The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone

by D H Sidebottom

  I’d done this to him—me. There was no excuse for it either. I’d given him life and I’d cursed it, then taken it.

  I knew Ava blamed me, she didn’t voice that belief but I saw it in her eyes when she looked at me and George. I knew how painful it was for her to once more look at another Fox, high on a substance that not only fed life but took the soul.

  The door opened and I smiled as Courtney walked in. She planted a soft kiss on my forehead before handing me a polystyrene cup full of brown sludge.

  “Anything?”

  I shook my head as I watched her pull the spare chair from the other side of the room and place it opposite me on the other side of George. “Well, have the docs said anything at all?”

  I scoffed but shrugged, “Well they said apparently now they know what other substance was added to the brown they can treat it, so fingers crossed.”

  She smiled and nodded then squinted as she sipped her coffee, “Good God. They need to treat the coffee in here as well.”

  “They do. How’s Harry doing at college?”

  Her grin was huge as the pride in her son appeared to glow on her face, “He’s doing really well.” She nodded to bodily answer the question along with words. “We’re so proud of him.”

  “So are Ava and I. You know you’re family, Court, so Harry is an extension of us all.”

  She smiled softly as her eyes flicked over George. “I know.” And she did. We all knew.

  “So,” she smirked mischievously and I rolled my eyes.

  “Yes,” I murmured as I shook my head in humour to the glint in her eyes. “Kade came to visit.”

  “And?”

  I shrugged, “And nothing.”

  “Oh, don’t fib. A little birdie tells me he’s been looking at hospitals for nursing jobs in Portugal. Now, tell me if my geography is way off, but I’m sure you can’t commute from Italy to Portugal.”

  “Is anything in my life sacred?”

  Her expression grew serious as she cocked her head and gazed at me softly. “Mason, I’m not condoning it. If anything I’m all for encouraging it. Like it or not, Kade means a lot to Ava . . . to you too and if that works for you all, then that’s all that matters.”

  “I suppose.”

  “And Grace; how is she about it all?”

  “Surprisingly okay. That was a shocker to be honest. It was a little weird for Ava and Grace at first, they’re more like sisters but,” I paused and gave her a sly smile. “As I told Ava, so are you and her, and once the fire hits the belly, friends or not, the body will push out the doubts.” She chuckled and nodded her agreement. “And you?” I asked when she quietened.

  “Me?”

  “How are you about all the Kade, me and Ava stuff?”

  “I don’t follow?” Her bewilderment told me there was no jealousy at all from her but I still needed to be sure.

  “How are you with all the Kade stuff in other words. Do you harbour anything for him still?”

  “God, no.” She cringed and I actually felt for her. “I was . . . Greg and I were going through a bad time.” She shrugged but the hurt and guilt were still weaving away inside her and I knew from experience that that self-reproach never went away. “We weren’t . . . you know . . . making love any more. I was tired all the time; Greg was away all the time. And Kade . . . he was trying to find a way to hurt Ava. It worked for both of us really, I gave him the ammo against Ava, and he gave me the sensuality I still needed to feel sexy and feminine.”

  I nodded but she sighed heavily. “He says he doesn’t ever think about it, Mase, but how can he not? I hurt him so much and I would do anything to turn back the clock and be given the chance to choose a different path. I try and make it up to him constantly. I love him so much, but the pain I have cursed him with, to be honest, can never be as painful as the pain I have put on myself.”

  “I know, babe. Honestly I do. When Ava . . . when she found me with that blond tart and the times I hurt her so bad with Rebecca, chew away at my insides. I see it in her, Court. The pain of our past. But I think, on the other hand, it has made us strong enough to deal with life’s fuck ups. If a couple can survive that, then they can survive anything. And you and Greg, you’re one of those . . . couples.” Courtney frowned as my voice broke and I strived to hold back my devastation. “Sorry, I think I’m coming down with something,” I offered as I cleared my throat.

