The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone

by D H Sidebottom

  She rubbed her finger over the mark as though she hadn’t been aware of it until I mentioned it. I watched her throat bob as she stared at me resolutely. “It’s a bite.”

  I curled my fists into themselves as my brain started to fume and my gut hissed angrily. “Who?”

  I didn’t want to know but my sick curiosity did and I closed my eyes as I waited for her answer. “It doesn’t matter who. You have your new fuck, well now, I have mine.”

  I tried to control my wrath but it was spinning dangerously out of control with her coolness. “Ava . . .” I ran my tongue over my teeth. “I’m really trying hard to hold the fuck on here.”

  I jerked when her hands hit my chest and she pushed me back harshly. “How dare you! HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!”

  I spun her round so fast, the air left her lungs in a hiss as her back thumped the wall. I pinned her hands beside her head and leaned into her. “You are mine. MINE!”

  She glared at me, hatred and anger heaving from her in huge quantities. “And who do you belong to, Mason. Eh? It is definitely not me, it never really has been, has it? You’ve always been hers.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it.” I spat back at her as I pushed her further into the wall.

  “Is it?” Her face was furious, her chest heaving angrily and her eyes glinting hatefully but then everything changed as devastation overwhelmed her, “Is it?” she repeated with a choked whisper. “Because she always seems to win, Mason. Whatever I do, she always wins.”

  My heart broke at her pain and I rested my forehead against hers, breathing her in and shivering as my soul cried out thankfully. “She hasn’t won, baby. I will always belong to you.”

  She sighed and inhaled heavily, getting her fix along with me but then she pushed at me again and slipped under my arms. “No, Mason. You have already proved that you were never mine. Go.” She turned away from me, her shoulders heaving as she tried to control her tears. “Go back to her. I told you, I set you free. You are free to fuck who you want, as am I.”

  “NO!” I roared as I grabbed her arms and spun her to face me. “You will never be free. Your body belongs to me, as does your heart and soul and I will never let them free. I will never let you take them from me.” I leaned into her until I was hovering over her, “I will find out who he is Ava, and then he’s mine!”

  I let her go just as abruptly and left her staring after me. If I didn’t leave then I would have trashed something and I couldn’t have guaranteed her safety.

  * * *

  “What the hell?” Steed glared at me when he opened his front door and I pushed past him.

  “Get dressed.”

  He widened his eyes on me to remove the sleep then squinted, “What? Why?”

  “You have a new job.”

  “Which is?” he asked as we walked into the kitchen and he flicked on the kettle after checking the water level.

  “You are now my wife’s soul.”

  “Eh?” He barked as he spun round to gape at me.

  “She’s fucking someone. I want to know who he is.”

  He froze and stared at me. “And . . . ummm, I can help with that how?”

  “I told you. You stay with her at all times, you don’t leave her side. She takes a piss, then you take one with her. She works, you sit at that fucking bar . . . which by the way, thanks for telling me she was working there.”

  “I . . . sorry,” he stuttered. “I didn’t think it was relevant.”

  “Not relevant!” I scoffed at him. “My wife just found me in one of the privates, snorting coke with her nemesis.” His jaw dropped and he closed his eyes with a deep sigh as though something now made sense to him. “What?”

  He shook his head, “Nothing.” He turned back around and spooned coffee into a cup. “Okay, I get it, I’m now your wife’s soul.”

  “I mean it Steed, I want his name by the end of the week.”

  He nodded as I turned to leave, then spun back round to him. “She’ll put up a fight at this, but you want to get paid, then you work around her stubborn side.”

  He didn’t reply, just gave me a nod before I left him to his coffee.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Shadows

  Ava

  “WHAT?” I STARED at him as a bubble of laughter threatened to burst free.

  “He wants me to watch you, and then report back to him who you’re fucking.”

  I rolled my lips and rubbed at my eyes as I tried to hide the humour at the situation. Steed was staring at me with a stunned expression. “Okay, umm . . .” I couldn’t hold it in any longer. My laughter broke free loudly and hysterically. “Jesus . . . fuck . . .” I snorted as I held onto the kitchen table.

