The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone

by D H Sidebottom

  Taking a large breath, I plonked my arse in my chair and got to work, pulling up the previous three weeks work notes to see how much of a hash the temp had made.

  Fuck me. Brilliant.

  He hadn’t just made a hash; he had turned everything on its bloody head.

  Well at least it would take my attention from Red for the rest of the day.

  * * *

  The drive to La Roche was outright torture. I was battling with the urge to shake information out of her, pull the car over and pull her onto my stiff cock or just plain growl at her for her nonchalant behaviour.

  She smiled tightly and shook her head as I tried to help her from the car. “God damn it Red, just let me help you” I growled at her.

  She sighed then gave me a genuine smile and took my hand.

  My heart stuttered as her tiny hand slid into mine and I curled my fingers around hers. The simple touch brought my body to life and I smiled back at her.

  “Mr Fox.” She told the maître d,’ who showed us to Mason’s table.

  “I always seem to be waiting for you two” Mason growled with mock seriousness.

  “Stop whinging you miserable bastard.” She retorted and he narrowed his eyes playfully.

  “You wanna watch who you’re talking to Willow, remember who’s cooking tonight? Soup for you now.”

  What the hell?

  “If you’re cooking, then I think I’d rather have soup.” She grinned.

  He chucked out a bark of laughter then I frowned when he stiffened considerably as he spotted something behind me.

  He completely morphed into something sinister; his eyes glazed with a white haze, his jaw clenched to the extreme that his teeth cracked and his chest heaved with his intense breaths.

  Red looked behind me as I did.

  A black haired man was stood staring at Mason, his eyes just as dark and venomous.

  “Shit” Red hissed as she flung herself from her chair and scurried round the table to Mason’s side.

  “Mason. Calm down. Think of what Ava will do if you hurt him.”

  The man must have had a death wish because he strode over to us. Mason snarled, literally snarled like an animal, low and fierce and I knew something was gonna go down.

  “Mason” the guy smirked.

  “Kade, fuck off” Red spat at him and I just sat and watched it all unfold.

  “Look, sweetheart. No offence or anything but this is between Mason and me.”

  Red barked a laugh at him. “I’ll let go of him then shall I?”

  He shrugged and Mason slowly lifted from his chair and I noticed how white his knuckles were, as if he was preparing them for battle.

  All the air seemed to disappear around us; like Mason was absorbing it all in his wrath and an iciness settled over us. My bones felt like they were going to shatter with the sensation.

  “What do you want Kade?”

  “Just enquiring after you both, Mason. How is Ava?”

  Red rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of Mason as he took a step towards Kade. “Ava is thoroughly enjoying life without you. As was I, until you reared your ugly fucking face. She’s still screaming in ecstasy at everything I give her. And you know Ava, Kade; she takes pretty much anything I give her and gives it all back even better.” Mason smirked as Kade now growled low.

  “Yeah, she gave it fucking good all right.”

  “Oh fuck!” Red whined.

  She flew backwards on her arse as Mason launched himself at Kade, her head flew backwards and she knocked it against a table leg.

  Her eyes blinked rapidly at the pain that exploded through her head and I rushed over to her.

  “You okay?” I asked over the din in the room as the two men pounded each other.

  Security, managers and staff attempted to pull the men apart but as I risked a glance at Mason, he was gonna get sent down for murder the way he was pounding into Kade.

  “You need to get Mase off him Lucas, he’ll kill him.”

  I glanced at a murderous Mason then at Red, trying to establish who needed my attention most.

  I gave Red a little nod. “Wait here.”

  She nodded as I made my way over to the battle. “Mason, come on. I think he’s bleeding enough” I urged as I pulled on Mason’s arms.

  He was in a world of his own, completely zoned out and I was starting to panic when Kade looked unconscious.

  “MASON!” I bellowed in his ear.

  He flinched, blinked then looked up at me before returning to look at Kade.

  He finished his pounding with a final punch, then stood, brushed himself off and smiled at the restaurant owner.

  “I’ll get Sam to fetch him.” he told him as he pulled out his phone.