  “Well I agree,” she answered with determination and a wide smile. “It has honestly taught me how much Greg loves me and how much I love him. You’re right, we survived, all of us and fuck, if we’re each not stronger for it. So you need to take that strength and use it to fight back your relationship with George.”

  I glanced at George sadly, “Somehow I don’t think that will be so easy. He hates me. I’ve ruined his life.”

  “You haven’t ruined his life at all, he just thinks you have. But, well he’s found Debora.” She held her hands up as I attempted to cut in. “I know, Mase. I was as shocked as you when I found out and believe me I did everything I could to put a stop to it before it went any deeper but . . .” She sighed as she smiled at George, “I have never seen him like this. He doesn’t just love her, he fucking loves her.”

  “I know, I saw how she looked at him too. She looked at him like Ava looks at me, so I know exactly how she feels about him but we have to also see this from Ava’s point of view. The whole Rebecca fiasco hurt her more than anything I ever did. I mean, fuck, Debora was supposed to be mine for six months and now, now my son decided to follow my dark path and indulge in the bad stuff. Couple that with another Delaney and as Ava said, it’s all the worst parts of her past coming back to haunt her. I understand that. I get how scared she is.”

  “I get that too, Mason.” She smiled and brushed a stray eyelash from George’s cheek, “But George isn’t you and Debora definitely is not Rebecca. I have never met a sweeter girl. She has nothing to do with her mother, or her grandfather come to that. She has made a life for herself outside of her family. She goes to uni, holds down two part time jobs so she can cut ties with her mother completely and more importantly, she worships the ground your son walks on.”

  I smiled. I was happy he had found the kind of love that he deserved. It had taken me a long time to find that, to find his mother but hell, I would be a slave to Satan if it would guarantee I had that love for the rest of my life.

  “It’s getting dark. We’d better go.” Courtney cut into my thoughts suddenly.

  My gaze roamed to the window. How long had I been here? “Yeah,” I agreed as I placed a gentle kiss on George’s head. “Fight it, son. Your mom needs you.” I told him quietly, “I need you.”

  And I did. I needed another chance with him. It had felt like I’d lost my right arm for the last two years. But the pain of watching my beautiful wife struggle without her other half, a piece of her heart, was torture.

  Time was too precious. I knew that now. Family was sacred to the heart and when you lost a section of it, the rest never recovered.

  As my family were about to find out.

  Chapter Five

  Ava

  “AWW NO, RED wine goes much better with Chinese.” I moaned as Courtney uncorked the bottle of white wine.

  “Noooo,” she argued, “chicken, always white.”

  “But, I’m having beef balls, therefore . . . red.” I shot back as I snatched the corkscrew from her and opened the bottle of red. She giggled as she removed her eyes from me. “Oh, don’t be so immature.” I chuckled back.

  “For god’s sake,” Mason shouted from the lounge. “We’ll have both. Hurry up, Greg should be back any minute and the wine needs to bloody breathe first.”

  “Yak, yak, yak,” Courtney mimicked.

  I rolled my lips and turned my back on her when Mason caught her mockery as he leant against the door frame.

  “Hi,” she beamed at him. “I wasn’t taking the piss, Mase. I was just exercising my jaw ready for the food.”

  He q
uirked an eyebrow at her, “Really?” His face was stern and I noticed Courtney shiver. Mason noticed it too as his brow lifted even higher. “I take it you’re aiming for a spanking?”

  “Well,” she twisted her lips and turned to me, giving me a sly wink and a smirk. “Of course not.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I would never dare be so disobedient.”

  I laughed at the banter between them. If my sex life wasn’t so fucking great, I would have slapped the shit out of my best friend for flirting with my husband but I knew her teasing would promise us a night of fun and a good hard group fuck.

  I left them to bicker when the doorbell rang and went to let Greg in. “Christ, you forgot your keys ag . . .”

  The words died in my throat when two police officers stood on the porch. There was a woman officer stood behind them and my heart started to race. Why would they send three out and make sure there was a female officer present?

