As if I summoned her, Ashley suddenly appeared. “When did you return?” she asked.
“Just now. Our final building was a bust. They’d burned it down to nothing. It’s going to take a lot of money to do some rebuilds,” Calen answered before I got a chance to, further pissing me off.
Ashley shook her head. “Wait, what?”
“What is it?” I went to her side. I saw the way she tensed, and I hated her response. There were times she accepted my touch, others where she seemed genuinely repulsed by me.
Ashley looked from Caleb to me. “Emily got a letter with a single white rose. It told her to meet you at the family graveyard.” She looked between us. “She’s been gone an hour. “Tell me you were there.”
“Show me this letter,” Caleb said.
Ashley rushed out of the room, and Caleb followed closely behind her. I pursued as I didn’t want Caleb getting too close. She handed him a small, rectangular letter. From the look on his face, this letter didn’t come from him, or any of the Monsters.
“Where’s Drake?” he asked, already heading toward the door.
“He got a call before Emily saw this, from you.”
“I didn’t fucking call him.”
Ashley gasped. “What?” Her gaze landed on me, and I saw the tears fill her eyes. She shook her head. “No. Please tell me I didn’t let her go.”
Damn it.
I cupped her face. “It’s going to be okay.”
She shook her head. “No. No. It’s not going to be okay.” She looked down at the letter Emily had gotten. Caleb had dropped it to the floor. “Please, help them.”
“I’m going to, but you’ve got to keep it together. Do you think you can do that for me?”
She nodded.
I kissed her lips. “Don’t think. You did the right thing.”
“What if they kill her?”
“I won’t let that happen.”
I wanted to stay with her, but instead, I was outside, chasing after Caleb. He was already heading toward the family graveyard.
“Fuck!” He glared at me. “I can’t fucking get ahold of them.”
“I’m right here.”
Caleb stopped and looked right at me. “But can I trust you?”
“Have I given you any reason not to trust me?” I asked.
“Yeah, you’ve given me plenty of fucking reasons. You were once in bed with my fathers.”
I put my hand on my hips. “Okay, clearly, your fathers have Emily right this second, but you’re too busy licking your sore little wounds, so let’s get this straight, I dealt business with your dads because it was good business sense. Do I have to keep repeating myself? It’s just business. That’s all it was. I have no special relationship with the bastards. Emily’s in danger. I’m going to help for Ashley. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. Do I make myself clear?”
Caleb went to hit me, but I captured his fist.
“We don’t have time for you to measure your dick right now. It could get her killed.” I got it. I did. He was so tense because of what could happen to his woman. Emily could be dead right now, but here was what he needed to understand—it would be all his fault. Not mine.
It seemed to kick him into action. Rather than beating on me, we were making our way to his family’s graveyard. If it was me, personally, when it came to taking revenge on a parent, I would’ve buried them alive. I would’ve kept them down here for long enough, and then dug them up, taunted them, and then buried them. I would’ve done it for days, keeping them waiting for me until one day, I simply didn’t turn up. That was how you properly mind-fucked a person.
Again, not something I’d be sharing with Ashley.
I heard the screams the moment we got to the graveyard edge. Caleb took off at a run, and I followed him. What I saw when I entered the place they were holding Emily had me springing into action.
For years, I watched my father then my grandfather beat on a woman. To me, they were never strong men. Taking on a woman wasn’t hard, especially one who was so broken and frail. Emily was already passed out by the time we arrived, and while Caleb took on his dad, I took on the other shithead.
Chapter Six
Ashley
“You miss them,” I said.
Emily stared into the candle. It was her first birthday away from Crude Hill, away from the monsters. Away from the life she’d always known.
“All the time. It never stops.”
I’d never had that feeling about anyone. She sniffled, wiping under her nose.
“It will pass.”
“Maybe make a wish,” I said. “For the future. You never know, you might meet them again someday.”
Emily shook her head. “Not possible. There’s no way I’m ever going to be with them again. It’s not safe to.” The sadness in her eyes made me feel sick.
There was nothing I could do to make her happy.
Unlike Emily, I was happy. Yes, my mother had been killed, and there were times guilt did hit me at being okay with that. Mom never once cared about what I wanted or what was the best for me. The first day I was bullied at Crude Hill High, she told me I had to learn to fit in. Life wasn’t going to come easy for me.
“Make a wish,” I repeated.
Emily took a breath and as she did, I made a wish also. One day, I hoped she was in love and back with her Monsters.
****
Pulling out of the memory, I felt the tears start to pool again. I didn’t want to cry. I was so sick and tired of crying. Ever since Earl and Caleb left, I’d been pacing the library. I did this. I was running fingers through my hair, scared. Emily had looked so happy when she got that letter, and now, I felt so stupid.
I didn’t advise her to wait.
There was no reason to stop her. She was so happy. It was all I could think about as I left Caleb’s office and made my way to the front door. No one stopped me as I stepped outside. I needed to make sure Emily was okay.
I made my way toward the end of the drive, then came to a complete stop.
Caleb was running toward me. Vadik, Gale, and River weren’t too far behind with Earl coming as well.
The moment I saw Emily, tears filled my eyes. She was passed out in Caleb’s arms. I couldn’t believe the sight of her. She was beaten so badly.
They didn’t stop, and I tied to follow them, but Earl grabbed hold of me.
“There’s nothing you can do right now. They’re taking her to the hospital.”
“Emily.” I screamed her name.
Earl continued to hold me back, and I couldn’t stop screaming. I was the one who was supposed to look out for her. We shared so much together. So many memories.
****
“Make a wish,” I said. This was now her second birthday with me.
“Ashley, you always say this.”
When we were in our apartment, we never used our brand-new names. Dangerous, I knew, but that was how we kept a hold on our reality. It was a reminder of all that we lost.
“Because you rarely get a chance to make a wish. I haven’t seen any falling stars lately, and it’s your birthday. Come on, please, just do this for me.” I always tried to make her birthdays special. She was a hard woman to please.