  I shook my head in bewilderment at how everybody just stood and let Mason walk casually back over to his table, whilst a broken and beaten Kade lay on the floor groaning.

  My heart stammered to a stop as I saw Red. She was slumped on the floor, unconscious and barely breathing.

  “Fuck!” I hissed as I dashed over to her limp body.

  “Call an ambulance” I shouted out as Mason dropped beside me and rolled her over into the recovery position.

  “Shit” he murmured.

  “You did this to her you fucking twat.” I pushed at him, knocking him on his arse; my anger at him giving me strength to push him over.

  His wide eyes darkened but he didn’t retaliate, just pulled himself up and stood back whilst I pulled her onto my lap.

  “Red, baby. Come on Red, open your eyes.” I choked out “Please, please, Red.”

  She didn’t.

  She couldn’t.

  She was barely even breathing.

  Chapter 39

  Layla

  “CHRIST, LUCAS. I’M fine, stop fussing.”

  He was driving me insane. He’d been flapping by my side since I had woken in the hospital yesterday with a severe concussion.

  Mason had been pale and terrified when I came round, his guilt ate him up but I had shook him off and assured him it wasn’t his fault, just one of those things. Apparently Ava was ignoring him and refusing to speak to him, so that was punishment enough.

  I rolled my eyes as Lucas leant across me to click in my seatbelt. He grinned at me as I slapped him away before walking round to his side of the car.

  “I’m going to Mase’s.” I told him before he took the wrong turn out of the hospital.

  He turned and frowned at me and I huffed.

  Such a curious man.

  “Sara and I had a . . . disagreement, so I’m staying at Mase’s for a while.”

  He was silent for a while then glanced at me again, “What about?”

  I looked through the window, “Because she hates me and I don’t blame her.” I shrugged.

  “Will you just tell me what is going on” he demanded.

  Such a dominant man.

  “Three of Diablo’s men raped her when they took her. Now she’s pregnant and it’s my entire fault. She hammered me and kicked me out” I told him bluntly.

  “Fuck! So it was Sara who did that to you?” he hissed and I nodded.

  “Yeah. She’s all over the place at the moment but who wouldn’t be. I just wish she’d have told me, but she let it build and build until it sent her crazy.”

  I flicked a quick glance at Lucas; the innuendo in my words wasn’t missed by him as he squirmed uncomfortably.

  “Yeah, people tend to do that, Red.” He said stiffly and I nodded sadly.

  He was silent and moody again for the rest of our journey and I felt his mood shift again as he pulled up at Mason’s.

  His eyes narrowed on somebody stood in front of Mase’s front door, the house obviously empty as they were both out, and I squinted to see who it was.

  “Holy Hell” I stammered as my heart beat wildly against my chest.

  “You know him?” Lucas asked and I was so stunned I didn’t even nod at him.

  As I practically fell out of the car, he t
urned towards me and my chest popped. A small but significant smile lifted his lips, then it transformed into a huge beam and I felt my little legs scrambling across the grass to him.

  He laughed loudly, lifted me up and spun me round, both of us laughing and crying and just touching each other.

  “Kay . . .” he breathed in my ear as I pulled him closer.

  “What . . . Why . . . just, Oh God, Kenny.”

  He laughed again as he placed my feet on the ground and palmed my cheeks. “Do you know how bloody difficult you are to find, Plum?”

  I smacked his arm at his nickname. “What are you doing here?”

  He opened his mouth to speak then looked behind me. I turned to see Lucas had joined us and the expression on his face was thunderous.

  “You gonna introduce us, Red?” he growled and I scowled at him.

  Kenny pulled me into his side and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Stop it” I warned, knowing exactly what he was doing.

  “Lucas, this is my brother, Kenny. Kenny this is my . . . this is Lucas Hunt, my boss.”

  Lucas quirked a brow at my introduction but he visibly relaxed and held his hand out to Kenny. Kenny eyed him warily, scanning him up and down before he took Lucas’s hand and shook with a grin.

  “You coming in?” I asked Kenny who smirked at me.

  “Well I was hoping there was a pub around here, I’m gasping.”