  “Officers,” I struggled with the words as my throat started to close in. “Can I help you?”

  “Mrs Chambers?” The tall blond one asked.

  “Umm, no . . .”

  “I’m Mrs Chambers.” Courtney said over my shoulder. “Can I help you?”

  He smiled warmly. Why did he smile warmly? I didn’t want him to smile warmly. I wanted him to have an angry expression. I wanted them to storm the fucking house, flash a warrant in our faces and demand entry.

  “May we come in?”

  “Umm, sure.” Courtney’s voice was calm and steady. She didn’t see it, or she refused to see it.

  “No!” I snapped, “No.”

  “Baby,” Mason said calmly as he took my arm and pulled me back.

  “I don’t want them to come in, Mason. Please don’t let them.”

  “Ava, it’s fine.” Courtney shook her head at me. “I’m sure they have a warrant. Do you have a warrant?” She asked as she turned back to them.

  I wanted to scream at her to stop being so bloody stupid but I couldn’t seem to get anything past my lips, especially air.

  “We don’t need a warrant. We haven’t come to search your house. Please, if you could let us in.”

  “Of course, sorry.” She apologised.

  I wanted to shake her and tell her not to apologise. They were going to hurt her. They were going to break her heart and she was fucking apologising.

  She led them into the lounge. Mason kept his arms around my waist as he led me. He knew too, I could hear his heart beating rapidly through his chest.

  “Mason . . .” I whispered. “Don’t let them do this. It will kill her.”

  “Ssshhh, baby.”

  They each took a seat and Blondie gestured for Courtney to sit beside him on the sofa. The room started to spin and everything became lost in a sea of haze as my heart slowly fractured inside me.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off Courtney’s face as they told her that her husband was dead. She just shook her head and laughed at them. She fucking laughed at them. “I don’t think so officer, he’s just nipped out for Chinese.”

  The policewoman moved forward to take Courtney’s hand but I was there before her. “Hun . . .”

  She turned to look at me. “Ava, don’t cry. Greg’s fine, he’s just gone out for food, babe.”

  And then she broke. I never knew someone’s screams could hold so much torture and pain or that amount of heartache and devastation, but my best friend’s despair was physical and shattering. Her fingers clawed at my face as her life was destroyed in a simple sentence.

  “Nooo, please. . . .” She begged them, her hands trying to pull at their clothes as she tried to make them retract their words.

  “Courtney.”

  “No!” She turned and slapped at me. “No. I won’t let them do this.”

  Her cries would become the fuel for my nightmares for many nights as they engraved themselves on my soul. The pain they held was agonising, her grief potent enough to make her pass out.

  Chapter Six

  Mason

  MY HEART ACHED as I watched my wife line up the four guns on the bed. She wasn’t aware of my presence as she checked and cleaned her favourite piece, ‘Barbara Beretta’ as she humorously called it.

  “Baby.”

  She ignored me or didn’t hear me in her haze of grief. She brought Barbara up to eye level and checked the aim before placing it on the bed beside the others.

  “I haven’t gone crazy.” She said frankly as she trailed her finger over each gun.

  “I know.”

  “Do you?” She snapped as her head shot around so she could see me. “Because to be honest I’m struggling with the fact that you’re stood there, calm as fuck whilst someone destroyed our family.”

  I sighed and slowly approached her. Her frame of mind was fragile right then and I knew I needed to use sensitivity and gentleness to deal with her. “I just think at the moment, Courtney needs you more than your hunger for revenge.”

  “Courtney needs the bastards who killed her husband, dead. She needs to see me drop their ugly fucking heads at her feet.”

  “Ava, please . . .”

  “No!” She screamed as her palms pushed at my chest, “Nooo . . .”

  Her pain devastated me but for the first time ever, there was nothing I could do to wipe it away. She collapsed into me as her strength evaporated before my eyes and her whole body shook as grief ravaged her soul.

  The way she fought to quieten her sobs and disguise them from Courtney in the next room hurt me even more. Even at the pit of despair, my little warrior attempted to remain strong and selfless.

