Beast’s Demands by Sam Crescent

Chapter Twenty

Ashley

 

The doctor confirmed the news within a few hours.

I was pregnant with Earl Valentine’s baby. We both sat in my apartment, and neither of us had spoken. I’d put the call on speakerphone.

There was so much to be said, and yet, neither of us seemed to be able to get a word out.

After pushing out my chair, I went to the kettle and flicked it back on. Was I even allowed tea?

This all seemed so out of place.

“Marry me,” Earl said, taking me by surprise.

I whirled around and saw he stood there, hands clenched at his sides.

“You don’t need to propose to me.”

“Ashley, you need to understand, this is not me being forced into any kind of situation. I want to marry you. It’s why I came back.”

“If you were going to propose to me, you would have done it already,” I said. I couldn’t stop thinking that the only reason he was proposing to me was for the baby. Deep down, I should have been happy he’d be willing to take responsibility, but I wasn’t. When I married, I wanted it to be with someone who loved me. Who couldn’t imagine another day without me.

Not with someone who felt obligated.

“I know I’ve fucked up big time with you. I can’t take a lot of the shit back that I’ve done, and I’m sorry. So fucking sorry for everything. You’re pregnant with my child, Ashley. That’s not going to change, and I don’t have time to prove to you how I feel.”

Licking my lips, I shook my head. “No.”

“Ashley?”

Tears filled my eyes, and I was getting so frustrated with crying. This wasn’t fair at all. Being emotional was turning into a curse.

“Look, we’ve got history. I get that. We’re pregnant, but I’m not going to forget you walking away.”

“I did that for your own good.”

“And because you’re back, you expect me to be happy about that?” I asked. “There are a lot of things going on right now. I can’t process all of this. You’re going to need to give me time.”

“I’m raising this kid with you,” he said.

“Of course. That’s not in question. I want to raise this child with you, and that wasn’t a lie. But you’ve just come back into my life. I don’t know if this is even the right thing to say. I’m … having to get used to you, okay? I’m not going to fall into a trap with you.”

He stepped close to me, and I held my hand up, but he didn’t stop.

My palm touched his chest, and he grabbed my arms, placing a kiss against my head. “I’m not going to let you down. I’m going to prove to you that I’m in love with you, Ashley, and you will be mine.”

I got another kiss to the forehead, and then he was gone.

My apartment suddenly felt so empty.

He’d been in my life for a matter of hours, and he’d managed to make my life seem hollow.

Sitting down at the table, I reached for my cell phone and pulled up Emily’s number.

I swiped at the tears falling down my cheeks. They had no place.

With a deep breath, I put the cell phone against my ear, and my hands shook slightly.

It was late here, so it had to be slightly earlier there.

The phone kept on ringing, but I didn’t hang up.

I waited.

Patiently.

Waiting.

“Ash, hi, is everything okay?” Emily asked.

With my palm flat to the table, I took a deep breath. “Emily, hi,” I said.

“What’s wrong?”

Silence. I didn’t know what to say.

“Ashley, you’re scaring me. Is someone there?”

“Earl’s here,” I said. “He, er, he arrived yesterday. He was waiting for me in my apartment.”

“Fuck. I had no idea he was even coming to see you.”

“I don’t imagine he really cares about giving people the heads-up, you know? He’s always been the kind of guy who just does what he wants to and to hell with the consequences.” I ran my palm across my table. It was so clean. No roughed-up dry pieces of food.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, you know, it has been a long couple of days. Earl told me he loved me, and to add to that, I’m pregnant. It has been a pretty hectic couple of days.”

“Pregnant?”

“Ah, you heard that part.” I rubbed the back of my head. There was so much to take in.

Earl being back was messing with my head. With everything.

Emily let out a squeal. “How far along are you? Is it Earl’s, or did you find yourself a hot Brit? Come on, I want details.”

I laughed. “I’ll try not to be offended, but this is Earl’s baby. I’ve been so busy working. I’ve got two jobs.”

“Ashley, you’ve been working yourself to the bone because you’ve got a broken heart.”

“It worked for you.”

“Damn it, I don’t want you to cry, but I can hear it,” Emily said. “Now I’m crying and I can’t give you a hug.”

