Decay (Heart of Stone Book 13)

by Sidebottom, D H

  “Showing you up!” I hissed. “I am going to kill someone very slowly. Who did it?”

  She sighed, rolling her eyes. “It’s taken care of.”

  Finally sitting down, I trembled with the amount of adrenaline running through my system. “It doesn’t look taken care of. What the fuck happened?”

  “I got jumped from behind. There wasn’t much I could do until I got free of their hold. Then I took care of it.”

  I settled a little at her account. “Them? How many were there?”

  She lifted a beautiful eyebrow. “You think one person would manage to do this?”

  I couldn’t hold the grin. My woman was still in there. I had worried this place would drown her but the familiar glint of slightly crazy still looked back at me through her gorgeous wicked grin.

  Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a little girl, roughly around five, laid on the floor colouring in a book. Then my eyes lifted to the convict staring at me with a glare of utter hatred. I stared back then turned to Ava. “Who’s that?”

  She took a glance then rolled her eyes. “The one and only Jim Carver’s wife.”

  My heart froze. “What the fuck! They’ve stuck you in here with her? After our daughter killed her husband?”

  Ava laughed. “Mason, they don’t give a damn. They’re secretly hoping we kill each other. Less for the taxpayer to feed.”

  “So that’s who jumped you?”

  She nodded. “Not her personally, but her lackeys.” She reached forward and took my trembling hand in hers. “Don’t worry, I’ve told you I sorted it. They returned to her with a nice message.”

  “I don’t like it, Ava. She’s trouble.”

  “Mason,” she whispered, her body inclining towards me. “I’m trouble.”

  The smirk on her face made me relax and nod. “I have news anyway.”

  She stiffened then, her eyes narrowing on me. “Oh?”

  A smile crept up my lips as the excitement to the news I’d received gave me hope once again. “The almighty has been arrested for corruption.”

  Her eyes widened and she gasped. “Delaney?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  I could see the hope cross her face before she quickly pulled it back, knowing it was still as open as it was. “And?”

  I shrugged. “I warned him not to mess with me and mine, Ava. The stupid man never listens.”

  Her face grew dark. “I told you this was my deal, Mason, you can’t just go back on a verbal contract, not in our world!”

  Anger floored me and I growled at her. “You think I don’t know what’s right and wrong in our society?” I leaned towards her and gripped her wrist. “No one, NO ONE, messes with you. That’s the fucking law in our world!”

  Her gaze softened and she cradled my cheek. “I know. But the repercussions from what you have done could be worse than anything. You know that, Mason.”

  “And the repercussions will come back on me, not you. They know, they all know, they take you on then they take me on as well.”

  She nodded and lowered her eyes. “How’s Georgie?”

  “He’ll be fine once you’re home.”

  “Mason…”

  “No,” I growled. “Every arrest Delaney has ever made is under scrutiny. There was only ever your deal, no evidence, Ava.”

  “But the phone footage of me...” She leaned closer and lowered her voice, “killing Dean?”

  “He never had it, Ava. Or if he did, it’s gone. I’ve had people searching for it. There is no evidence against you. They can’t do anything but clear you. Delaney is the biggest bent copper out there, it’s his turn to reside at her majesty’s pleasure now, not yours.”

  “But I’ve…”

  “You’ve never hurt without reason, Ava. And I don’t care what you say, your heart is the only thing that makes this life bearable. And it’s nothing without you. I can’t breathe without you, Ava. I don’t want to breathe without you. I will do anything it takes to get you out of here!”

  She smiled at me, the smile that I had missed so damn much. “I love you, you glorious fucking bastard.”

  “And me you, my little warrior. I’m getting you out of here whether you like it or not.”

  I just prayed that she could keep Carver’s wife away for long enough.

  Two

  Katie

  I smiled with genuine emotion. “Mr Takeshi, it’s been too fucking long.”

  He bowed his head and I returned his respect before he held out his hand and clasped mine hard. “With that, I agree, Miss Fox.”

