Chapter 13
Chase sped home, lost in thought. He had never seen Valerie be so disrespectful towards him, or anyone for that matter. Even with being a spoiled, bratty child and getting everything she wanted, Valerie had not once talked to Chase that way, nor in his parents’ presence. He wasn’t the only one shocked, as everyone around the table had the same look on their faces. Trent was the most surprised, as his wife had never acted like that. Trent’s look was almost murderous.
What Chase knew of Trent’s wife, because at that moment that was all she was to him, she had never seemed so cold. She had everything at her fingertips. So why did she act like that? Why was she so fucking bitter over Chase’s wife, who didn’t ask for a damn thing? He just didn’t get it.
Chase was livid. He left, knowing he would either punch something or say something, doing more harm than good. Plus, he never wanted Summer to see that side of him if he could help it. He may be the mafia Prince, but that didn’t mean he behaved as such. He never acted like a spoiled brat. He was a family man, and his family – his wife – came before anything else. No matter what.
Both Summer and Clare stayed quiet, watching wide eyed, as Chase pushed the car as fast as he could. It didn’t take hardly any time at all to get back to his house, where he almost forgot to help his wife out and into the house before storming to his office, slamming the door behind him. His phone rang just as he shut the door. He didn’t even look back to see the frightened look on his wife’s face, either.
Summer finally let her emotions take control once he was out of sight, collapsing right there in the kitchen as sobs wracked her body. She was sure it was her fault. She always ruined everything somehow.
Clare held her sister, letting her figure things out on her own. Chase really wasn’t mad at either of them, but Summer was so strung out already, and with the abuse she had suffered, it didn’t help her at all. Clare tried to sooth Summer the best she could. She cried along with her, worried that her sister had such a hard life, and nothing was helping to make it better. Clare feared that it was likely that Summer wouldn’t be able to handle much more. What would happen then? What would Summer do if she had no more life to live?
Money and gifts only went so far in helping to bring someone back from the brink of giving up. Chase had a lot to learn, but first, he was pissed. He poured himself a scotch, downed the shot, then took swigs out of the bottle. He needed to calm down; needed to tend to his distraught wife. But he couldn’t. He didn’t know how. Didn’t know how to let her know she was perfect the way she was.
After a few more drinks, his blood ran warm, his emotions not calming, but dulled. He felt better for the time being, but wouldn’t be exiting this room for hours. No one bothered Chase as he drowned in self misery as he ignored the many phone calls from both his father and Trent. He was sure he was missing something, just not sure what.. He looked over every account he could, looking into where money was spent, what was brought in. He looked into his family accounts.
There had to be a reason for his sister-in-law to act like that. She never had any issues with Zinna when Chase brought her to safety, so why now? Why his Princess?
Ryder’s words over the phone kept repeating in his head in time to his heart beat. “Valerie has been seen talking to a few of the men my guys have been keeping tabs on. She’s up to something, Chase. I just don’t know what. But I’m positive that is where her new attitude is coming from.”
Chase knew she was a rat, but for what? For who? It couldn’t possibly be only due to the fact he was married.
The girls, finally calmed down, started dinner, but were too afraid to knock on that office door that had slammed hours ago. They chose to leave Chase be, as not to get in on his bad side. They did their chores, which wasn’t much, before trying out the TV that had been installed in the new class/office room upstairs as they ran out of things to do. Summer was beyond tired as her emotions were everywhere. She was close to being done. Done with everything. Life, trying, living.
Summer did things on autopilot for days after the incident. She ignored her thoughts that kept swimming around, not wanting to deal with the ‘what ifs’. It was just easier to ignore it and move on. She slept with Clare, feeling more comfortable there. If Chase wanted her, he’d be able to find her easy enough. But as the days turned into weeks, he never once saw either girl. Or at least neither of them noticed. It was almost like he wasn’t in the house.
Summer’s thoughts kept bringing back memories as the time between chores grew. She remembered seeing her mother, her memories fuzzy, as a young child. She now knew, at least, who that woman at the Marcel house was, and why she was so sad looking when Summer didn’t know her at the time. As Summer’s memories kept coming, in short flashes, a much younger, Chase promising to make things better.
Chase was in out of the house at all hours’ day and night. He was quiet, so the girls never knew when he left or arrived. They kept the house clean, made meals and also ate the leftovers that Chase refused to touch. It was like they could do anything, but knew that eyes were watching them if they tried to leave. Not that either of them had anywhere to go.
Kayla brought over the art supplies that first week for Clare, who was happy to have something to do. She was waiting on Chase to pay the fee for her online classes before she could start, and left the paper on his desk one day when the office door was opened with a note explaining what she needed. She set the easel and other art things in one of the other empty rooms, knowing that Chase wouldn’t mind. He had told them both more than once to treat this house as their own.