“I know you would if you were here.” I wrapped an arm across my body, trying to give myself a hug. It didn’t exactly work, but just hearing Emily’s voice was enough to calm me down. “I can’t believe I’m pregnant.”

“Wait, a minute, Earl told you he loved you?”

“Yes, and he asked me to marry.”

“So why do you sound so sad? Isn’t this good news? He’s going to do the right thing?”

I sighed. “I don’t want him to marry me because of the baby. It doesn’t seem right, nor fair.”

“Ashley, babe, it’s his baby, and you love him, and he told you he loved you.”

“I get all of that, I do, but … if he wanted to marry me, wouldn’t he have asked before the baby?” I couldn’t help but feel he only asked because of the baby.

Part of me wanted to be happy he’d asked at all, but I didn’t want to get married because of a child.

I loved Earl, so damn much. It hurt to be around him. My emotions were all over the place, loving and hating him with equal measure.

It was good to be in his arms. At the same time, I also hated it. This was my time to get over him, and now he was back and I was pregnant. Everything seemed so … hard.

“Do you realize our kids are going to be close in age?” Emily asked, changing the subject.

This, I could handle.

I released a laugh.

“I know, right.”

“Ashley, I know it doesn’t seem it right now, but everything is going to be okay. I’ve got a feeling.”

At this time, I had nothing but the knowledge the only man I’d ever loved was back, and this wasn’t over. I was pregnant, and everything was so chaotic, I couldn’t trust a single thing.

****

For a week, Earl didn’t show up.

Not at my work.

Not at my apartment.

Nor did he appear randomly on the street.

I had him for approximately twenty-four hours, tops, and he was gone. I’d already booked my appointment at the maternity ward at the local hospital. The doctor had called back the following day to give me all the details of what I needed to do next.

My appointment wasn’t for another couple of days. I had no way of reaching Earl to let him know. He was the dad and had a right to be there at each appointment.

After a long shift at the restaurant and trying not to throw up, I was more than happy to get back to my apartment. I’d removed my jacket and toed off my boots, heading into the kitchen when my door was knocked.

I removed the band at the back of my neck, loosening my hair. I needed a bath, food, and some sleep.

Opening the door, I stopped when I caught sight of Earl. He looked good. A pristine suit, his hair slicked back, but it didn’t appear to have any gel in it.

“Earl,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

I should have been screaming at him for abandoning me again. For leaving me alone to deal with everything. The truth was, I wasn’t the kind of woman to hold a grudge for long. I’d already sent Caleb and the rest of the Monsters a gift basket. A personal card to Caleb, apologizing for blaming him for everything that had gone wrong.

I’d been angry, hurt, and heartbroken. When he’d been trying to talk to me, I’d wanted someone to blame, and it was so easy to put it on him. He’d put me in Earl’s path, but I was the one to fall in love with him.

“I want you to come with me. There’s something I need to show you.”

“Can it wait?”

“No. Once this is over, I’ll have to wait for the next one.” He held out his hand.

Something in his voice told me to follow him. I quickly put my shoes back on, even as my feet cried at the injustice of it all, and I went with him to his car.

I had no idea where we were going until we ended up at a dock near the south. Earl tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as he looked ahead.

Following his gaze, I saw a whole load of cop cars.

“What’s going on, Earl?” I asked.

He climbed out of the car and rounded the vehicle, opening my door and holding out his hand.

I placed mine within his and climbed out of the car.

Earl wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and the cops allowed him to go past. I didn’t like this. My heart raced.

We came to a stop near several containers, and that was when I saw it. A cargo hold had been open. Women were spread out. Ambulances were close by, and six men were on the ground, in handcuffs.

“Should you be here?” I asked.

This was part of Earl’s life. Why would he bring me here? He was going to get arrested. He’d pissed me off. Made me angry and hate him, but the last thing I wanted was for him to be arrested.

Fear worked its way up my spine as each police officer passed. This was too much. I fisted his jacket.

“Let’s go before they arrest you,” I said.

I couldn’t have him thrown in jail. I loved him so fucking much, and it hurt being around him and knowing there was a chance he was only saying all the right things for the baby. But I just couldn’t do it.

There was no way I was going to be able to survive without him.

One of the officers seemed like a serious-looking man, high up in the ranking.

