The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone

by D H Sidebottom

  He grinned and kissed my nose, “I’ll just have to keep you here for a bit longer then. Hold on.” I wrapped my arms around his neck as he opened the door and carried me downstairs still clung to him.

  “You haven’t eaten each other yet then?” Courtney grinned and winked at me as we walked into the cosy lounge. Sam and Marcy were sat on the rug in front of the fire and Greg was sat on a sofa with Courtney leaning in to him.

  Mason sat on a huge, soft armchair and settled me on his lap as he took my hand and gripped it tight.

  “We need to talk” he told them. They all swung their eyes to him.

  “It’s about fucking time,” Greg huffed.

  Mason narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t start, Greg,” he warned.

  Greg shook his head in dismay. “Do you actually know what you’ve put Ava through? It’s not been you sat listening to her fucking sob in her room when she thought we couldn’t hear her, Mason! The mornings me and Courtney would go into her house and she would be howling and calling your fucking name and we just had to turn around and leave her to it . . . Alone!! You broke Courtney’s fucking heart as well as Ava’s.”

  I looked away as Greg ranted. I had no idea they knew all this. My eyes shot to Courtney’s but she just gave me a soft smile and shook her head marginally.

  Mason lowered his eyes guiltily. “I know” he said softly and brought my hand to his lips. He sighed heavily then looked at me, his eyes deep and worrisome. “Rebecca’s father is blackmailing me!”

  I frowned at him as his arm slid around my side and pulled me closer into him. “WHAT?”

  Everybody was staring at Mason with dropped jaws and wide eyes. He took a deep breath and turned slightly so he could hold my eyes. “Mark recorded you on his phone the night you shot Dean,” he divulged gently as he closed his eyes waiting for my reaction.

  He didn’t have to wait long; I shot off his knee and stared at him. “W . . . w.what?” I stuttered, shocked and stunned as he reached out to me.

  “Ava, calm down” I shook my head rapidly not comprehending what he was telling me. “Baby, sit down and I’ll tell you the rest. I don’t want you getting upset, it’s not good for the babies.”

  I just stood still, staring at him. He stood, picked me up and settled us back down in the chair, wrapping his arms around me tightly. “STAY!” he ordered gently.

  I glanced over the rest of my friends, they were all sat gobsmacked . . . pretty much the same as me then. Another deep breath from Mason and he carried on.

  “He also took the gun.” He glanced at me. My stomach coiled tightly as the nausea started to creep in.

  “Oh fuck!” I puffed out. Mason nodded. Now everything was crystal clear!

  I tipped my head at Mason. “So he’s making you marry his daughter in return for keeping me out of prison.” Mason closed his eyes in distress but nodded slowly.

  Now I felt like a fucking fool. All this time screaming and shouting at Mason, blaming him for leaving me and he had done it to protect me.

  I cupped his face and turned him to me. “Listen to me, right now!”

  I was livid, my fury was bubbling up. “You. Are. Not. Marrying. Her” I said frankly and simply but he looked away. “Mason!” I warned, “I would rather rot in hell than watch her get her claws into you.”

  Mason’s eyes shot to me. “No Ava,” he warned but I glared at him.

  “I mean it Mason, I would go to prison for you, you know that!”

  I climbed off his lap and walked over to the front door. “I need a few minutes.” I took my coat off the hook by the door.

  “AVA!” Mason shouted but I held my hand up to him and walked out. I needed air, space and time to calm down before I wrecked the cabin.

  This was my entire fault and now Mason was paying the price for helping me through one of the darkest times of my life. He had helped me put Katie to rest and start to build my life again.

  It was dark but there were lamps scattered around. I walked a path round the side of the cabin and was greeted by a huge manicured garden but beyond that was a beautiful serene lake, the moonlight bouncing of its calm water. I made my way towards it, still numb from Mason’s revelations.

  What the hell was I going to do? I would not see him marry Rebecca, ever! Especially not for me.

  I grasped some large reeds on my way through the garden and noticed a small jetty perched on the edge of the lake.

