long time. Violet is the first break we’ve got.” Sean rubbed his fingers together.

  “What happened to her mother?”

  “We found the local priest. Unfortunately he’d been beaten to a bloody pulp and killed before we could get anything out of him. However, they hadn’t burnt his church or house to the ground, and we had the paperwork for Violet. Every little detail of how he got her out of the United Kingdom and into the States. It would seem the priest had a soft spot the girl and the mother as he kept note of them in his journal. The reason Tate couldn’t find her was because she wanted to stay hidden. She has no immediate traceability to anyone who looked. She’s nothing more than a ghost..”

  Cadeon didn’t like the thought of where this was going. “Are you telling me, Violet is in trouble?”

  Sean glanced at Stephen and the owner nodded his head. “Green never gives up, and the last sighting of him he was on American soil, Cadeon.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Cadeon sat in his car, staring at the house. He glanced at the file that contained all the information on the woman he loved. She was in danger, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Turning the car off, he walked into the house. He heard her in the kitchen. Anne would have left for the day. His life had gone from shit to worse in a matter of hours. It was only eight at night, and he felt he’d been up days.

  Violet stood at the corner. He saw she was using a rolling pin on some dough, humming to herself. She hadn’t looked up to see him. Did she even know he stood there? Violet glanced up as and smiled at him.

  “Hi.”

  He stared at her smiling face, feeling drained and exhausted.

  “Who’s Valerie Walter?” Cadeon asked. He watched her pale and sway on her feet. Usually he’d assist her, but this time he didn’t trust himself. The tension in the air grew between them. He knew, by looking at her face, the file contained the truth about her.

  “How do you know her name?”

  “A prostitute and known drug smuggler. She also has a history of convincing young girls to become part of the ring.”

  Her tears fell. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Cadeon moved closer into the room until he stood in front of her. “Don’t lie to me, Violet. You could be in danger. Do you understand that?” He shook her as the fear overcame him.

  “Stop it. You’re hurting me.” The tears in her cascaded down her cheeks.

  “Why didn’t you come to me? Why? I could have protected you.” Cadeon knew what he was saying was wrong.

  “Because this has nothing to do with you,” she said.

  “Nothing to do with me? Violet, these people are real. They don’t forget anything.” She was shaking in his arms.

  “They don’t know about me, and what you said about my mother was wrong.” She attempted to pull away from him. Cadeon held her tighter.

  “Violet, your mother has a record. She got caught.”

  “They were only using her. I never knew everything she did. I wasn’t part of it. All I had to do was be quiet until they went away.”

  He watched the tears fall down her face. His heart felt like it was being butchered by a blunt knife. “You could have
told me,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “I love you.”

  She shook her head. He held on, but she was too frantic. She pulled out of his arms and slapped his face.

  “You don’t love me. You like to think you can control me.”

  “That’s not the way it is,” he yelled.

  Their first fight.

  “You’ve warned me about your controlling nature before. Do you even want me now? The daughter of a whore?”

  He knew how broken she was. She looked like the world was on top of her shoulders. “I’m going to take care of you.”

  “No. You’re not.”

  She ran.

  ****

  Violet ran with the hope of escaping her past. She’d never thought her day could end like this. For the past few days she’d thought about nothing but telling him her shameful secret. Only he’d somehow found out. She didn’t know how. The cold felt good on her exposed skin. The pain helped her get past so many obstacles.

  Her head was ringing. Cadeon was so angry with her. Violet ran until a stitch in her side rendered her useless. Gasping for breath she rested her hands on the back of a park bench. She was in love with Cadeon Ashwood, and he knew her secret. The daughter of a whore. He would never allow himself to touch her again.

  The love she’d finally found was lost to her forever. The only mistake she’d ever made was being born. She’d not been party to that. Her tears fell as the hopelessness of her situation overcame her. Life moved too fast. The changes unexpected.

  “Well, I guess if you want something hard enough, they’ll practically walk right into your hands.”

  Violet stood up. Two men approached. She didn’t recognise anything about them. The danger was present, and she thought about what Tate had taught her. The few moves he’d had time to show her before Cadeon came for her. The moment one of the men was close enough she slapped him while she kicked the other between the legs. She ran before she had time to think about what she was doing.

  The wind rushed out of her as another man took her down, slamming her against the hard cement path.

  A cry escaped her, and then darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Cadeon was frantic. She’d taken off without arguing with him. Why had she left him like that? He’d take care of her no matter what. Grabbing his mobile he punched in the numbers as he followed the direction she’d taken.

  Sean picked up on the first ring.

  “She ran out of here.”

  The man cursed on the other end.

  “What?” Cadeon asked. They’d all come to an agreement for him to take her back to the club with the intention of keeping her safe until Sean could call some of his friends. The guy had a history of his own. Scary shit that Cadeon didn’t want to even think about.

  “I hate to alarm you, my friend. Green was spotted about a mile from your house.” Cadeon didn’t listen to the rest. He ran out of his house, then closed the phone and put it in his pocket. He thought about where she could have run to. Violet loved open spaces. He went in the direction of the park.

  How the fuck had Dominic found out so much information about Violet? It was as if he’d been led right to her. Not wanting to think about the situation, Cadeon ran, hoping against hope that he’d been right. The park seemed like the ideal place she’d try to escape to.

  “What you’ve got to remember is that Dominic has been hunting her for years. It was only going to be a matter of time before he found her,” Sean said.