  “It’s not funny, Ava!” Steed declared but I watched as his lips twisted. “It’s not!” He flung my blonde wig at me. “This was also on the back of the fucking kitchen chair while your bloody husband was dictating orders at me.”

  My mouth opened and closed but then I was snorting yet again. “Ava, stop it!” Steed laughed with me as he flopped into a chair. “Fucking Christ. This is beyond surreal.”

  “What are you two laughing at?” Kade asked as he stepped into the kitchen.

  I spun round to glare at him. “I do have a doorbell you know.”

  He smirked at me and nodded. “Need a word, sweetheart.”

  Steed stood up and grabbed his coffee cup from the side. “I’ll give you some space. I’ll be right outside.” He narrowed his eyes on Kade as if warning him that any trouble and he was with me. I rolled my eyes as the testosterone flew around my kitchen and Kade grinned smugly.

  “Yeah, you do that, we wouldn’t want you venturing too far now would we.”

  Steed tipped his head and narrowed his eyes on Kade, “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing,” Kade pursed his lips and held up his hands. “Nothing at all.”

  He sighed and pulled me into a hug when Steed left us to it. “You do know he’s had your car tagged, and your house is bugged?” He whispered quietly in my ear.

  I pulled back and stared at him. He lifted a finger to his lips and flicked his eyes to the corner of the kitchen ceiling. My eyes widened as nausea flooded me but he shook his head before dragging me into the walk-in pantry at one side of the kitchen. “You’re fucking lucky I have the software connected to my laptop and it’s me he asked to monitor you.”

  “Kade . . .”

  “You’re walking on ice, Ava.” He glared at me, his eyes angry and heated. “He will kill him.”

  “Then make sure he doesn’t find out. And while you are here, you can disconnect bloody Big Brother. How dare he? What the fuck is wrong with him?”

  He stared at me and scoffed, “What the hell Ava, you are shagging someone other than him, maybe that’s a reason for him to go slightly off the rails!”

  I narrowed my eyes on him and shook my head in disbelief, “He didn’t tell you, did he?”

  “Look whatever he’s . . .

  “He’s fucking Rebecca.” I lifted a brow at him when his knees buckled and he palmed the wall for support. “I guess that’s a no then.”

  “What the fuck! Are you sure?”

  “Mm-hmm, I found them together at the club.”

  “Oh, sweetheart,” he whispered when my eyes filled up. His hand cupped the back of my head as he pulled me into him. “He’s a damn fool.”

  I clung to him, using him for the comfort I had missed during the last six months of hell. He sighed heavily as he held me tighter, his lips brushing across the soft hair now growing rapidly on my head. He tipped my head back with a finger under my chin to look at me, “You’re both damn fools.”

  I lowered my eyes and tried to fight past the pain engulfing me. “I can’t Kade . . . he . . .”

  “He?” he prompted when I hesitated.

  I smiled softly as memories surrounded me. “He loved my breasts, Kade. He adored them, it was one of the things he fell in love with and now . . .” I swallowed as the
hatred once more chose to drown me. “Now they’re gone and all that’s left is hideous scars . . . more fucking horrific scars. I can’t let him see me like that. It isn’t fair, he deserves more.”

  “He deserves his wife!” Kade bit back angrily. “Do you think he cares about how you look on the outside?”

  “Yes! Yes, Kade. That’s what Mason is, he’s a man, a dominant man and looks are everything to him, especially for sexual stimulant. And now I’m . . .”

  “You’re frightened he’ll reject you? Oh my God, Ava.” He shook his head with incredulity but his gaze softened. “He loves you, he could never see you as anything but beautiful, sweetheart. You aren’t just some . . . some piece of meat that he sticks his dick into occasionally.”

  I blinked at his bluntness but he cupped my face and titled my head back. “Have you even asked him?”

  I shook my head and looked away. “I can’t, I’m . . . I’m sacred of what he’ll see.”