I felt sick to my stomach as he approached and held out his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Valentine, for your full cooperation.”

I was still tense as they shook hands. The officer nodded at me, and then we were alone.

I let Earl go and looked toward the officer. This wasn’t … why weren’t they arresting Earl?

“I think you’ve seen enough.” Earl took my hand and led me back to the car. I sat inside, staring out at the chaos before me.

All this time, a little taken aback.

Was this real?

They weren’t going to arrest Earl.

He pulled out of the docks, and we drove for a short time, coming to a stop near a rundown side-road café.

He didn’t turn the engine off.

The sounds of the engine filled the air.

What had I just witnessed?

I licked my dry lips and glanced toward Earl.

He stared right at me.

“Do you want to tell me what is going on?” I asked. “They didn’t arrest you. Those girls were yours.”

“No, they weren’t mine. In fact…” He reached into his pocket. “I don’t deal in women anymore. I’ve removed all parts of human trafficking from my life, and I’ve got a lot to make up for.” He held out a file.

I took it and flicked through it, not understanding any of it. “What is this?”

“This is a document. A legally binding agreement that I signed. I’m going to help stop human trafficking. I don’t imagine we’ll ever truly stop it, but with my contacts, I’m going to be working undercover as a buyer to expose the men responsible.”

“This is crazy. What about all of your other businesses? Your way of life?”

“I’ve been working to get out of it, Ashley.”

“I don’t believe you.” This was a lot to take in.

“You will be the last woman I ever take. I hope in time you can learn to forgive me. I love you so damn much, and it wasn’t just your virginity I wanted. Seven years ago, I saw you at a party. You stood out. So sweet. You had an easy smile. No matter that people were avoiding you or ignoring you. You gave them all a smile. I watched you. Not Emily. She was a business agreement, but you, you were like a fucking beacon calling to me. I had to have you.”

“You did?”

“Yes, I did. Then of course there was a great deal of unsavory business. Work needed to be handled, and I had to make sure you were safe. The threat on Emily’s and your life, it wasn’t one I couldn’t handle. I had to keep you all safe. First, I needed to guarantee a plan that would make you mine.”

“You planned all of this?” I asked.

“I didn’t plan everything. I wanted you, Ashley. I never thought I’d fall so deeply in love with you that I’d change my entire existence. My goal had always been for me to prove to my grandfather that I was better. To take his business into the next level, and I did that, with ease.” He ran a hand down his face. “I was crueler than he was, but I changed the way he did business. You already knew that there were … he didn’t believe in an age restriction when taking and selling people.”

I remembered him telling me.

“You deserve a man you can love. A man you can look at every single day and be so fucking proud to have known him. I can’t promise you I’m going to always be a good man. I will still kill people who get in my way, but I’m changing to be the man you deserve. I love you, Ashley.”

I reached across the car, put my hand to his cheek, and kissed him. I couldn’t not.

He loved me.

The words didn’t matter at this point, but what he’d done couldn’t be questioned. A lifetime of hurting others, and he’d turned it all around for me. The tears on my cheeks were those of happiness.

“Earl, I loved you even before tonight. It’s why I had to leave Crude Hill. I was so in love with you, and everywhere I looked, you were there. It hurt too much to have fallen for you. You didn’t need to change who you were. I was learning to accept that part of you.”

“I’m not going back. I will make amends for all the women I’ve hurt.” He stroked my cheek. “And I’ll do it for you and our baby.”

I laughed.

“Ask me again,” I said.

He smiled at me and ran his thumb across my lip. “Marry me.”

No hesitation. No wondering.

“Yes,” I said.

How could I turn down a man who’d changed his entire life for me? He loved me and I loved him. We were going to make this work.

He kissed me, and I submitted to him.

“Just so you know, I consider your yes a legally binding contract, and if you so much as try to back out, I’ll keep Emily and all the Monsters.”

I burst out laughing. “Yeah, right. That would have worked if I hadn’t already known the beast had been tamed.”

“Only for you and our family. I will not stand by and let anything bad happen to you, or to us.”

“I know.”

Earl was the tamed beast for me, but if anyone tried to hurt me, they would have to deal with the true evil lurking beneath the surface.

For everyone’s sake, I hoped they left us in peace.