After spending a long time out in the garden, I made my way into the kitchen and became reacquainted with all the ingredients on offer. There were so many, and my mouth salivated at the thought of cooking.
Once I’d rolled up the sleeves of my shirt, I got to chopping. I was thinking a chickpea spiced stew with couscous.
I started with an onion, going through the mechanics of chopping and dumping them into the large cast-iron casserole pot I had.
It didn’t take long for the smells to bring guests.
Emily arrived first. Her mouth fell open as she looked at me. “Ashley, what are you doing?”
“Do you not want me to cook?”
“No, of course not. It’s good to see you cooking.”
I smiled at her.
She took a seat at the counter, putting her chin on her hands. “It has been too long since you cooked.”
To help me get through it, I vowed not to think of him. It was how I was going to survive.
With the bell peppers chopped, the onions sweating down, I got to work on the garlic. I hated the smell of raw garlic, but it was a necessity in cooking and couldn’t be overlooked. With the garlic smashed, I ran my knife through it, and that was when Gael and Vadik joined.
“I wondered what smelled so good,” Gael said.
“Just some home cooking. Nothing special.” I put the garlic off to the side and then grabbed the necessary spices. I looked through the collection they had and made a few selections.
I didn’t know what kind of meal I was going for and just started to add an array of them, starting with a small cinnamon stick. That went into the pot, followed by some paprika, cumin, and a couple more spices.
When I next looked up, Caleb and River had joined.
“Is it so odd for someone to be cooking in your kitchen?” I asked.
Emily chuckled. “It’s odd for you to be out of your room. You know, after everything.”
I smiled. It didn’t feel quite as forced, but it also wasn’t as happy either. I wasn’t over what happened. “Does Drake do some counseling in between his work for you guys?” I asked.
“Not that I’m aware of, why?”
“Let’s just say he helped to draw me out.”
“Drake did?” Gael asked.
I nodded.
“Well, fuck me. That guy is pretty useful after all.” He let out a snort.
“A man of many talents,” Caleb said.
“Yeah, and I know you’ve guys have been really nice putting up with me and all, but I was wondering if it would be at all possible to go back to England?” I’d been thinking about this all afternoon, and it was where I wanted to go.
“England?” Emily asked.
“Yeah.” I looked between all five of them, and they seemed a little surprised. “Is everything okay?”
“England’s not your home,” Gael said.
“Actually, it is. Crude Hill isn’t my home. I don’t belong here.”
“Ashley, this is your home.”
“No, it wasn’t. My mom lived here to fuck your dad easily. She wanted a good life, and she got it. I totally understand what she wanted, but I’m not her. This life isn’t mine. There is nothing here for me, and I don’t want to stay here, waiting to see if you’ll marry me off or something.”
“That would never happen,” Emily said, slamming her hand on the counter.
The last thing I wanted to do in the world was upset her. She was heavily pregnant.
“I don’t mean it like that. You’ve all got a job around here, and I cook. That’s it. I’m not designed for this life with you all. My mom dragged me into your world, and with the threat now gone, don’t you see? I should be able to survive without any of you, right? I can go back to England, but as myself. I don’t even have to go to London. I can go anywhere. I just, that place felt more like home than this one. It’s time for me to move forward, not look back. Earl made his choice.”
Emily got to her feet and came toward me. I’d already added some tomatoes to the pot as well as some good vegetable stock. It smelled amazing, and I was hungry.
My best friend pulled me into her arms.
“I don’t want you to go. I don’t think it’s fair.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “I know, but this isn’t about you. It’s about me, and I know I can’t truly heal being here. He’s not coming back, Em. I need to do this for myself. Please.”
Emily pulled away enough to cup my face. Tears glistened in her eyes, but I wasn’t going to back down. I’d made my decision. Crude Hill had offered me nothing but pain, from my mom, Emily’s dad, and now Earl. I needed to leave. To find my own roots, to find my own way of life.
“Fine. We’ll help every single step of the way. You’re always going to be family to me, Ash. Blood or not, I’ll help you.”
****
Earl
“What do you want me to do?” Caleb asked.
I didn’t want him to talk. He’d already said enough, and now I was pissed off. Sitting in my office, in my kingdom with the Knight threat close at hand, this wasn’t the news I wanted to hear.
“This is what she wants?” I asked.
“This was all Ashley’s suggestion. Nothing Emily or we say is going to change that. She wants a clean break.”
Against the Monsters’ Crew liking, I’d found a way to get regular updates about my woman. I’d asked them first, but they’d refused. Then I’d gone to Emily. After that, I’d reached out to Drake.
They were all loyal to the Monsters’ Crew and to Ashley. So I’d had no choice but to hire someone to find out how my woman was doing.
Ashley had struggled.
No, she was downright fucking in pain. I didn’t know how they managed to get close to her, but I’d been sent a video of the noises coming from her room. The man I’d hired had turned up dead with the Monsters telling me not to send anyone else or they’d all end up the same way.
We were all kings in our world, and working together proved difficult. The fact Caleb was even giving me this call was a giant fucking leap.
“Why are you calling me now?” I asked.
“I didn’t have to call you,” he said.
I wanted to drag his ass right in front of me so I could pound it. Then he’d be done with his smartass answers.
“I know what you didn’t have to do, fucking prick. I want to know why you’re contacting me now when you told me to stay the hell away.”
I’d dropped Ashley off, and once I returned to my penthouse, I had given in and called to see how she was doing.
I got nothing.
The truth was, I shouldn’t be calling Caleb. I shouldn’t even care what Ashley was doing. I’d made my decision clear. She and I were over. I’d gotten what I wanted, and there was no going back.
Only, staying away from her was proving to be difficult. This wasn’t a decision I’d taken lightly. I hadn’t wanted to get rid of her. Ashley was mine. I still fucking saw her as mine, and one day, she’d be mine again, but until I sorted out the fucked-up problem that was my life, I couldn’t risk her.
People would kill her to spite me. I was the enemy, not her, but she was an easy target. A weakness of mine. One I had to keep protected at all costs.