Summer refused to talk, keeping to herself like she had in the past. Kayla said that Valerie was sorry for the way she acted, but the Princess did not believe it for a second. She knew Valerie hated her, mainly because of who she was born to. It was no secret. Chase may not see it, but Summer knew that Valerie had a connection to her father. And that fear didn’t leave her.
Summer had always been able to tell if someone was working on her father’s side or not. Even if it was one of his men, as a few of them were only in it for themselves and held no allegiance to Jason Meads.
Summer had hardly slept, lying awake most nights listening to the sounds around her, jumping at every noise, every creak. When she did get to sleep, she woke up breathless from nightmares. It was only a matter of time before Jason would find her once more. Her health started to declined. She was tired all the time, nervous and emotional, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Clare knew, but didn’t tell Kayla when she would call or stop by to check on the girls.
Clare just thought that Summer was going through something along the lines of shock, and that she’d bounce back in a few days to weeks. Plus, she didn’t want to worry anyone if it wasn’t anything life threatening.
~oOo~
Chase kept busy. He went to meetings, making sure everything was running like he expected . The port dock in Texas was brought to a close after calling another tip in, finding many women and children held in some huge steel shipping containers. Everyone was deployed back to where they should have never left, and many arrests were made. The drugs and guns were taken into evidence, and the men were all arrested on a number of charges.
It truly amazed Chase how easily it was to bring in so many people when someone wanted it bad enough. He knew that the boarders were easy enough to pass through without searching vehicles. And even then if a search was demanded, most men still got past by bribe alone.
He didn’t want to, but Chase was forced to kill a number of handlers for the women and children he had come across. It was easier, as they wouldn’t have been held in jail for long, nor would they try to change their ways. Handlers lived off the thrill of watching their branded women do their bidding, earning money. Chase shot them, then called in the cleaning crew.
This did nothing to help his anger at himself. He thought maybe doing more good deeds would help, but it made it worse. He couldn’t save them all. And that thought stung more
than ever. He hated finding the bodies of women and children that couldn’t live on past the abuse and neglect. It was beginning to happen more and more as larger shipments came in into his docks.
Chase used his money to keep it out of the media, not wanting to let anyone else know what he was doing. He was in and out of places before the men knew what was going on. Just the way he planned. He went with his father to the strip club downtown, making his presence known. It was one of the many establishments that he would be taking over soon, and needed to know how it was managed.
The manager wasn't in at the time, but the clerk working at the check in desk knew them by name, letting both men into the back to look over the files of inventory and cash flow. Surprisingly, everything looked clean. There was no reason for concern that they were hiding any illegal goods in the place. Chase felt lonely, craving a woman’s body. But he didn’t dare take any of the women he came upon that way.
He met with John at another lower income bar. John was dressed in a perfect green suit, his blue eyes watching all the women, and men, around him as they passed. His white hair was greasy, like normal. This was one of the only establishments that the dancers actually got to keep their pay, and were not here by threats alone. Those women worked here because no one else would hire them. Of course, who would willingly want to hire drug addicts?
John was happy to let Chase look around the bars he ran, seeing what sort of items he had on hand. John Meads was the drug lord of the family, and that was one of the main things Chase wanted to put a stop to. It would be too easy, as John would never expect it from the Marcel Prince. Not to mention that John also supplied a few things to Jason, and every tie that was between them both needed to be severed. Just because they had the same last names, Chase knew it was only a matter of time before he’d be picking apart each person bone by bone.
Chase also knew that John was working against the Marcel’s. He was trying to run his own show, and his hard work would be for nothing. Chase was waiting until the right moment to bring him down, and it would be worth the wait. The Prince couldn’t wait to see his face when that time came.
That man was not happy about his pets being found, but had no idea who was behind it, and he didn’t once think that Chase was the one who tipped the feds off. John had been the one behind most of the human trafficking business. And he was down to his last bar.
“I can’t believe that someone is watching my moves,” John said, ordering another hard drink. His voice was scratchy and dark, all the while watching everyone that passed him like a hawk. “It makes no sense. I have a few guys watching now from farther out, seeing if there is by chance anything suspicious going on.”
“We will figure it out,” Chase said, giving nothing away before downing the rest of his water. He tried to not drink heavily while at business meetings, as he needed to be more alert. He was actually trying to not drink alcoholic drinks anymore. It wouldn’t do well for Ivan to find him drunk off his ass again. The last time was bad enough.
“I’m sure you will. You are doing better than your old man had when he first took over,” John laughed. “I’m sure you know the ropes well enough on your own since he involved you at such a young age. How is your wife?”
“Doing good,” Chase lied. He knew she was not doing well. He heard her up a lot at night, well at least on the nights he was home. He was purposely avoiding everyone that he could, but knew he couldn’t keep it up. He missed her. Missed the home cooked meals and company that didn’t talk about the business.
“Well, if you get bored of her, you know I always keep a handful of girls in my home. They would enjoy another male anytime,” John laughed out. He made Chase’s skin crawl, and he couldn't wait to bring him down. Chase had no idea why this man, any man really, could like having women at his beck and call against their will. John loved to broadcast his objects to others in his line of work.