  Sitting on the end of it, dangling my legs over the edge I hugged my stomach and stared out over the tranquillity and serenity. I knew what I had to do.

  “I need you to understand what I’m going to do, peanuts” I said gently to my babies.

  I knew I would go to prison for what I had done and it broke my heart to leave them. “Your Daddy will love and care for you while I’m gone. But never forget that I will always love you, just like I love your Daddy and that’s why I need to do this.” A tear slipped free and my heart now broke for my children instead of myself. I knew what it was like to grow up without a mother, the constant longing for her arms and soft voice, her arms around you holding you close but I couldn’t let Mason pay the price for my monstrosity of a life. He had put himself in this position for me, to help me and alleviate my pain and terror of that night five long years ago. It was my life and my responsibility and I had to end this nightmare now.

  I felt him sit behind me as his legs flanked me and his arms shrouded mine, holding our babies together.

  “I know what you’re gonna do Ava and I won’t let you” he said quietly as his chin settled on my shoulder.

  “Mason,” I said softly. “I won’t let you do this for me. Dean was my problem. It was me that shot him, not you.”

  His arms tightened and he kissed my neck softly. “Baby, I would walk through hell twice over for you, if you go to prison my life will be over anyway.”

  We were both quiet for a while, looking out over the calmness of the water and binding this moment to our memories, both of us not knowing what would happen from here.

  I reached my arm round behind me and round his neck. “I need you to promise me something, Mason.” I turned my face towards him and held his eyes. He nodded once. “Look after them,” I said softly.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he understood what I was asking for. As he opened them I could see the strength, resolve and determination in them. “Baby, I won’t need to, because you will,” he admonished, his voice low and steely but I shook my head.

  “I would rather die than see you with that . . . that fuck whore!”

  He chuckled slightly. “My little warrior” he breathed and kissed my ear, nibbling on the lobe.

  “Mason, please . . .”

  He placed a finger over my lips. “Listen to me Ava.” His voice had dropped to the level when I knew not to argue with him. “I AM going to marry Rebecca and I AM going to have an affair with you,” he whispered, “because I can’t stay away from you; from your beauty, your laughter, your smile, your sense of fun and spirit, your insolent mouth and your amazing body. It’s you that makes me whole, Ava. Don’t ever think that I love Rebecca but I WILL marry her just to keep you. If you go to prison I can’t have you Ava, and I am never gonna let you go!”

  “But it will be hell, Mason; waking beside her every morning, listening to her grating voice constantly, her paws all over you every bloody night, her leery bloody grin and the smug glint in her eyes every time she looks at you and you will have to take it just for me.”

  “And I’ll take it with a fucking smile on my face Ava, just because I will know that you are there waiting for me with our children.”

  I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. “I’m just so tired, Mason. I’m so sick of fighting to live.” I sighed and he huddled me closer, wrapping his ankles round mine.

  “I promise you Ava, we will be together and I swear with everything that I am that I will make you happy.”

  He tipped my face to his and brought his mouth to mine in a hot, s
mouldering kiss; his hand on the back of my head and his other arm wrapped me tight, holding me to him. “You’re mine Ava and I will never let you go,” he breathed against my mouth as he swooped in for another ownership kiss.

  We strolled back up to the cabin as Mason held me into his side with his arm wrapped around me tightly. Both of us silent in our own thoughts and as we approached the door he pulled me to a stop.

  “I am going to explain what’s going on and then we forget it for the next three days and enjoy each other and Christmas,” he told me, “I need to be with you Ava, without the worry and stress of all this before I go back.”

  I nodded, understanding him perfectly. He smiled. “Okay, let’s do this but no more running.”

  He stroked my stomach in a silent warning and I smiled. “Okay, I promise.”

  He nodded and kissed me then led me back in.

  CHAPTER 13

  WE ENTERED THE house to the smell of something swoon worthy.

  “Food!” I cried excitedly.

  Mason chuckled beside me as we approached the kitchen where everybody was working together to cook supper. I strolled over and snooped into each bubbling pot. “Yum.” I grinned as I found chilli, rice and garlic bread.

