Mason: A Manchester Bad Boys Romance

by Foxworth, Lena

  The drive to Callaghan’s seemed to take no time at all. One minute I was outside my place, the next minute outside his. That was how it had been in Iraq - the unimportant details got filtered out, a lower part of the brain taking care of them.

  The road he lived on was quiet, his nearest neighbours a fair distance away. Nobody would hear the gunshot - the gunshots. I wondered who it would be that would find us. Probably one of Callaghan’s motorcycle club buddies. How would life be different, if my father had been into Harleys? He might have joined the club, might have had a different life. I might have had a different life. But I was delaying. I had this life, no other, and it was time to end it all.

  Quietly, I crept around to the back of the large, rambling property, and tried the kitchen door. To my surprise, it swung open, not even on the latch. Did he know I was coming? I edged into the kitchen, and saw Callaghan. He was on the floor, his life’s blood pooled around him. Who had done this? Had Terry sent someone else? I heard a sound, a whimper, and advanced further into the kitchen, gun raised.

  The killer was standing there, shaking, clutching the gun that had been used to shoot him. She looked up.

  “Mason,” said Nicole.

  Nicole

  “Mason,” I said.

  We stared at each other, the body between us. The silence seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, he spoke.

  “What are you doing, Nicole?”

  “Saving you,” I choked out.

  “From him?”

  “From yourself.”

  His eyes tightened. “I don’t know what you mean, Officer”

  The barb hurt, but it was deserved. I had betrayed him, after all. I couldn’t let him sidetrack me, though. He needed to know that I knew, that I understood, that I cared.

  “I know you, Mason. You dropped the custody claim for Damon. You came here tonight to kill Callaghan.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to read me my rights, or something?” he replied. It was too much - the red mist descended.

  “For fuck’s sake, Mason! Drop the crap! I know what you were going to do. You were going to kill Callaghan and then kill yourself. And I know why, too. Because you’re not a killer! You’re not Terry English’s mad dog. Yeah, you killed people in Iraq. It was your job! But you felt bad about it - and that’s what makes you different, that’s what makes you a good man. That’s why you care. I couldn’t let you do it, couldn’t let the darkness swallow you whole. So I went to your flat, I took your gun - I knew about it all along, but I didn’t turn you in because I loved you, you fucking idiot - and I came here and I killed him, so that you didn’t have to!”

  I was shaking, but with what I didn’t know. Anger, fear, adrenaline. I didn’t know if I wanted to punch him or kiss him.

  He stared down at the body, lowering his gun.

  “You killed him for me?”

  “Yes,” I said quietly.

  His mouth twisted into a grim smile.

  “I thought I could smell your perfume, earlier. I thought it was a sign, that I was doing the right thing.”

  His eyes filled with tears.

  “Am I a killer?” he pleaded. “Am I a monster?”

  “No,” I said. “You’re not a monster. I love you.”

  I crossed the room, stepping over the body to take him in my arms.

  “I love you too,” he whispered in my ear.

  There was a moment that seemed to stretch on forever - a moment where everything was right in the world. I was with Mason, I loved him, and he loved me. With no secrets, no lies, no doubt, just us. But it could only last a moment. He pulled back and looked at me.

  “We need to go,” he said, nodding towards the body. “Terry’s expecting me back at the pub, so I guess I should go there, tell him I pulled the trigger.”

  “You can’t,” I said. “It’s getting raided tonight.”

  “Then what?” he said.

  “We get Damon, go out of town for a couple of days, until the dust settles. Then see what happens next.”

  “The police-”

  “Forget them. I’m out.”

  I pulled him in for a kiss.

  “It’s just me, you and your son. Everything is going to be okay…”

  Epilogue

  And it was.

  We took Damon, and headed over the Pennines for a few days. The police raided Terry’s pub, but without Mason there, there was no crime to charge anyone with. So, none of the gang rolled over, and Terry carried on, business as usual. The murder of Donal Callaghan was officially unsolved, but I doubted that too much time and effort had been put into investigating it. He was simply one more criminal off the streets.

  Mason met with Terry, and told him that I’d arrived at Callaghan’s house, tipping him off about the raid. Mason deliberately never showed at the pub to protect Terry. There was nothing he could do - Terry had to pardon Mason, and allow him back into Manchester with no reprisals. Unfortunately, Terry said, Mason’s girlfriend being a copper, even a bent one, meant that Mason could no longer work for Terry. Mason accepted this gracefully enough…

  As for my job, I resigned - stress. Being undercover had simply been too much for me, and I was leaving the force to live with my boyfriend. Since Mason had never been charged with a crime, there was no case of misconduct to answer to. Thompson was furious, telling me that I was throwing my life away for a worthless thug. I looked at him, his bloodshot eyes and creased shirt, and told him I could live with that.

  And then there was Damon. The custody claim was reinstated and went though without a hitch. I loved him as if he was my own - the bright, cheerful boy who was Mason in minature. One day, he shyly asked if it was okay for him to call me Mummy. Of course it was, I told him. We hadn’t seen Karen since it all happened - it was just us, now.

  My perfect little family, I thought to myself as I watched the boys playing football in the park - the ex-copper, the ex-criminal, and Damon… - a sudden kick made me rub my belly - the big brother.

  The End

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