River
Eight months later
Emily’s scream echoed around the room. The midwife and doctor were there. Her water had broken and the contractions had gone from being minutes apart to only seconds. She’d been in pain so Caleb had gone to get them both, but now, she was having a very natural birth, with nothing to help ease the pain, and I hated myself.
Glancing at Gael, Vadik, and Caleb, I saw we were all in a great deal of pain for her.
“You’ve got to push, Emily,” the midwife said.
“I am pushing. Ouch. It hurts. No. No. No. He can just stay up there. It’s safe for him there.”
I moved to her side and even as she squeezed my hand in a death grip, I didn’t care.
“I love you, baby, I love you so much.”
All four of us moved close, trying to be the ones to take her pain away, but it wasn’t happening.
“You all did this.” She sobbed.
“Push, baby,” Caleb said.
“Fuck off!”
I would’ve smiled if I didn’t fear for her. She’d spent the last couple of months ordering us not to curse in front of our child. Now, she was the one cursing.
“Push, Emily,” the doctor said.
I expected her to rant at him.
Instead, she took a deep breath and moved. Her hand clasped mine, and she was fucking strong.
I encouraged her, we all did, and she pushed. Her face turned an odd shade of red before she collapsed to the bed, and then came the beautiful sound of a baby screaming. I kept my gaze on Emily. With four of us, I knew one of us would check on the baby.
Her face was covered in perspiration.
“Is he okay?” Her voice was hoarse from the screaming.
The sounds of his screams filled the air, and I knew she’d started to panic, which wasn’t good.
“They’ve got him.”
“But…” She sniffed.
“You have got a beautiful baby boy, Emily.”
“I do?” A cute bundle wrapped in a white towel was placed in her arms.
“Oh my,” she said. “He’s so beautiful.”
I was scared to say anything, and Emily tilted her head back, smiling at us all. “Do you see him?”
We crowded around her, taking in the sight of our son. His face was scrunched up, but he was so perfect.
“I love him so much.”
“You did good,” I said.
She laughed. “I was horrible.”
We all denied it, and she shook her head. “Next time, I need to be in the hospital.”
“You did well, Emily,” the midwife said.
“Thank you.”
There was a knock at the door. The doctor answered and Drake came in. It had been a tough year for our friend. He’d had to do endless hours of physical therapy and he still had to walk around with a cane. I knew it made him angry. He was taking a lot more time to heal than he’d like.
“You’re okay?” Drake asked.
In the past eight months, Emily hadn’t been offended or pushed aside because of Drake’s moods. She’d been determined to bring him out of his shell, which was exactly what she’d done.
“Come and see.”
She’d been covered. I didn’t go far, but Drake had enough room to see.
“He looks … like a baby,” Drake said.
“Stop it, he’s perfect.”
“The next generation.”
“Yeah, it won’t be long before he’ll be walking the walls of Crude Hill High, being just as stubborn as his dads.” She leaned down, rubbing her nose against her son before looking up. “I’m so looking forward to making more.”
Drake stepped back as we all surrounded our woman.
I didn’t know what we’d done to deserve her. We were Monsters, through and through. She had no real idea of the damage we did to keep her safe. Our reputations were worse than our fathers, but she was our gift, and I would cherish her always.
Epilogue Two
Ashley
Nine months before
I didn’t like how I’d left things with Emily.
It wasn’t her fault that her dad was a complete and total ass who couldn’t keep it in his pants. My mom had been looking for love, and she had gotten it, as well as an easy life, but it had cost her big time: it had cost her her life. My friendship with Emily had saved me. Sometimes I couldn’t handle the guilt. It got to be a little too much for me.
The last seven years had sucked, big time. I knew that. I’d listened to her cry because she’d lost not one, but four men. Sure, they were Monsters and were used to doing evil things, but what I’d gotten used to was that Emily came from that world. I didn’t.
My life was more about worrying when the next meal was going to arrive, or if my mom could hold down a job for longer than a couple of months. It had all changed with Emily’s dad.
Pushing those thoughts to one side, I tried not to worry about the client who wanted to talk about my first course. I’d been offered the chance to do the first courses at the restaurant, which was a big deal for me. Now someone had a complaint. That was why they called out the chefs, right?
I felt sick to my stomach.
I didn’t want to lose this job. It wasn’t my dream, but it was the next best thing. Cooking food was my life. It was what brought me so much joy and how I tried to make Emily happy.
The client had decided to sit in the VIP section of the restaurant. It was rather dark, and I noticed not many people were around.
Approaching the table number I’d been given, I saw a man in the shadows.
“Hi, I’m Ash— I mean, Harper Coast. You wanted to see