  His guards moved back dutifully, each black suit bowing their heads courteously when Mr Takeshi gestured for me and my two men to follow him down the long hallway. Mark and Graham followed at a distance but I knew their eyes and their attention were firmly on me and my host.

  “I am sensing that my request isn’t agreeable?”

  “So astute.” His accent quietened my forever wild soul. There was something so soothing to the ears in every syllable of the oriental tongue, each time I heard its original form I would find myself relaxing to its fluent slur. “It may be considered inappropriate of me for saying…”

  I shook my head. “Your judgement is always valued and never unwarranted, Mr Takeshi.”

  He smiled at my declaration. “Then may I say that I’m not sure what you’re taking on isn’t…how do I say?”

  “Stupid?” I answered for him.

  He blushed for a moment and lowered his head in confirmation.

  “I will guarantee that your ‘gift’ to me will not be broadcast outside of these four walls. I appreciate your concern, and your kindness, but I believe, as do many others I’ve spoken with, that the Vaughans are becoming a bigger problem than we anticipated. They need to be dealt with quickly and efficiently if our world is to run as smoothly as it previously has for the foreseeable future.”

  “I understand that, Miss Fox, and I can assure you that I am one in agreement that the Vaughans are a nuisance we can all do without, but I’ve heard things… things that worry me. I am not so sure they are going to bow down to you and allow you to… discipline them, shall we say?”

  We stopped at a door and I turned to the old man that my dad had done business with for years before I took over. He was of the old ones and I respected any advice he would ever give me. But this time he was wrong. Taking his hand, I gave it a gentle pat. “I won’t be disciplining them, Mr Takeshi. Far from it.”

  He nodded, but the apprehension in his eyes was clear. However, he kept his council to himself and opened the door for me.

  “Although I will still owe you many times, Miss Fox, I am willing to help in any way I can.”

  “Thank you. And you owe me nothing.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “Twice you have sorted my own problems for me. I still owe,” he reiterated before he gave me another nod and walked away. His men that had followed obediently after us walked back up the hallway with their boss, leaving me and my men to enter the room alone.

  Jacob Vaughan was subdued, both of his wrists held in steel cuffs as he dangled precariously from two support beams that ran across the bare but specialised room that Mr Takeshi sorted his problems in. He was already beaten, blood running down his face and neck as one of his eyes swelled extensively, severely limiting his vision. I peered at him, struggling to see if he actually had an eyeball left in there. Apparently he had.

  “Good evening, Mr Vaughan.”

  The sound of my voice had his head snapping backwards, the movement jerking his body and making him swing in the weight of the chains. He squinted through his good eye until his focus fixed on me. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw him blanch.

  Making sure he could actually see me, I made a point of sliding Thelma and Louise – my two special blades - from the two sheaths attached to my thighs. The feel of them in my hands settled the anxiousness I always felt without the press of their cold steel in my palm. They were my two best friends. They protected me without prejud
ice or fear, and in this life that was what kept each of us alive.

  I smiled wider when I heard his quiet but definite whimper.

  “Now, I wondered if you could help me with something.”

  His one good eye dropped to watch in morbid fascination when I ran the edge of Thelma over my tongue, the taste of copper hitting every single taste bud on my tongue and igniting a burst of adrenaline.

  “One of my shipments was… intercepted. Some fool seemed to think they were bold enough to take what was mine.”

  I didn’t fail to catch the glint of fear in Jacob’s eye.

  “You can understand that apart from feeling a little frustrated at this… setback, I’m more annoyed that whoever took my weapons forgot to pay me the going rate for them.”

  Jacob stiffened when I casually strolled towards him, the click of my heels across the purpose built, easy-clean tiled floor a soundtrack in the silence. Thelma and Louise were pirouetting like ballet dancers between my fingers, their dance perfect after our long and wonderful friendship. The faster they spun the higher the familiar hum of their song filled the unfurnished room. The lack of furniture gave their tune a new pitch and I listened for a moment, in awe of how different and happy they sounded.

