Figure Eight (Celtic Knot Book 2) (33 page)

“I promise that no matter what happens, I will be a good mommy to you. I will look after you, love you and protect you with every fiber of my being,” I said to the growing life inside of me.

And I meant every word.
 

I scrubbed my hands over the stubble on my face as I sat in the Aston Martin outside of the courthouse. My heart thundered in my chest as I tried to prepare myself for today. Who knew how long the trial would last, and I had no clue by the judge’s expressions which way he was leaning after evidence was presented yesterday.

Toby came by the apartment last night and tried to explain to us what was going to happen today in court. Ashley was being called up to give her testimony. I knew before it even happened that it was going to gut me having to listen to her lie on the stand about our relationship and the operations that went on at my club.

Knox was a nervous wreck most of the meeting with Toby, not really paying attention while his mind was on Kelly. Things finally changed when she called him and said that there was a family emergency and that she was back home with them in Colorado. Knox seemed to perk up after that as we went over what our testimonies would consist of if and when we were called up to the stand tomorrow.

Knox and Victoria agreed to meet me at the courthouse when I told them that I was going for a drive around the city beforehand. Who knew when the last time I would get to see the streets of Chicago would be and I wanted to make the best of the time I had. What I didn’t expect was to find myself sitting outside of Ashley’s apartment for hours this morning. I was relieved to see that Rownan’s car was not there, but Ashley’s was. I stared at the darkened window of her apartment until the sun came up, before heading over to the courthouse.

I needed to talk to her. I needed confirmation as to whether the baby she was carrying was 
Kleinfield’s or mine. It wouldn’t be a lie if I said I wasn’t a little hopeful that the baby was mine. I had never envisioned myself as a father, hell I never envisioned myself in a real relationship with someone before Ashley came along.

Methodically, I turned the ignition off in the car and opened the door to make my way inside the courthouse. It was early, at least an hour and a half before court was set to begin, but I didn’t care. The Chicago courthouse was surrounded by other tall buildings, but had a nice lawn in the front, so I decided to go for a walk to try to clear my head and focus on exactly what I was going to say to Ashley. I needed to have a level head when I talked to her, but I also needed to make sure that she wasn’t near Kleinfield. The last thing I needed was to have another confrontation with him and right on the lawn of the courthouse.

On my second lap around the building, I spotted Ashley walking up the step to enter the courthouse.

Alone.

I knew this could be my only chance to confront her and quickened my pace to catch up to her. When I entered the building, I caught a glimpse of blonde hair going into the women’s restroom. Making my way to get to her, I entered the ladies room praying that she was the only one in there. I held the door with my hands, letting it close slowly as to not alert her of my presence. I then flipped the lock closed, when I determined that we were the only two in the room.

I waited as patiently as I could for her to finish her business as I stood with my backside against the sink and my arms crossed over my chest. When she finally emerged from the stall, I was once again struck with how strikingly beautiful she was as our eyes collided. Time seemed to stop for what only felt like a few moments as I watched her tuck a stray strand of her golden blonde hair behind her ear. Her green eyes sparkled with both shock and what looked like fear. Once upon a time, those eyes gazed upon me with want and desire, just as mine did her. It was torture to have to live my life every day, not being able to see her. I felt like I had been skating through a void that was a result of the distance between us. The beauty of what was between us had been destroyed, and the only piece that could possibly have survived it was the life that was growing inside of her.

“Dominic…” she said in a breathless whisper. The sound of her sweet voice caressed my ears and absorbed into my system.

“I’m not here to fight with you, Ashley. I’m not here to ask you to stop this nonsense. I just need to know one thing, and I am begging you to tell me the honest to God truth. Please.”

“I...I wish…” she started

“Is the baby mine?” I blurted out not giving her a chance to say that she wouldn’t tell me the truth. I couldn’t contain the ferocious behavior of my heart as it beat hard and heavy in my chest while I anticipated her answer. Her eyes started to glisten with unshed tears and she walked completely out of the stall to come stand directly in front of me. She was so close, that I could have reached out and touched her without making an effort, yet there was this large invisible wall erected between us that felt impenetrable.

Not a flinch, not a flicker or movement of her eyes came as she kept them strongly connected to mine.

“Yes.”

It felt like a two-ton boulder had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt so light that if gravity hadn’t tethered me to the ground beneath my feet, I could have floated away from the enlightened feeling.

