by J. J. Sorel
It was still dark. I was on my back panting after Bronson had hit g-spots I didn’t even know existed, making me scream through one orgasm after another. Beneath me, the wet sheet stuck to my sated body.
Bronson rose from the bed. His long muscular and athletic legs flexed as he strode about naked looking like a god. He then opened a drawer and brought out a box.
Propping myself up, I asked, “What are you doing?”
Bronson came back to the bed. He opened the box. Inside sat a silk scarf wrapped around something. He unraveled it, and under the lamplight, I saw a carved white pendant with a coral background and recognized it immediately as a cameo.
He handed it to me. And as I took the striking pendant, I shook my head, almost speechless. “It’s beautiful, Bronson.”
Despite recalling Alice telling me about it, I feigned surprise. I was uncertain how Bronson would take our discussing his sad beginnings.
“I want you to have it.”
“But… isn’t it valuable?” I asked.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
BRONSON
That cameo was the most valuable thing I owned, sentimentally speaking. “Hold it up against your neck so I can see how it looks. I’ve never seen it worn by anyone.”
She gazed up at me in wonder. “Really?”
“No one has even been allowed to go near it. I would have killed them.”
The way her eyes shone with alarm made me regret that last comment. I normally hid those dark thoughts.
“Bronson, that’s kind of scary.”
I lifted a hand in defense. “Hey, just a figure of speech. I’m trying to say that you’re the only person that I could ever allow to touch it. And now I want you to have it. As proof…”
“Proof of what?” she asked, studying me with those searching eyes.
I touched my heart where that tattoo sat. “Of my undying love for you.”
She bit her lip, and her eyes watered.
“Will you keep it?” I asked.
As she fell into my arms, Ava’s wet cheek touched mine.
After that, we lay in each other’s arms tightly all night, and I fell into a peaceful sleep, my body wrapped around Ava’s.
The following morning, after we’d fucked to the state of rawness, I sat back and watched Ava place the cameo in front of her swan-like neck.
“It’s beautiful, sweetheart.” I smiled.
It was Sunday. Since it was a day of rest, I lounged about shirtless in my favorite sweats. Ava kept groping at me. I loved that her shyness had relaxed, and as her hands crept into my pants, she stroked my cock, pumping blood down to my groin.
Wearing my shirt, she looked so sexy I wouldn’t let her change. She was free of underwear just as I loved. My hands returned the favor by traveling up her thighs.
I licked my lips and then ravaged her again.
She wiggled in my hold. “Bronson, we’re supposed to have breakfast.”
I lifted my head to look at her. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. You’re delicious. And anyhow, you started it by touching my cock.”
She laughed and surrendered to my tongue as her supple thighs opened wide.
The large block, which had once been a munitions facility, was cordoned off with barbed wire. Harry stood by my side as we studied the vast expanse of land. I’d decided to bring him in, given that he had the workers. I liked his no-nonsense approach, and he had an abundance of knowledge and experience.
And he also got me.
“What do you think?” I asked.
He nodded slowly. “It’s flat. We won’t have to cut into it, which will speed things up.”
“The contract’s signed. All we’re waiting on is the check.”
“What’s in the ground?” he asked.
“All kinds of nasties. Seeing that it once was an armaments plant I imagine there’s lead, cadmium. All your regular heavy industrial metals.”
“No mines or unfired grenades, I hope,” he said with a smirk.
Harry had been in the army before setting up a building firm. He was one of those tough guys who didn’t let emotional scars slow him down. Always joking around, he’d helped me a lot, not only by giving me a job but also because he accepted me for who I really was. He didn’t see me as some nobody who’d done time.
“Before we get started, the area will have to be decontaminated. I’m sure once they’ve been through it, we’ll be able to grow organic tomatoes.”
Harry’s eyebrows contracted. “Farming’s not part of the plan, is it?”
I chuckled. “Just pulling your leg, pal.”
“You never joke, Bron. What’s got into you?”
“I don’t know. Life’s starting to feel a little better.” My mouth curled up at one end. “Especially since I met this girl.”
He nodded. “Uh… It always comes down to the fairer sex, doesn’t it? A good woman and life’s great again.”
A faint smile crossed my face.
He clasped his hands. “So we’re, what, six months away?”
“Maybe. Depends on that check. We’ve got contractors ready to move in.”
“Good. This is going to be big. It’s a great location. Close enough to the main town. How did you swing it?”
“Luck. I guess that was the only positive thing about being locked up. I had plenty of time to read. I stumbled upon a trade magazine and read that the government was offering grants to revitalize industrial land in return for affordable housing.”
Harry looked impressed. “So we’re basically creating a small village?”
“Yep.”
“Have you got a name for it.”
I nodded. “Avahart.”
“Mm… nice, after your girl?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“She’s really gotten to you.”
“She’s made me a better man.”