  I saw Mark shift at the side of the room, taking his usual stance behind Jacob. He gave me his customary wink, letting me know he was behind me.

  “Now, Mr Vaughan, I thought perhaps you could help me with this little… hindrance and tell me where they are.”

  His eyes widened when I poked the tip of Louise into the dip at the base of his throat. His Adam’s apple went crazy, bobbing up and down as if it wanted Louise to dance with it. I was more than willing to allow her that much intimacy with her new acquaintance but for the moment I needed him to be able to answer my questions.

  “You think you’ll get away with this, Fox? My father will hunt you down. You’ll start a war you will never be able to win!”

  I chuckled, patting him happily on the cheek. “Oh I really hope so, I’m in the need for a little playtime.”

  I hissed, baulking when a blob of his spit landed on my cheek.

  “You Foxs think you’re untouchable. But let me tell you something.” He leaned forward on his toes, moving his face closer to mine. His rancid breath made me move back. “Your father has lost a lot of friends. Including those very, very close to him. He’s a grass…”

  Pushing Thelma into his sternum I growled at him, “He grassed on a fucking bent cop!”

  Jacob shook his head, sneering at me. “Doesn’t matter, he still grassed and that’s a huge no, no. He’s lost respect and no one is going to take this lightly.”

  He yelped when Thelma sank into his flesh.

  “You talk too much.”

  The usual fury moved in when he laughed at me.

  “Everyone knows that Ava is Mason’s Achilles heel. But he broke the rules…”

  “The rules he made, you filthy fucking cunt!” Why I was allowing this scrote to get my back up, I didn’t know, but I did know that what he was saying was the truth and to hear it aloud was kindling the apprehension that had been slumbering in my gut ever since my dad had gone against every unspoken law in the criminal world.

  “You’re all going down, Fox. You. Your father. And your whore of a mother. You’re all going down…”

  His laugh stopped abruptly when I plunged Thelma and Louise into his stomach and then wrenched them apart. The sound of flesh splitting gave my belly a quick surge of warmth. Quickly moving back when his guts started to spill on the floor in front of me, I winced at the pitch of his scream.

  Mark looked at me with uncertainty when I walked behind Jacob and gestured for him to move to the side of the room. Jacob’s wild squeal was making it difficult to concentrate. I was glad the room was soundproof, the last thing I wanted was to disturb Mr Takeshi’s supper.

  “We needed him to talk,” Mark grumbled at me, his sigh full of exasperation.

  “He was pissing me off.”

  He rolled his eyes. He knew what a quick temper I had and was used to these little ‘diversions’ by now.

  “You think there was something in what he was saying, that there’s an unrest brewing?”

  He clicked his tongue and shrugged as he shot Jacob a glare when his screaming became even louder. “Dunno, but it’s not something that anyone is willing to overlook, even if Mason did grass on a cop. People will think that if he can do it to Delaney, maybe he can do it to them.”

  I nodded, taking his words on-board. “Listen, do me a favour. See if you can find out the word on the street. I need to know what’s being said, and put an end to it if need be.”

  “Sure.”

  A gunshot made both Mark and me jump. Jacob’s screaming instantly stopped and we both lifted our eyebrows at Graham. He shrugged as he returned his gun to the back of his waistband. “He was making my brain vibrate. Annoying cunt!”

  I couldn’t agree more.

  ♡

  I leaned on his doorframe, waiting impatiently for him to answer the door. When it finally swung open the wicked smile on his face made me glare at him.

  “Back so soon?”

  My hands in his chest sent him stumbling backwards. He returned my anger with a tight hold on my throat before he kicked the door shut and slammed me against the wall. “You wanna fight, huh?”

  I hated that I was here again. Hated that he had this much control over me. What we were doing would cause an explosion to my family so intense the aftershock would be felt for years to come. But I couldn’t help it. I needed his touch like I needed air, his brutal hand was the only thing that dampened the fury that was always present inside me.