  Kade’s mouth hit mine with an almost painful kiss, his tongue fought to climb inside me, his lips bruised and crushed me as he pushed me back against the wall. “Right, now tell me that wasn’t a kiss that tells you how much I fucking desire you, how hard you make me?” He grabbed my hand and slammed it hard against his erection. “And I am not your husband, the man who fucking adores you.”

  “Are you still . . .”

  He shook his head in confusion when I paused and lowered my eyes.

  “Still fucking Mason?” He bit into his lip and diverted his eyes but I grabbed hold of his hand. “No Kade, I want you to. Don’t stop because, well because Mason needs that. He needs . . . men as well and he’ll go crazy without it.”

  He sighed and shook his head as his eyes flicked over my face sadly, “Jesus Christ. Why can’t you see what everyone else sees in you? How amazing you are, how perfect you are, how fucking stunning you are!”

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Steed asked as he flung open the pantry door and stared at us.

  “Talking about your dick,” Kade said as he walked back out. “Remember, Ava.” He shouted before he shut the front door behind him.

  I laughed at the shock on his face and leant into his ear, “We need to be careful. The house is bugged.”

  His face paled and I tapped his cheek, “Don’t worry, Kade’s sorting it and I know a man who can disconnect everything.”

  He sighed in relief as I finished texting who I needed and pulled out food from the fridge to start dinner. “I presume, seems as though you are now attached at the hip, that you’ll want feeding.”

  His lips twisted and just before it left his mouth I pointed to the ceiling alarm system sensor. He snapped his jaw shut and just nodded.

  It was rather a shame I had already text Marv, an old friend of George’s who was a system expert and more importantly who Mason had no clue of, but it could have been fun watching Steed try and hold back on the innuendo.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Poltergeists

  Ava

  “I KNOW THEY were in here, I’m positive they were.”

  Grace huffed and rolled her eyes as she watched me scramble through the entire shoe cupboard looking for my red wedges. “Ava, just wear the white ones, they’ll go.”

  “No,” I pursed my lips in frustration, moving numerous pairs out of the way. “I love the red ones. The white ones pinch.”

  “Then wear the black flats.”

  I stared at her with wide eyes. “I can’t wear black flats with a flowery dress, they won’t look right.”

  “Jesus Christ!” She growled as she moved me out of the way and chose a white pair of kitten heels. “Perfect.”

  I sighed, “I don’t wanna go anyway. I told Lay I wasn’t going.”

  “I know,” she said as she rearranged her hair in the mirror. “And I’m telling you that you are. It’s your friend’s wedding anniversary. You haven’t been out properly in an age and everyone misses you.”

  I pulled a face at her, her lips quirking when she caught me in the mirror. “And I’m driving so at least you can have a drink.”

  “Well don’t let me drink too much” I warned. “My medication doubles the effect.”

  She smirked at me, “Nice to know, you’re fun when you’re drunk.”

  * * *

  “So,” I shifted my gaze through the car window as we made our way to the restaurant. “Have you seen much of Mason?”

  She was silent for a moment and I turned to look at her. Her eyes were flicking between her rear view mirror and her side one, “What, sorry?” she blinked and glanced at me.

  “Mason?” I asked again as I studied the black car behind us. “Do we have a tail?”

  “Not sure yet,” she murmured as she shifted gears. “But there’s one way to find out.”

  I kept my eyes trained on the car as Grace cruised along the street, at the very last minute turning the car into a side street. The other car flew past, braked then reversed.

  “Shit,” she hissed as she hit her Bluetooth and sped up, rounding the next corner so sharp I fell into the window, my head bouncing off the glass harshly.

  “Hang on, Ava,” she snapped angrily, her concentration making her sharp with me.

  “Beaumont?” Liam’s voice filled the small interior of the car.

  “Black Lexus LS, Reg TH14 YEW, currently pursuing us east on Raymond Street, roughly 89Mph.”

  “Turn right at the end,” Liam spoke proficiently, “Then sharp left into Larth view Drive, there’s a gap leading to a dirt track between houses numbered five and seven.”

  “Got it.”

  We ploughed around each corner, Grace controlling the car expertly as I clung to the seat with both hands. My phone was bouncing in my bag and I bent to retrieve it, rolling my eyes when Steed’s number popped up. “Not now,” I told him as I answered.