“That’s the sign that you’ve met the right woman,” he said with that deep drawl of his. He patted me on the shoulder. “You’re going to do good.” He nodded with belief etched into his eyes.
For the first time in my life, I had a spring to my step. All those hours of devising and drawing had finally started to come to something.
After I left Harry, I headed back home. Having not slept much after four hours of slow and intense lovemaking, I needed to sleep.
But first, I returned a call I’d missed from my mother. “Hey, Mom.”
“Darling. Are you good?”
“Yeah. Really good. The project’s up and running.”
“James told me all about it. I’m proud of you, son.”
Her loving support made me gulp back a lump. “Is this about the dinner?”
“It is. James and I felt it would nice to have a few friends around so that we could share our news.”
“Justin?”
There was a pause at the other end. “That’s what I need to talk to you about.”
“You want to invite him? With Candy?” I didn’t hide my surprise.
“I’m not sure what to do. He’s my son.”
“Do what you feel is right. What about James? How does he feel about Candy being there? I hear she’s trying to sink those fake talons into his fortune.”
She sighed. “I’m not inviting her. But I feel I have to invite Justin.”
“I suppose I can sit somewhere far away. But Ava will be there. Close by my side.”
“That’s the thing, sweetie. Maybe it would be better if she didn’t come. That way it doesn’t descend into chaos. You know how Justin is after a few drinks.”
“I won’t be there, then. Ava’s part of me.”
“I can’t imagine you not being there, Bronson.”
“Without Ava, I’m not going anywhere, Mom.”
“Okay, darling. Leave it with me. I must admit James isn’t big on Justin at the moment, either. Oh, why did he turn out this way? He was always a troubled child.” Her voice trembled slightly.
My heart sank. “I’m sorry. The last thing I want t
o do is cause you pain. Perhaps you should have a word with Justin alone.”
“I’ve done that. He’s all pent up. Angry. Blames you. No, he blames your father for…”
“For adopting me?” I asked.
“Don’t listen to that, darling. Your father loved you both equally.”
“Then why did he cut me out?” I asked.
I’d promised myself to keep money out of it. But it hurt, knowing that my late father had written me out of his will. It would have made sense if everything had gone to my mother.
“I don’t know what happened there. I looked at the original will. It distinctly expressed a three-way split. The lawyer told me that he’d drafted another one. Elliot never told me he’d devised a new one. He just reminded me, while he was in the hospital, where the documents were. The same documents that I still possess, which now, apparently, are null and void.”
Gripping my cell tight, I smelled a rat. “Then something doesn’t sound right, does it?”
She let out a long, ragged breath. “I spoke to James about it. He brought it up. He’d been concerned about it for some time. I just don’t know what to do.”
“I’d say Justin’s a good place to start.”
“Leave it with me. I’ll arrange a dinner for just you and Ava, along with Marc and Cassie.”
“That sounds good. I know Justin’s your one and only, but something’s not right. And he is a lawyer.”
“He’s not my one and only. You are just as precious to me, Bronson. Remember that.”
“I will. Love you, Mom.”
I ended the call. A dark cloud just floated over me. Yet again, fucking Justin. I needed to get a good lawyer to go over that last will with a fine-toothed comb.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
AVA
As much as I liked taking the elevator in order to ply Charlie with questions, I needed the exercise. Before arriving for work, I’d met Cassie to discuss her upcoming wedding. While talking about my role as the maid of honor, I stuffed my face with delicious donuts and then begged Cassie not to make me wear a dress that resembled a wedding cake.
We giggled raucously while joking about the kinds of outrageous gowns we both could wear, and three donuts later, I waddled out of the café feeling sorry for myself.
After running up the stairs, I leaned against the wall puffing. A few moments later, I wiped my brow and then unlocked the door.
Nothing too surprising had happened that week, only Aggie talking about her life growing up, interspersed with heart-wrenching passages from Wuthering Heights. Always the same pages over and over— Heathcliff and Catherine’s declarations of love while repeatedly mentioning death and hell. Emily Bronte, who had died at a young age, seemed obsessed with the darker side of human nature.
When I discovered that Aggie wasn’t in her normal spot on the terrace, I fell into the floral armchair and distracted myself by looking at all the beautiful bric-a-brac, particularly the Art Deco lamps with figurines holding moons for light shades. Original paintings depicting flowers in vases, women in bright flowing gowns, and Impressionist landscapes all battled for space on the pink walls. But it was the lack of family photos and the way the room seemed barely lived in that struck me as odd.
Five minutes later, I became concerned about Aggie’s well-being, so I decided to visit her bedroom.
Up the snaky, mahogany staircase I went. My hand slid along the smooth wood that framed black filigree railing. One step at a time, my feet landed on the red floral Persian runner.
Having arrived on the landing, I was again met by the chilling stare emanating from young Aggie. Except for that expression, she looked like me, and that, once again, freaked me out.