  Grabbing a handful of my hair he yanked my face towards him. His kiss was bruising, the press of his mouth painful and controlling as he made my body bow for him.

  His hands slid downwards and he slipped Thelma and Louise out of their confinement. “Do the girls want to play?”

  I shook my head. “They’ve been fed.”

  He stared at me with a heat that made my blood rush faster when I unbuckled his belt and pulled it free. Reaching up, I handed it to him. “But I’m more than willing to accommodate his hunger.”

  His chest heaved as I walked past him and slowly climbed the stairs, leaving a trail of my clothes for him to follow.

  As I walked through the door I heard him move behind me and I shot around, my hand raising high. He caught my wrist, stopping my hit before it connected.

  Grabbing me harshly, he dragged me across the room and pushed me face down onto the bed. The whoosh of his belt through the air prepared me for its lick against my backside. My body jolted in shock and the air left my lungs in one short, sharp gush. Adrenaline fired, triggering endorphins to rise to the occasion.

  He brought the leather down over and over until I could feel the trickle of blood seep down the back of my thighs, until my body was humming with electricity and need.

  I heard the belt drop on the floor and then his cock was thrusting inside me, the sharp intrusion still painful even if his punishment had slickened me ready for him.

  His tight hiss made me shudder beneath him and my loud moan told him how wonderful he felt inside me. But then he pulled out and slowly drew the tip of his cock up to my anus. His fingers took a section of my hair and as he yanked me upright he forced his cock into my arse. Rapture allowed him in as my muscles simultaneously fought against him.

  His hand moved around to the front of my throat and he squeezed tight. My brain swam as he started to fuck me with so much violence I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the feel of him.

  “You greedy little whore,” he growled into my ear. “Always so easy.”

  I flung my elbows back, catching him sharply in the ribs. He repaid my fight with a cruel hard twist of my nipple before he forced my face back into the bed.

  “Why fight when you know I will win?” He laughed as he moved around and completely mounted me from behind, the whol
e of his large body covering my small one. His fucking grew frenzied, his cock driving deep and hard inside me. The ecstasy that overtook me brought my climax quicker than I’d expected, its ferocity knocking the breath from my lungs.

  Silencing my scream, he pushed his fingers into my mouth. Dutifully I bit down, sinking my teeth into his flesh.

  He growled and turned his hand so he could seize my jaw and press down on my tongue at the same time. His cock drove in and out of my arse, his imminent orgasm making him begin a torturous and painful pummelling that forced me to the edge with him.

  Suddenly he pulled out and I scrambled to my knees before him, tipping my head back to look at him stroking his stunning cock in his hand.

  “Open your fucking mouth and take me in, bitch.”

  Obediently I opened my mouth and was rewarded with the slick pumps of his hot spunk. His groans of pleasure always made my cunt twitch, the obvious ecstasy riding him sounding like nothing better on earth.

  Each shot of his cum on my face made me blink instinctively and before long he turned and walked into his en-suite. I clambered up and waited on the bed for him to return with the warm washcloth. As usual he refused to let me wipe myself, and very gently he moved the cloth over my face, cleaning away what he had granted me not seconds ago. Then, silently, he manoeuvred me face down on the bed as he began his customary ritual of applying ointment to my sore backside.

  At the same time, I both hated and cherished this time. His tenderness made me abhor the feeling inside my belly but his touch was always like a balm to the unsettling turmoil that lived inside me.

  He was the only thing I feared. Not him specifically but what our relationship could instigate if it ever became knowledge to my parents.

  “Sweetheart?”

  I pushed him away. “Don’t call me that.”

  He sighed as I rolled off the bed and went to grab my clothes, slipping them back on in the reverse order they came off. I could hear him move behind me and I grit my teeth.

  “Not this again, Katie.”

  Sliding Thelma and Louise back into their sheaths I pushed my feet back into my boots and as I grabbed the door handle, his hand settled over mine. It wasn’t a harsh hold but enough to make me still.