Beast's Demands (Crude Hill High 3)

Ashley had been safer on my island, but her own mind had been working against her then.

Anger.

Panic.

Fear. I fucking hated the last one. There was no room for it in my life.

It was taking too long for us to get to the apartment. Ford broke every single speeding law known to man to get us as close to the building as possible.

On arrival, the car didn’t even come to a stop before I got out. Charging my way through the building, I spotted the man working the reception desk, passed out, his hand flat on the surface.

I didn’t take the elevator but went the stairs. It was long but my life depended on it.

I heard pants and grunts as I ran up the stairwell.

Not once did I slow down. Ford wasn’t too far behind me. He had men already in the building, and I heard him barking orders. This was why he was my right-hand man, and why I left him in charge while I was on the island. He was the only person I could trust.

Like me, he worked his way from the ground up.

As I got closer to the sound, I held my gun, ready to fight. I passed one of the men who worked for me. He was dead, eyes staring out in shock.

The moment I saw my target, I shot, taking out the attacker. I didn’t linger to see if my man was okay. I broke through the door. I was panting, and it was a struggle to breathe, but I got to my door, which had been broken into.

The moment I entered, I heard her scream, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

Ashley put up a fight. I stepped over broken plates. Furniture was turned over.

The scream came from the bedroom, and I charged forward.

Ashely had been pressed over the bed, and the man was trying to work his pants down. She kept kicking and clawing.

With the gun at his temple, I’d already fired before he could stop me.

He fell to the ground and Ashley scrambled away. The impact sprayed her back and head with blood.

At the top of the bed, her wild eyes looked at me.

“It’s me,” I said.

I was still panting, but fuck me. I didn’t know how it was possible. I got here before they raped her.

From the bruises forming, the cuts, she had taken a beating before they got to the bedroom.

“Ashley, it’s me. It’s Earl.”

“You’re here. You’re really here.” She threw herself into my arms, and I captured her, sitting on the bed, not caring about the mess.

Her entire body shook.

I was sick with it. Anger clawed deep into my pores.

Knight did this.

He wanted to play a game. He thought he could take on a beast, well, he was about to see what happened because he had just woken that beast up.

I held Ashley even as Ford entered the room.

One look was all it took, and he stepped back, giving me and my woman space.

She was stressed. Her body was shaking.

“I was making dinner, and the door, they broke it.” She started to sob. I held her even tighter as she told me. “I threw food at him, and he hit me. I grabbed everything I could. I tried to fight back.”

I kissed the top of her head. “You did good, baby. You did really good.”

“He didn’t … he was going to. He told me he was going to kill me. That his boss wanted me dead.”

I let her cry and just listened to what she had to say. All the while, I plotted.

This was the second time Ashley’s life had been put in danger, but I knew it would be the last time.

Knight wanted to play. I was more than happy to join in.

We were enemies, and until now, he’d been quiet, but I knew things would only escalate. When you sat on the top of a throne, it was only a matter of time before someone felt they had a right to sit here.

It was time to get back in the game, and to do that, Ashley needed to go.

Chapter Sixteen

Ashley

One week later

Something was different.

Earl was different.

He didn’t stay around anymore. Nor did he sleep in my bed. He was distant. Not exactly cold, but close enough.

I couldn’t get through to him no matter what I said.

He moved me from the apartment to a hotel room. There was room service and multiple men at my door and inside it.

I’d been here for a week.

He only came at night.

Always sat in the chair, never coming to bed.

It was like being back at the island, only this was worse. I knew what to expect back there, but here, it was even harder.

The noises were an illusion.

I was scared. Someone had tried to kill me. An enemy of Earl tried to remove me from his life. In doing so, I saw the change in him. He wasn’t the same man.