  “Tell Grace we have a duplicate car waiting for you on the dirt track.” He barked at me. “Turn into the garage left of the dirt track as soon as you turn on to it.”

  I repeated everything to Grace as she manoeuvred the car between the two houses. Gravel spun up behind us as our speed caused the car to drift. Another silver Mercedes shot out from the right hand side of the track as we pulled into the garage on the left.

  The doors clanged shut behind us making me jump. “You okay?” Grace asked immediately as she poked the bump surfacing on my temple.

  I nodded to her, “Any idea?”

  “Nope,” she huffed but narrowed her eyes.

  “Don’t lie to me Grace.”

  She sighed and turned to me. “Steed was followed a few weeks ago. We intercepted a . . . parcel that was due for delivery to you and . . .”

  “And?” I urged when she sighed and paused.

  “And Mason received some rather . . . intimate pictures of you and . . .”

  “Oh God,” my eyes widened on her as panic cramped my stomach.

  “Yeah, of you and Steed kissing in the Panther’s corridor.”

  I breathed out silently, the pit of my stomach loosening slightly. “And that’s all?”

  She nodded as she climbed from the car then turned to me and tilted her head questioningly. “Should there be more that I need to know?”

  “No,” I defended a little too quickly. “It was just a kiss for god’s sake.”

  Her eyes flicked over every inch of my face before she sighed. “You do know that I used to interrogate for the bureau, Ava?”

  I gave her a nod as I climbed as casually as possible from the car.

  “And I can tell a lie from a truth.”

  “Don’t be silly,” I scoffed. “Why would I lie?”

  Her brow quirked, “Because of your husband by any chance?”

  “Why the hell won’t people realise that Mason and I are separated and free to do as we please? It was just a kiss,” I reiterated. “No big deal.”

  “Okay,” she smirked as she held her hands up and opened the replacement car door, snatching the keys from the sun visor
before pulling out of the rear doors in the garage and holding a hand up to our assistant as he shut the doors behind us.

  She circled round and brought us back on our original course. “What the hell is it with people stalking me?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Ava, you’re married to London’s most notorious. Expect it.”

  “I do, that’s the problem. But now I’m not sure if it frightens me more than ever.”

  She turned and smiled at me. “We’ll find whoever it is.”

  “It’s not that,” I sighed. “It scares me because now it just seems normal to me. It doesn’t frighten me any longer, and that in itself scares the fucking shit out of me.”

  * * *

  My worst nightmare greeted me as I walked into the huge room. Masses of my friends swooped in at once, fiddling with my wig, prodding my fake breasts and commenting on how good I looked. Fucking hypocrites.

  Courtney rolled her eyes and thrust a large glass of vodka and cranberry in my hand. “Drink it!” she snarled as she nudged people aside to grant me a breather.

  “Fucking hell,” I scoffed after downing my drink and people got quickly bored with me. “Anyone would think I’d been cloned?”

  She spat out her drink and held her throat, “Shit, I bloody hope not.”

  I narrowed my eyes on her before she pulled me over to one of the main tables. The room had been set out rather like a wedding, each white individual table adorned with petals and numerous layers of cutlery, humungous vases of flowers decorated the centre of each as numerous bottles of champagne sat in silver buckets of ice. “Good God,” I whispered to Courtney. “It’s a bit OTT.”

  She nodded, “It is a little, never thought Layla would be into this.”

  We both found our seats, me squashing between her and Greg, Sam and Marcy with Liv and Nate opposite me. “What’s going on?” I asked Liv as we all peered at the table.

  “I’ve no idea, I was about to ask you.” She answered casually. “It’s a bit much for an anniversary.”

  I nodded, confirming her thoughts as all our group switched around until the men were on one side and the women on the other.

  “Much better,” Marcy smiled as she tucked her chair under the table beside me. “Can’t be doing with Sam’s drawl about how fucking hot the Amish girl in Banshee is all bloody night.” She rolled her eyes and huffed, “No tits, Ava, no bloody tits at all. What the hell is wrong with the man?”