  “Wheels?” I asked and he tipped his head as though I was stupid.

  “Plum, I always have wheels.” He winked and I smirked at him.

  “Yours?” I asked.

  He grinned and winked again and I rolled my eyes, “You seriously wanna go back in?”

  He shrugged but laughed as we walked over to a black BMW and I narrowed my eyes on him. “Don’t pinch anything inconspicuous then.”

  “And what would be the point in burning a dump? Especially when it’s gotta bring me all the way down to see my little sis.”

  He opened the door and swung his arm out in a gesture for me to climb in. He turned to Lucas then “You wanna join us, mate?”

  Lucas smiled and nodded gratefully and I climbed back out and clambered in the back so Lucas didn’t have to squeeze his long legs into the tiny space.

  “Feed me some directions.” He said as he pulled out into the traffic.

  “Just keep going straight, mate” Lucas said and I scoffed loudly.

  “Kenny’s never been bloody straight.”

  “God, I’ve missed you, Kay.”

  * * *

  “So, I take it you two have a thing going?” Kenny said openly as we nursed our second pint.

  I smiled but shook my head. “No, Lucas is just my boss.”

  Kenny lifted his brows high and smirked. “Sure, Plum.”

  “Why ‘Plum’?” Lucas asked and Kenny waggled his eyebrows.

  “Don’t you dare!” I warned as I pointed my finger at him but his lips lifted into a cruel smile.

  Kenny shifted in his seat so he had Lucas’s full attention. “I take it you haven’t seen a photo of Kay when she was twelve?”

  Lucas frowned but shook his head.

  “Kenny . . .” I warned again as I tried to cover his mouth with my hand.

  Lucas laughed and took hold of my hand, holding it tight against his lap.

  Quite an uncomfortable place to put it really but I was more concerned about Kenny at this point.

  “Well, our Kay here was such a looker at twelve, weren’t you sis.”

  I poked my tongue out at him, huffed and looked towards the bar to hide the blush that was creeping up my neck and onto my face fiercely.

  “She had the blondest, frizziest hair in the world. It was like a blonde afro. She had a brace and was built like a lat, straight up and down. No word of a lie she looked like a human dandelion clock.”

  “You bastard” I whinged and Lucas pulled me into a side hug, laughing loudly as he pictured a twelve year old me.

  “Anyway, she got bullied relentlessly, proper picked on when she walked home. One particular day she was late and when she eventually made it home . . .”

  He couldn’t carry on for laughing and it was hard to control my own. “It wasn’t funny you twat.”

  “What?” Lucas urged.

  Kenny had tears rolling down his face and I shook my head and huffed.

  “ . . . when she walked in she was . . . she was purple.” He laughed again, “The kids had pelted her with fucking overripe plums . . .”

  Lucas laughed with Kenny and I glared at them both and huffed loudly, refusing to look at them as they tittered and snorted at my expense.

  “It wasn’t funny” I tried but my lips curled upwards and I fought to hold back my smile.

  “I beat the shit out of them for you” Kenny confessed and I stared at him.

  “You did?”

  “Of course I did. No fucker hurt my sister like that.” He winked.

  “Awww. You do love me.”

  He reared back a little. “Don’t go too far, Plum. Talking of loving family, you heard owt from the bastard?” He asked, referring to our father.

  I shook my head. “Like he’d want anything to do with me after Ry.”

  “How is Ry, he out yet?” he asked as he finished his pint.

  He frowned when he noticed me stiffen and narrowed his eyes on me. “What the fuck’s he done now? If he’s hurt you again, I’ll fucking kill him.”

  I shook my head and looked away as the lump formed in my throat. “Kay?”

  “Ry was murdered in prison a few weeks back.” Lucas told him for me.

  “Oh Fuck, Kay. Baby, I’m sorry.”

  He gave me a sympathetic look and stood up. “This calls for another” he said as he looked at Lucas in query. He nodded and I drained my glass and passed it to him.

  “You okay?” Lucas asked quietly as he leant into me.

  I nodded and smiled. I realised he still had hold of my hand and I looked down at it at the same time as Lucas.