“I’ll be sure to let you know,” Chase said. No way in hell would he actually take that man up on his offer. The meeting was over before it hardly started. That man had so many bars that were raided by the feds that Chase had long lost count.
As the next three weeks went by, he kept a close eye on all the accounts. Normally, Trent would help keep an eye on them, but with the way Valerie had acted, Chase didn’t want to take that chance of her being near anything to do with the family. He knew something was going on all over his town. It wasn’t just Valerie, but merchandise was also being stolen from places that only a select few knew of the whereabouts.
He set up a meeting with his cousin that week, more out of business than anything. They were meeting at a restaurant down town. Trent sat at the dark covered booth, looking over the menu. Smartly, he left his pouting wife at home, as he knew Chase was not happy with her at the moment and neither was he. Chase walked in late, like normal.
“You’re late,” Trent said, not looking up at the man who had a hard, tired look on his face.
“Whatever,” Chase grumbled. He didn’t want another lecture on his time. “You wanted to meet?” he slid into his chair, but didn’t touch the menu.
“Yes. To talk about my wife,” Trent said, setting the menu down. His own eyes were filled with despair. Chase didn’t say a thing, waiting. His eyes were lit with fire at the mention of her. He saw a few deposits into her bank account, ones that Trent surely didn’t know about. It shot up red flags instantly.
“I have no idea what has gotten into her,” Trent said, letting his head fall into his hands. “She had everything she ever wanted. She blew it, Chase. I don’t know what is going on, but she won’t tell me. She’d always tell me everything.”
“Someone talked to her,” Chase stated, his voice monotone. “Just not sure who, and I can’t pin it on anyone in particular.” His voice was low, but demanded his cousin’s respect. “So what is going on?”
“I don’t know!” Trent said loudly, causing some of the other customers to look their way. “I make sure she has everything she ever could want. Yes, sometimes she’d push her limits, needed a firmer hand. And I took control in those instances without any lasting problem. But this? This has gone too far. When I asked what her deal is, she keeps bringing up how Summer is using you. And I know that girl wouldn’t do that. You would know that, right?”
“My Summer would do no such thing. Not with the way she had lived her life. She . . .,” Chase said, his voice dropping lower in pain. “I met Summer when I was ten years old; she was only a little thing, about five years old or so. She was so little, so scared. I promised her, Trent. I promised her I’d protect her when I was old enough to do so. And I won’t back out of that promise. Besides she wouldn't have known I was going to choose her.” She was the most innocent person ever.
He paused, thinking hard. He mirrored Trent’s position. Head in his hands, elbows on the table. Looking up, he spoke, “I have thought about that – would she try to take me down, if she got the chance? It’s not in her blood. Summer is a sweetheart. Never asks for anything. Hasn’t even tried to get into anything on my computer that I have left out a number of times to see.”
Chase didn’t add on that he purposely left things opened and out in the open just to see what Summer, and even Clare, would do when he wasn’t at home. Neither of the girls even dared to touch a single thing, let alone touch the doors that led outside.
“I believe you,” Trent said tiredly. “I looked into Valerie’s accounts. Did you know she has one she hid from me? All these years I never knew about it till the other day.”
“Yes, but just found out a few weeks ago. I didn’t want to bring it up in case it was nothing,” Chase said. “She had a deposit this morning for three thousand dollars, and from someone that isn’t traceable.”
“Shit!” Trent said, banging his fist on the table, causing the plates to clatter. “Now I wish I had paddled her ass harder. Maybe even used that stupid cane. Heaven knows she gets off on more pain than I’m ever willing to give.”
“It still could be
nothing, but I’m keeping an eye on her. I have someone following her. I can’t put my life, or Summer’s, in danger,” Chase said.
He didn’t think Valerie was capable of doing anything, but he wasn’t going to chance it. Chase knew that Jason was a man of many talents, many deadly talents. It could all be explainable, but Chase couldn’t get into that man’s accounts, or files for his life. The only thing he could do was wait. He detested waiting.
“How’s Summer?” Trent asked once he calmed down somewhat, although his face was still lined with worry.
“Not well. She hasn’t been eating much, or sleeping,” Chase sighed, tired. He sat up straighter, folding his hands in his lap. Just the thought of her made him want to run to her, hold her and tell the poor girl how sorry he was. Sorry for everything. “I really should talk to her. It’s been three weeks, and I may be avoiding her.” He couldn’t help but grimace at the end, hating himself a little bit more.
“No wonder she’s not well,” Trent laughed. “Go home, Chase. Get some sleep. If I find anything out from anyone, I’ll be sure to let you know. I’ve taken all of Valerie’s privileges away. She’s not going anywhere by herself for a long while. At least until I figure out what to do about it. I can’t have a snobby wife, nor a wife that isn’t on the same side as me.”
The Dark Prince (The Dark Prince Trilogy #1) Page 15
