Seven years of helping her get through her heartache.
Leaving her men had really done a number on her.
“You know I love you, Em. Can we not talk about future plans and what we’re not going to get out of life? Tell me about your pregnancy.”
She was terrified of being a shit mother. There was no way she could be. Emily was a huge softy at heart. The Monsters gave her the chance to be herself, to embrace her softer side.
The girl I once knew back in Crude Hill High, that had been the survivor. That school didn’t allow for people to be soft. It was a glorified war zone.
Fucking terrifying if truth be told.
The first day had been a nightmare for me. I was nothing more than a whore’s kid, and I’d been easy pickings. If it hadn’t been for Emily, they may have killed me and disposed of my body.
I owed Emily so much.
“I don’t like changing the subject,” Emily said, complaining.
“Tough. It’s what we’re going to talk about. Come on. Tell me.” I held the laptop as Emily stood.
“Can you even see a bump?” The camera was at her waistline.
“Can’t see anything, but you do need to eat more. You’re way too skinny.”
“Then you need to come back home. Cook for me. The guys would love you back.”
Emily got comfortable.
Crude Hill wasn’t my home.
I didn’t say as such. I refused to upset her.
“Do you have morning sickness? Strange smells? Aching nipples?”
Emily burst out laughing. This wasn’t fake. She was truly happy and seeing her this way filled me with so much joy. My best friend had finally found her peace. There was no way I couldn’t be happy for her.
“I see you changing the subject. Yes, the morning sickness has started and it’s gross. Thankfully, I have my pick of four guys willing to hold my hair and rub my back. Drake helps as well. Coffee makes me feel sick. My nipples are sore. That’s pretty much it. Oh, I have this need to make sure the nursery is ready.”
“How is Drake doing?” We could come back to safer topics. I never liked Drake in school. He was far too volatile, and I did believe he still was. He hid it well. Either that or his loyalty to the Monsters kept him in check. Again, not my business.
“He’s much better, actually. I keep asking him if he’s dating his nurse but he’s being very tight-lipped on his love life. I tried to get some info from Gael, but they don’t talk about Drake’s sex life. I think he’s into some kinky kind of shit. Kind of scary stuff. Oh, I totally forgot to tell you, Amelia came back to Crude Hill. She’s living with us and will be enrolling at Crude Hill High.”
I couldn’t remember Amelia. “Who?”
“Oh, right. It’s kind of not a secret but he’s never really made it well known. River’s sister. He takes full care of her now. His mother refused to come back, and she pretty much sent her daughter packing. Kind of sad. Amelia seems sweet though, quiet. Like a mouse.”
“Please tell me you’re being nice to her.”
“Ash, I am nice. Besides, she’s family.” Emily stifled a yawn. “Enough about me. Tell me about you.”
I turned the laptop around so she could get a good view of the ocean.
“Holy shit,” Emily said.
“Yep, that’s my view. It’s beautiful.”
“Ash, I’m not stupid, okay. I know you. What does Earl have to offer you?”
Resting the laptop on my knees, I stared out at the ocean as I thought about it.
“Ash?” Emily asked after several seconds.
“I know you don’t like this arrangement, and you don’t see what I could possibly have to gain. The truth is, I don’t know. When I’m with him, I don’t feel the need to leave. I like being around him. He can be fun.”
“You know what he’s capable of. What his entire empire is made up?”
I returned my gaze to the screen. “Emily, think about the Monsters, and what they’ve been involved with. What’s to say they haven’t benefited off of the women that have been taken and sold?” I hated that part of him.
The world was a horrible place. I got that.
“You’re defending him?” I heard the shock in her voice and don’t like it.
“I’m not … damn it, Emily, stop it, okay. I’ve got to go.” I didn’t want to carry on a conversation that made me feel so guilty and mad at the same time.
Without waiting for her to stop me, I turned off the chat, signed out, and closed the laptop down. I didn’t move, staring out at the ocean.
Earl wasn’t too far away.
I could feel him.
I didn’t turn around.
“How long have you been there?” I asked.
“Long enough.”
“She’s my friend and she’s worried about me.”
“Your friends are safe, Ashley, so long as you stick to the deal and they don’t meddle in my business.”
He sat down beside me. His warmth surrounded me, even though I wanted to be angry.
He had women on the island. The house was always clean. Not a speck of dust anywhere. The dishes, when we were in the dining room, were always cleaned away.
They moved around without being seen.
“The women you keep close. Do you fuck them?” I asked. The words spilled from my mouth before I had a chance to hold them back.
“No.”
“Have you ever … fucked them?”
“Ashley, be careful.”
Tears filled my eyes. It was times like this that I realized our dynamic was captive and captor. I wasn’t a girlfriend. I was a piece of flesh.
I felt stupid for thinking it could be otherwise. I gripped the laptop, about to stand, but his voice held me still.
“Yes, I’ve fucked them. I’ve had no choice. You can believe me or not, I don’t give a fuck. This life, I’ve fought my way to the top. You don’t know how I came to be, Ashley. You don’t know what I’ve sacrificed, what I’ve fought to claim.”
Turning toward him, I saw him staring out across the ocean.
There was no guilt. No remorse.
“I fucked them because it was a requirement. You’re aware this used to be owned by my grandfather,” he said.
“That’s not building it from the ground up. That’s not fighting for your life, for this, every single day. You got it handed to you on a silver platter.”
The laugh that erupted from him sent a chill down my spine.
“You think because I was the only living son that I could have all this? The wealth, the power, just because of my last name. Just because his son fathered me.” Earl’s laughter was dark, sinister, full of hate.
I felt sick, but I didn’t get up and leave.
The beast lurked beneath, ready to pounce.
He’d told me vague parts of his life with his grandfather and his father, but I hadn’t gotten a lot to build up a picture.
“My father hadn’t even earned the right to take over from him. He was learning the ropes. Dealing every single night in pussy. It’s what he was doing when he died.” Earl’s hands were tight, the threat in them clear.
Fear traveled through my body at what he could do.
“You want to go around thinking the world is black and white. That it’s either good or bad. You’re wrong, Ashley.”