  “That’s it, Ava, let it out. I’m here.”

  She curled against me, using my body for support as I wrapped her tight and pulled her against me, enveloping her in love and solace. She loved Greg as much as we all did, but since the time they had spent held in Dane’s craziness, they had forged a bond that had been indestructible.

  She pulled back and her forehead creased as something troubled her. “Mason.” She gulped as she took my hand, “Will she have to go and identify him?”

  “No, baby.” I shook my head and slid my hand through her soft copper strands. Even her hair was grieving as the limp locks fell between my fingers and dropped back onto her shoulders. “He . . . both him and the car are . . . unrecognisable.”

  The choked gag that she released made me shift quickly. She shot off the bed, her hand covering her mouth as she dived for the en-suite. Each of her wretches pulled at my stomach as her distraught sobs accompanied each heave.

  I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to do this. I hated to see her like this.

  “We need to go!” She stood resolutely looking at me as she held onto the doorframe and drank some water from a glass.

  “Go?” I shrugged at her but she ignored me. I watched with a frown as she pulled out her black leather jeans and simple black t-shirt.

  Shit!

  “Baby, No.” She shrugged me off as she pulled off the clothes she was already in. “NO AVA!”

  I gripped her arms as she struggled to get free. “Get the fuck off me, Mason. We need to do this, I need to do this.”

  “Listen to me, Ava,” I snarled at her. She needed to see the bigger picture, she needed to be aware that these guy’s wouldn’t hang back just because she was a woman. “We will deal with this my way, when I’m ready.”

  “Fuck you, you bastard!”

  I was struggling to keep my fury with her at bay. “I know you’re grieving, Ava. I get that but I am not your enemy.”

  “Then why are you doing nothing?”

  “I’m working on it. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you have to trust me on this. These guy’s will not hold back with you, Ava. You’re tough, I know you are but baby, they’re tougher. They will not just take you out, they will take great delight in making you suffer. They’ll hurt you, rape you and then decide how to kill you as painfully as possible. Do you understand that?”

  “I don’t care, Mason!�
��

  “BUT I DO!” I yelled at her. “I fucking care! I fucking love you. Is it not bad enough they took Greg away? You want them to take you from me too. Then what, Ava. THEN WHAT?”

  She stared at me then her eyes dropped as she watched the single tear roll down my cheek. She reached out and wiped at it softly with her thumb. “I won’t let them take me, Mason. I promise.”

  I shook my head at her angrily, “Don’t you get it?”

  “I get it,” she spat back. “I get the whole fucking picture. But you know what? I may be a woman. I may be small and look timid, but that just makes this easier. They have no idea who the fuck I am. Or what I am when I’m pissed off!”

  “God damn it, Ava!” I roared as I slammed her against the wall, my large frame penning her tiny one under me in case she attempted to make a run for it. “No! That’s my final word, you wait for my say so. Is that clear?”

  Her eyes swept over every inch of my face, her expression furious, her chest heaving as her rage sucked at the oxygen around us. “Crystal!”

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The bloody woman would be the death of me. I scooped her up, her body instinctively snuggling closer even when we were at loggerheads.

  “Sleep now,” I told her as I placed her gently down on the bed and climbed in beside her.

  Her sad eyes rimmed with tears but she gave me a simple nod and turned over, her hands curling under her chin as she bedded down.

  “I love you, my little warrior.” I whispered into her hair as her breathing turned heavy. “So god damn much.” She murmured in her sleep, a small sob mixing with her soft snores. “I’m so sorry, Ava.”

  My eyes closed despite the turmoil battling my brain. I was exhausted. So exhausted that I was soon hard asleep. So hard I never felt my wife climb out from under me and disappear into the night. Guns and ‘carnage clothes’ accompanying her.

  Chapter Seven

  Ava

  THE HOUSE WAS in darkness when I approached, yet I wasn’t naïve enough that I didn’t know it was still heavily guarded.