“I’d earn it the good old-fashioned way. I’m not wired to earn off the backs of women, Stephen. I never have been.”
He knew James spoke the truth. Stephen would do the same. No woman would earn his crust.
“Well, I wouldn’t turn a woman black and blue,” Stephen said.
“I would turn a woman’s ass red, but I’d never abuse her. Hitting a woman in violence is wrong. I don’t agree with it. If Lloyd is looking to get out of jail then I don’t know how we can stop him.”
“I don’t think him getting out of jail is the problem, James. I think the means he is going to use is the problem.” The more he thought about Lloyd the more he began to worry. He could use the clubs as leeway to try to get out of prison. Possession and Ravage could easily be shown in the wrong light.
“Fuck, he better not have a death wish. If he tries to take my club down, I’ll fucking kill him,” James said.
They sat in silence for the rest of the journey.
Cadeon sat in his car waiting for them when they pulled up outside her house. They all got out, the cold biting Stephen through his jacket.
“I told Tate and Kevin to not bother today. They’re meeting us with the others at the club.”
“Okay,” Stephen said.
Cadeon knocked on the door. It had been a few years since Stephen had last seen Rebecca. The door opened, and her head popped round. He noticed she didn’t greet anyone but Cadeon.
“I’ve got some friends with me who want to ask you a few questions.” The door was left open, and Cadeon escorted them all in. They found Rebecca in the sitting room. She’d wrapped a blanket around her. She sat on the farthest end of the couch.
“I’m sorry. I’m cold,” she said.
“You don’t need to be afraid, Rebecca. I care about you. How is everything with Tate and Kevin?” Cadeon asked.
“They try to help me. I find it so hard. I want to go outside. My doctor doesn’t think I have that symptom she mentioned. She thinks I’m repressing memories, and it makes me think I don’t want to go outside.” Rebecca chuckled.
“Do you remember me?” Stephen asked taking the seat in front of her.
“Yes.”
“And me?” James asked.
“Yes.”
“We need to ask you a few questions.”
“Ask away. I don’t have a lot of guests. I’m not slow. I’ll answer anything you need me to.” She gave a nod at all of them.
“Are you comfortable talking about your time with Lloyd Black?” Stephen asked.
He noticed the fear in her. She fidgeted on the couch and stared between him and Cadeon. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll talk about him.”
“What about your own life?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Stephen glared at James. “We’ve recently come into some information that may be crucial to something that is happening. Do you recall much of your life before marrying Lloyd?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Ask me anything about Lloyd, but I can’t tell you about my past.”
“Why?” Stephen asked.
“Because I’ll be in trouble. I’m only allowed to say that I met Lloyd and fell in love. I’m not allowed to say anything else.”
Stephen nodded his head. He would need to wait until Monday to get the answers he needed.
“I want you to tell me about Lloyd. Were you his only woman?” Stephen asked.
“No. He would have meetings at his house where a selection of girls would come. He’d pick them out, and then the others would leave,” Rebecca said. “I had to provide entertainment after he made his purchase.”
“He brought these women?”
“Yes. He always said they were a good investment. Men always needed a hole to fuck, and they kept him in the lifestyle he was accustomed to.” He saw the tears in her eyes. The barrier she was fighting against was breaking down. “When he had the meetings I was so afraid. He would warn me that if I didn’t please the man he handed me to, then he would sell me, too, and make sure I didn’t have a good life.”
Her hands kept rubbing her legs.
“I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you everything when we went to the club, but he made sure I was never alone. The pain if another man spoke to me hurt so much. I wasn’t brave enough to fight him. I wanted to fight him all the time. I was never strong enough.” Cadeon wrapped his arms around her. Stephen watched the woman come apart at the seams. Guilt filled him to the very core. He hadn’t been paying attention when this woman needed it most. He’d been too upset by the lack of a woman in his life to give a shit about anyone else.