  Courtney slapped my hand away as I scooped some chilli onto a spoon. “Leave it!” she warned.

  I pouted. “You’re a bitch” I grumbled.

  She narrowed her eyes on me. “Say that again and I won’t give you my leftovers,” she scolded and I kissed her cheek.

  “Hurry though . . . please.”

  “Sit mama!” she ordered and I did, picking up my knife and fork and waiting impatiently like a good girl.

  Greg placed my jar of peanut butter, gherkins and curry paste on the table and I dived into the gherkins hungrily. “Thank you, I so love you Greg, at least you care,” I flirted with Greg to piss Courtney off.

  “Hey, you leave my man alone. You’ve got your own now,” she winked and smiled.

  I grinned back as Mason embraced me from behind my chair, slipping his arms around my shoulders. He turned my hand over that was rested in my lap and placed a piece of garlic bread in it secretly and kissed my cheek. “Ssshhh” he whispered. I sighed happily, breaking a piece of and dipping it into the peanut butter.

  He stared at me wide eyed. “Really? Garlic bread and peanut butter?”

  I nodded happily. “Want to try?” I asked as I shoved another piece in.

  He pulled a ‘not on your life’ expression and went to get wine from the wine rack. “Red?” he asked everybody; everyone returned murmurs of agreement. I scowled; the only disappointment in being pregnant was the lack of alcohol.

  Mason walked to a cupboard and pulled out another bottle, collected the corkscrew and walked back to the table as Courtney and Marcy placed all the dishes on the table and sat.

  Mason uncorked a bottle and poured it into a huge glass and passed it me. I pulled a face at him, “Ha, fucking ha.”

  He narrowed his eyes on me. “Alcohol free just for you” he scowled and showed me the bottle.

  “Ooh thank you,” I grinned at Greg and he nodded.

  “Hope it’s decent,” he said with a shrug.

  “Well at least I don’t feel left out.” I smiled scooping a huge pile of rice and chilli onto my plate.

  “Hey, we are all going in the hot tub later. It’s gonna be so much fun,” Courtney gushed excitedly.

  “Ooh God, I don’t think I can stand to have you half naked and not be able to do anything with you . . .” Mason groaned, his eyes dark and heated on me, but then went silent as I squirted curry paste on my meal.

  I licked my lips in anticipation and shovelled a huge forkful into my drooling mouth as I realised the room had gone quiet. I swallowed my food slowly as I looked up and found Mason’s eyes darting from my mouth to my plate; his mouth wide open.

  “What?” I mumbled around my full mouth.

  “Chilli and curry paste?” he asked completely horrified. I swallowed loudly and nodded slowly, looking at him like a chastised child.

  He started chuckling and then he was barking with laughter. “Jesus Christ,” he laughed and kissed me hard on the lips, “I fucking love you.”

  I beamed at him and leaned into his ear, “Did you bring any soap?” I whispered with yearning.

  “I heard that!” Courtney growled.

  * * *

  “Out with it then,” Greg said to Mason as we settled back around the roaring fire with our drinks, me settled on Mason’s lap again.

  He took my hand. “You promise to keep calm, Baby?”

  “I’ll try,” I promised.

  “Right, it’s best to start at the beginning. Well you all know what happened that night with Dean so I’ll go from there.” He took a deep breath.

  “Ava was in a mess so I just concentrated on her the whole time. I had already given instructions to Sam and Mark about what was to happen after so I could get Ava out quickly afterwards. I left Mark to clean up and sort out the gun as Sam drove us home. I had no idea what he was going to do.” He looked at me and I nodded for him to carry on.

  “Rebecca had informed me she was pregnant and I honestly thought at the time it was mine so I believed her when she told me. A few weeks later I found out about Kade.” Mason cringed and looked away from me. I winced at the pain in his voice.

  “I was devastated and lost control, drinking and getting high but Rebecca was delighted, thinking I would now go back to her but I refused her, told her I didn’t want her, that I would always want Ava. I could see in her eyes when I rejected her she was angry.” He rubbed at his face.

