Ashley's Bend (38 page)

“Ashley, why the fuck are you doing this? You know this isn’t true!” Knox pleaded.

I couldn’t stop the tears from coursing down my face now. I chanced a look at the man who had grown to be a good friend to me and said the only thing I could.

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be!” Dominic roared, “I trusted you! I let go of everything for you! I fucking fell in
love
with you, and this is how you repay me? What is it you want, Ashley? Money? I’ll give you every fucking dime I have if you tell them this isn’t true. Don’t fucking do this!”

For the remainder of my time on Earth, I would never forget the look on Dominic’s face as he and Knox were led out of the club in handcuffs. Both men begging me to stop what was happening. My best friend was yelling at me and pulling at my arms to go after the officers carrying away the men we both loved. All I could do was stand in place, there inside The Celtic Knot
like a statue made of stone. It was the place where everything began for me. It was where I could finally take hold of my own future and do things for me. It was where I met the man I had desperately, and irrevocably fallen in love with.

It was also where everything ended.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading Ashley’s Bend. I know you are probably angry at me for the ending, but don’t worry, There will be more soon! In the meantime, continue reading for a sneak peak of more of Dominic and Ashley’s story that will continue in book 2 Figure Eight (A Celtic Knot Novel).

The slow, torturous sound of water dripping from the faucet of the sink in the corner of the room, echoed off of the walls making my already fragile state even worse. I was ready to crack, ready to break. I tried to synchronize my rapidly beating heart to match the rhythm of each deafening drip that splashed against the smooth porcelain of the sink. Anything I could try to get my mind off of the reason I was sitting inside this cold, damp, concrete room with my hands fisted in my hair, trying to restrain the rage that coursed through my body.

The bed I was sitting on held an old, dingy pad of nothing. I wouldn’t even give it the definition of the word mattress because in order to be considered as one, one had to actually exist. Mustering all the strength I could find, I pushed myself up off of the bed and started to pace the floor. My hands clenched and unclenched as I tried to get control over the emotions and anger that consumed me.

Not being able to contain my violent, uncontrollable anger anymore, I reared my arm back and pain shot through my hand as my fist collided with the concrete wall. The cracking of my bones after the impact of my punch was nothing compared to the shattered pieces of my heart. The sandpaper texture of the concrete walls caused a trickle of blood to run down from my knuckles and drip on the floor; the blood a reproduction of my soul trying to escape the confines of the brokenness I felt inside.

“You get blood all over the place, Michaels, and your ass is cleaning it up yourself,” Officer Russell said to me as he sat at his desk with his feet propped on top and crossed at the ankles. The corners of his mouth turned up in a sardonic smirk as he looked at me through the metal bars of the jail cell. He rested his head in the hands that were threaded together behind his head, like he didn’t have a care in the world. His relaxed demeanor and smug looking attitude only pissed me off more.

“Fuck you,” I bit out through clenched teeth. I bit down so hard I could feel my teeth grind together, and my jaw locked as I fought against every fiber of my being that was telling me to lose it, lose all my control.

“Seems to me, fucking got you in trouble in the first place, Nic. I wouldn’t push it if I were you,” Officer Russell said driving a stake even deeper into my already pierced heart. My thoughts drifted back to the night before when all I wanted to do was return to the club and see the one woman who above all others, had stolen my soul completely. It was her that broke through the fortress I built around my heart when no one else was ever able to. I couldn’t wait to get back to her after being in New Orleans for a week. Little did I know that my world was going to come crashing to an abrupt halt.

“Only my friends get to call me Nic, watch your fucking mouth, asshole,” I growled at him. Russell’s use of my nickname made me try to push past my infuriation to come to the realization that I was not the only one who was arrested.

“Where is Knoxville?” I demanded as my barely slightly diminished anger came back full force. Not only had my monumental fuck up landed me in jail on prostitution charges, but my best friend and business partner as well.

“He is being interrogated. Last I heard, your boy is singing like a canary, so don’t be thinking your sorry ass is going to get out of here anytime soon.” Russell beamed as he brought his feet down from on top of his desk and began to twirl a set of keys around his fingers. I knew he was doing it to taunt me, to make me think that he had control over my freedom with something as frivolous as a set of keys. My eyes focused on each revolution of the metal ring of Russell’s goading on his boney, crooked finger before I abruptly focused my attention back to the situation that Knox and I were in.

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Russell. Knox and I are completely innocent so why would he have any need to spill information that isn’t true? Mark my words, when I get this all straightened out, it will be you and your douchebag friend, Asher, who will be on this side of the bars.” I stated matter-of-factly before I did an about face and went to sit back down on the bed.

Maybe I shouldn’t have stopped Asher from hurting her.

No, even I wasn’t that sadistic enough to allow a woman to be taken against her will. Why did she do this to me, to us? For the first time in my life, I allowed a woman inside; I allowed myself to feel emotions that I had never felt before. I told myself in the beginning that it was wrong and that everything would come crashing in around me and right I was. Closing my eyes, I couldn’t escape the haunting image of blonde hair and green eyes. Her smile, her laugh all burned into my psyche permanently, and I was unable to escape the pure torture of her memory.

I thought falling in love with a woman was the hardest thing that I have ever been through, but her betrayal was by far worse to deal with. I knew I was risking my heart when I fell in love with Ashley; I didn’t know I would be risking my entire life as well.

A commotion from the other side of the room caught my attention, and I lifted my head to find Madame V speaking to one of the officers in a heated manner. She pointed over to where I was sitting in the dark cell, and I watched as Russell approached his colleague and placed his hand on his shoulder. I strained to try to hear the conversation as I pushed myself up from the bed and walked over to palm the cold metal bars of my cell, wrapping my fingers around them.