The tears that had been pooled in her eyes rolled down the porcelain skin of her cheek, and I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to wipe it away. Her skin felt like smooth velvet as the pad of my thumb rubbed across her cheek and my other four fingers cupped the back of her head. Closing her eyes, she leaned into my hand as if it were the comfort she had been desperately seeking.

She reached up and held onto my wrist and forearm, holding it in place out of fear that I would remove my touch from her.

“I’m sorry. I tried to tell you yesterday but-”

“I was an asshole and wouldn’t let you.” She chuckled ever so slightly as she opened her gorgeous green eyes to look at me.

“I wasn’t going to say that, but yes,” she replied as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. It was a beautiful thing to see her smile, something that I hadn’t seen in months now.

She slowly let go of my hand as if realizing what she was doing and I allowed my hand to regretfully leave her face.

“The baby truly is mine?” I asked her once again just to be sure that I had heard her answer correctly.

“The baby is yours, Dominic,” she repeated again and this time nothing held me back from grabbing her and wrapping her into my arms. As much as my mind told me to hate her, hate her for everything she had done to me, my heart wouldn’t allow me to do it. And now knowing that she was carrying my child, a life that she and I had created together, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to not love her.

She held onto me for dear life, her small frame squeezing me in desperation like I would vanish from thin air if she let go. We stayed like that for God knew how long, seeking comfort from each other as if our lives depended on it. The warmth of her skin absorbed into me, and it was the only thing that proved to me that she was real and not one of the countless dreams I have had of us being together again.

Reluctantly, she pulled back slightly, and looked up toward me. I used to never look woman in the eyes, afraid of what I would find in them. Having to endure years of watching torment in my mother’s eyes was enough for me for a lifetime, but somehow, with her, I craved the emerald irises that had captivated me the moment I made the mistake of looking into them. She had never been able to hide anything from me in them, and right now, what I saw was fear and anguish.

“Dominic, I have never slept with Rownan. He has been a good friend to me when I have had no one. Yes, I have confided in him-depended on him-but I have not gone to bed with him. My body has not been touched by anyone other than you since we have met. I promise.”

Through all the lies, she has told to date, somehow that statement, I believed. Her eyes never once wavered from mine the entire time she spoke, instead reaching deep down into mine to find the slightest bit of compassion to believe her.

“I need you to listen to me. You are not going to go to jail. The Celtic Knot will be re-opened and things will go back to the way they were before. But I need you to promise me something. I need you to help Kelly.”

She raised a finger to place on my lips when I tried to interrupt her.

“I cannot explain, I cannot tell you why, but I need you to find her after court today. Victoria and Drake know where she is. She is in danger. Please promise me.”

Her demeanor was serious, and she was shaking slightly from it. I didn’t understand why Kelly was in danger when she called Knox last night.

“Ashley, Kelly is fine. She went home. Something about her little brother needing her.”

“She’s lying. Please. If you never believe a word I say, believe me now. But whatever you do, do not say anything until after court today. Please, just promise me, Dominic.”

Once again, I folded her in my arms afraid of letting go of this moment. In a sick, self-destructive way, I believed her. My head was telling me to run far, far away so that I couldn’t be poisoned by her anymore, but my heart told me she was telling the truth.

“Okay,” I said as I pressed my cheek against the top of her head. When she lifted her head from my chest one last time, a pounding sound came from the door signaling someone trying to get in. Our moment was over. I only hoped I was making the right decision because if she was lying again, I don’t think my heart would survive it this time.

“What are you going to do today?” I asked her hoping that she would tell me the truth after our little heart to heart.

“I cannot tell you. Just know that
everything
I did was because I love you.” She stood on her tippy toes and pressed her warm lips to my cheek, burning the flesh where her lips touched and branded me. It wasn’t enough. I needed more. I needed her to know that even through the whole fucking ordeal that has gone on, I still couldn’t stop loving her.

Pounding still continued to sound against the bathroom door. Ashley looked nervous and scared as she looked behind us at the bathroom door. I grabbed her head and turned her back around to face me as I cupped her jaw with both hands.

“I love you too, Ashley, so fucking much it hurts.” I leaned down capturing her lips with mine and sealing with physical evidence the meaning of my words. Loving her was glorious and fucking hurt like hell at the same time. To have her with me always, but not truly have her has been nothing but torture.