  “Anyway back to Mark. We all know he was in love with Rebecca but he was also in a lot of trouble with the police. He had been smuggling cocaine and heroin and his brothel had been raided the week before all this kicked off with Dean. They found underage prostitutes and illegals working there and he was going down big time for it,” he sighed and carried on. “So he recorded Ava shoot Dean, kept the gun and took it to Robert Delaney as leverage for a deal to keep himself out of prison.”

  Mason’s eyes darkened and I could feel his fist clenching the back of my shirt. “Rebecca had gone to Daddy crying, telling him I’d fucked her over and didn’t want her or the baby. I have a feeling she had asked Mark to get the dirt on Ava, and Mark would have done anything for her.”

  He sighed heavily. I stroked my thumb over his and smiled softly at him, he leaned his head into me and kissed me gently and then turned back to the others. “Delaney came to see me with the phone and the gun and basically he told me to finish things with Ava and marry Rebecca, and he would lose all the evidence against Ava.”

  I sighed and frowned. “Mason, you do realise that once you have married Rebecca that Delaney could still out me.”

  “I know but I still can’t take the risk Ava.”

  “Does Delaney know it’s not your baby?” I asked and he shook his head.

  “He wouldn’t believe me if I told him. Rebecca is his princess and he believes every bloody thing she tells him.”

  “Does Rebecca know you know it’s not yours?”

  He shook his head again. “I don’t think so but . . .” He shrugged, “I genuinely thought it was mine but when we went for the first scan they put her dates back and I knew immediately, but at the time I just stewed on it for a while, not sure what to do about it.”

  I exhaled. “That’s why you didn’t seem excited when you returned from the scan.”

  He nodded and looked up at me. “It’s not the same as seeing our peanuts; the fluttering in your stomach, the clench in your chest, the lump in your throat and the surge of your blood when you see them hopping and kicking about, knowing that we made them.” He grinned at me and I smiled happily.

  “She must be really stupid if she thinks you don’t know,” I scoffed.

  He lifted a brow. “Well for the moment I’m keeping it to myself.”

  “Does she know her father is blackmailing you?” I q
ueried and he snorted.

  “Oh yeah, she knows, I wouldn’t be with her otherwise,” he laughed bitterly.

  “Oh my god, she still wants to marry you even though she knows you don’t love her?” Courtney asked gobsmacked. He nodded to her. “How fucking desperate!”

  “She knows I can’t stand her, never mind love her” Mason revealed.

  I shook my head in disgust. “She probably doesn’t realise.” Nobody could be that desperate.

  Mason laughed, “She knows. It pisses her off that I won’t fuck her.”

  I gasped and stared at him. “You haven’t been sleeping with her?” I asked quietly. He shook his head and looked away. “Then why the hell have you been making me think you had?” I asked, utterly bewildered.

  He gazed at me and held my eyes. “I assumed If you thought I was, then it would make it easier for you to hate me and it wouldn’t hurt you as much that I was marrying the tramp.”

  I closed my eyes in dismay, “You have gone through all this for me, put up with my screaming and shouting about Rebecca when none of what I thought was true.”

  He shrugged, “I love you that much I was prepared to make you hate me to make it easier for you to walk away.”

  I cupped his face. “That’s why it broke your heart to find me and Kade together?” I whispered. He looked into his lap and nodded gently. “Oh Mason,” I sighed.

  He smiled up at me with so much love in his eyes, so much affection and ardour that I looked away, the guilt from sleeping with Kade was now burning up my inside, squeezing my heart and I was suddenly struggling to breathe.

  “Ava!” Mason demanded, “Ava! Listen to me, I don’t blame you for being with Kade; I pushed you to him for god’s sake. I left you Ava and I told you to move on. I believe you when you said it was just sex, I know how much you love me,” he said softly. I smiled tentatively and he gripped my chin with his thumb and forefinger, pulling my face to his. “But now you’re mine, Ava” he instructed, telling me without words that I had to finish it with Kade.

  “You do know Rebecca is skimming you don’t you?” I asked him and he frowned.

  “What?”

  “Mason, I told you ages ago. The wages for the bar employees was £126,000 out!”