  I tried to pull it away but he held firm and turning it over, he ran his finger across my palm and over my middle finger.

  I shivered at the tender touch. “I miss you, Red” he whispered and I looked up at him.

  His face was sad and he sucked in his lips before pulling in a huge breath. “I just . . . I just can’t seem to . . . I can’t stop picturing you on your knees, grieving that . . . that . . .”

  “You are the only fucking babe I know who drinks pints of bitter . . .” Kenny snorted as he placed the drinks on the table.

  Lucas pulled his hand away and stared down at his drink as I coughed slightly to hide our intimate moment.

  “Ooh sorry, lover’s tiff?” Kenny mocked.

  I glared at him and he rolled his eyes before he flicked them back to the bar.

  I turned to see what he was smiling at and it was my turn to roll my eyes when I caught a brunette smiling seductively at him.

  “Oi, you are here with your sis. Don’t even think about it, whore.”

  He smirked at me. “You seriously need to get laid, Kay. Stop being so bloody uptight. I’ve been out 48 hours, a man has needs.”

  I scoffed. “You don’t have needs; you have an addiction to women.”

  Kenny had always been good looking. His muscled tattooed body had constantly attracted him lots of lady attention. Kenny was a manwhore, plain and simple.

  He had been sent down seven years for his part in a robbery and his body was more toned and muscular now, his time in prison had obviously been spent in the gym.

  He laughed at my words. “Anyway, I need a bed for the night. She’ll do.”

  I shook my head at his triviality. “You can stay at Mason’s, he’ll be fine.” I told him and he narrowed his eyes for a moment.

  “About that. You do know that the house you’re staying at came up as flagged by Ricky. You do realise who it is you’re staying with don’t you?”

  I huffed and rolled my eyes. “Yes, Kenny. I know who Mason is and
he’s been a good friend to me. Don’t you dare start dissing Mason or you’ll be peeling yourself off my fist. I mean it Kenny, if it wasn’t for Mase, I wouldn’t be here.”

  He tipped his head in query and regarded me carefully and I shook my head. “You don’t need to know. I’m your sister and . . . and well, there are some things that you should never tell family.”

  He sighed heavily but nodded before he downed his pint and grinned at me. “Right, I’m off to get laid. I’ll see you back at Mason’s tomorrow then.”

  With that he winked, kissed my cheek and stalked across the room to his conquest for the night.

  I shook my head and puffed out a deep breath before I finished my own drink. “I’d better get back” I said as I reached for my bag off the floor.

  “Don’t go yet” Lucas urged softly and I glanced up at him.

  “Why, you ready to talk?”

  He pursed his lips then shook his head softly. “No, I . . . I just wanna spend some time with you” he shrugged and swallowed heavily as his eyes bore into me.

  “Lucas . . .”

  “Please Red, just one more drink. That’s all and I promise to keep my hands to myself” He pleaded and I relented, nodding at him.

  “Another?” he asked and I nodded again.

  This was gonna be fun.

  Chapter 40

  Lucas

  WE WERE BOTH plastered and giggling like fools two hours later as we emerged from the pub, holding onto each other as we tried desperately to keep upright.

  “God, I fancy some chips. Loads of salt and vinegar.” Red declared suddenly and I nodded in agreement as I scanned the vicinity for a chippy.

  “I think there’s one around Maple Street” I told her.

  She nodded in confirmation as we rounded the side of the pub and headed across the park to Maple Street.

  “I meant to ask you, what was all that between Mason and Kade in La Roche?” I asked as I grabbed hold of Red’s arm when she stumbled on a clump of grass.

  “Ava had a thing with Kade when she was with Mason” she divulged and I stared wide eyed at her.

  “Really? God, they seem so tight. I can’t imagine Ava doing that.”

  She nodded as she slipped her arm through mine and I smiled softly at her. “Ava took some shit from Mason though. He was heavy into drugs and it was her that went through the withdrawal with him. He was a right twat to her; sleeping with women, constantly high or pissed, and quite abusive with her at one point. But, she got him off the stuff and now they’re solid.”