  His mind was running riot with every possibility of what could happen to her. Everywhere he went, he couldn’t find her. It was as if she’d never been there. The park was deserted, and Violet wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Cursing, he stopped and pressed his fingers against the top of his nose to try to calm himself down. The panic he felt wouldn’t help the situation. In a matter of hours, he’d found out some scary crap about the woman he loved and learnt one of the dangers from her past was intent to hurt her. To add insult to injury, the very man Violet was running from was seen near his house. His day was getting worse by the second.

  Cadeon took a breath, opened his eyes and stared at the ground. The beating of his heart began to slow as his adrenaline began to ebb. Then he found the glinting jewel on the cement. His suspicions had been right. She’d run to the park. She’d probably been terrified, thinking he wouldn’t want anything to do with her. Tears running down his face, he picked up the necklace he’d given her as a token of his affection.

  There was no way Dominic could have gotten to her this fast. He refused to believe the chance he may never see her again. Staring at the necklace, he opened his mobile phone, pressed the speed dial button for Sean’s number.

  “Cadeon, man, where are you?”

  “They’ve got her.”

  “We’ll find her. We’re at your house. Get your ass back here.” Cadeon shut off the phone, the calm he felt suddenly evaporating as the extent of the fucked up situation dawned on him. He threw the phone away from him. The device smashed on contact with the pavement. His anger erupted. He’d promised to protect her, and he’d fucking failed her.

  He walked back in the direction of his house. Cadeon held her necklace in the palm of his hand. The front door to his house was open. Tate stood outside waiting for him. He docked out his cigarette.

  “They’re all inside,” he said.

  Cadeon didn’t question him. He moved past and walked into his home. Sean, Kevin and Stephen were there along with a couple of other men. He didn’t recognise them.

  They were all talking but stopped when they saw him.

  Sean came to him. “This is an old team of mine. A couple of buddies who’ve been after Dominic for a long time.”

  “He’s taken her. How did he find her so fast?” Cadeon asked.

  Sean looked over his shoulder, and Cadeon turned in time to see Olivia crying. She collapsed on the floor in a heap. Her face was bruised.

  “They found her wondering around. A couple of guys claiming to be friends of yours. Tate’s going to take her to the hospital. She told them where to find Violet.”

  Cadeon moved away and knelt in front of the other woman. She looked so scared. Nothing like the fiery submissive he’d known days ago. Dominic had done a number on her. The pain on her face alarmed him.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t worry about it.” He couldn’t be angry with her. From the look of her injuries she’d had more than her share of pain.

  “They wouldn’t stop. I told them and came here as soon as I could but I was too late.” Cadeon held her as she cried. The fight was completely burnt out of her.

  “I’ll find her.”

  Tate came inside as an ambulance pulled up outside.

  He saw her onto the vehicle before he turned back to the men.

  “I want to help,” he said.

  “This isn’t a place for civilians,” the biggest guy said.

  “Lucas, I’d let him come,” Sean said.

  Cadeon stared at the man known as Lucas. “I know this guy is dangerous. I understand why you don’t want me to be part of it, but I want you to understand something. That woman he took means the world to me. I’m not giving up until I get her back. Wherever she goes, I go.”

  “Do you know how to shoot a gun?” Lucas asked.

  “I was taught as a kid. My dad liked to go hunting at times.”

  Lucas handed Cadeon a gun as all the men began talking.

  “We don’t know his current situation, Lucas. He could be surrounded by back up. This mission could be dead before it’s begun,” another of the men said.

  “No. This is new territory for him. He’s not prepared. This is our perfect opportunity. If we leave it too long he’ll be ready.”

  “I know why he’s here,” Sean said, grabbing their attention. “In recent years he’s been spreading out into different countries, spreading the trafficking business into America. There are a lot of wealthy men who want girls m
atching certain descriptions. My contacts informed me Dominic was checking out a shipment of girls and drugs at an underground joint. It’s like a warehouse where anything goes. Fighting, sex, drugs. Anything illegal can be found here.” He pointed at a place on the map.

  “Okay, that narrows down our search.”

  “Also, Mr. Green owns a mass of bunkers in this deserted part of the city. No one goes there. Not even local cops. He’d either got her at the club to go with another shipment, or she’s in one of the warehouses.”

  “Before we even try this, you’re going to have to make sure Dominic is where he says he is.”

  Sean nodded his head.

  Cadeon listened to the plan. He knew they had a small window in which to take Dominic down. He thought about Violet. She was his main priority. He wanted her back, and when he did, he’d never let her out of his sight.

  ****

  Violet was panicking, her heart pounding in her chest. Sweat covered her body. Dominic stood in front of her. He stared at her for long moments. She took a shaky breath waiting for something to happen. Tears ran down her face, and she clenched her teeth together.

  Cadeon will come for you. Fight this bastard. Be strong.

  Pain exploded inside her head as he struck her face. Three slaps one side and three the other. On the last slap, a cry erupted from her ending in an ear-piercing scream. The fight inside her had been awakened.

  “So the little mouse does speak.”

  “Leave me the fuck alone,” she cried, going frantic on the rope that kept her in place. Dominic laughed, but his men looked ready to do murder. She stared at them and knew she’d caused them pain.

  Come on, you bastards. I’m fucking ready to fight.

  For too long she’d been thrust down and forced to keep her anger at bay. Twenty-one years of waiting. Eighteen of seeing her mother taking the crap from men like them. She stared at Dominic and knew she would fucking kill him if it was the last thing she did.

  “Do you think you’re something because you’ve got a posh boyfriend to spread your legs? You’re exactly like your mother. A whore who would spread herself for money,” Dominic said.