Noticing her bedroom open, I entered, taking small, hesitant steps into the darkened room. There, I discovered Aggie in bed, lying on her back.
As I approached more closely, I noticed her eyes were wide open.
Is she dead? I wondered.
“Aggie,” I whispered.
“Who’s that?” She turned but didn’t seem to see me.
“It’s me, Ava.”
She looked in my direction and waved her hand for me to come forward.
“Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?” I asked.
“No doctors,” she said.
Aggie pointed to the lamp by the bed. “Turn it on so I can see you.”
I switched on the carved red-glass lamp and remained standing by her bed.
“Sit,” she instructed.
Noticing a chair in the corner, I brought it over and lowered myself onto it.
Studying Aggie’s blank, pale face, I asked, “Are you not well?”
“I’ll have no questions. Just sit.”
I nodded hesitantly. Her scraping response added to my growing tension.
Pointing, she looked at my neck. “What’s that?”
“It’s a cameo that Bronson gave me.”
She crooked her finger. “Come closer. Let me see it.”
As I leaned in, her eyes widened slightly, and her mouth dropped open. “It can’t be.”
Shaking my head, I asked, “What?”
“Take it off. I must look at it under the light. Now!”
My hands trembled as I unknotted the velvet ribbon holding the cameo against my throat and handed it to Aggie.
She rubbed her fingers over it the way a blind person would read braille. “This is a genuine piece,” she muttered. “A flashlight. I must have a flashlight.”
“Um… where will I find one?” I asked.
“In that drawer. There.” She pointed to the chest of drawers beside the bed. I opened the top drawer and saw a box with a key, hankies and a flashlight.
I brought it out and fumbled with the switch to turn it on.
“Not on my face,” she grumbled.
I apologized before passing it to her.
Mystified and bewildered, I watched Aggie’s forehead scrunch as she scrutinized the cameo as a scholar might a rare relic. She looked up at me. “But this cannot be.”
“What?”
“This belonged to my mother.”
My muscles gripped. “How can you tell?”
“This marking, right here.” She ran her fingernail along the back.
I reached out to take it, but she held onto it, almost possessively.
“It was originally my grandmother’s. My grandfather had it carved for her in Naples. On the back, it’s engraved. Here.” She passed it to me. The item shook in my trembling hand. “Read what it says.”
Taking the flashlight, I shone it onto the transparent pink back. There, I read, “Alan with a heart…”
“Joan,” she uttered, finishing it for me.
My breath hitched. “It must be a coincidence.”
“Where did he get it? You must tell me.” The desperation in her tone made the hairs on my arms stand up.
“Um… he said it was the only family memento he owned.”
“The only memento?” She whispered. Her forehead wrinkled as if she was trying to solve a puzzle.
Clasping the cameo, which was damp from my sweaty palm, I asked, “When did you last see it?”
“It disappeared along with Monty. The family accused him. And to be honest, at first, I refused to believe it. But when he returned, a year later, with that horrible wife and money in his pockets for the first time in his life, I did wonder.”
“But then he would have sold it?”
“He insisted he hadn’t. I asked and asked. Monty was a proud figure. Secretive to a fault. He rarely revealed what was in here.” She touched her heart.
“But what about his undying love for you?”
“That was all he revealed.”
“Then he must have sold it, and whoever gave it to Bronson purchased it from a secondhand shop or something.”
“You said earlier that a family member gave it to him?”
“I think so.” I bit my lip. I couldn’t bring myself to reveal that the cameo had been found in his
crib. It seemed so personal.
“You must find out. I need to know.” She sank back under the covers again. “Go. I need to rest.”
“Aggie, I’m worried about you. Can I call someone? Or wait here to watch over you?”
“No, child. Be gone. I’m well enough. I need rest. Go. Please.”
I ran down the stairs as if I’d seen a ghost.
An inner voice kept repeating, “It’s a coincidence, nothing but a coincidence.” But something screamed louder at the back of my head.
After I raced out the door, I stood before the elevator, which was closed. I placed my ear against the wooden door but couldn’t hear the cables operating. In fact, I’d never seen it in operation up at that level. Only on the ground floor. As if waiting for me.
CHAPTER THIRTY
BRONSON
Ava sounded so desperate to see me that I dropped everything and promised to meet her by our tree in the park.
I arrived to find her looking pale. Sitting down close to her, I took her hand and kissed her cheek, which was as cool as her palm.
“What’s happened, Ava? You’re freezing.”
“That’s because I’m chilled to the bone.”
I began to remove my hooded jacket, but she stopped me.
“No. I’m not cold in that way.”
“Ava, will you stop playing with my head and tell me what all this is about?”
She rummaged in her bag and brought out the cameo.
“Why aren’t you wearing it?” I asked.
She stared at me square in the face. “Where did you get it? Tell me exactly.”
“I’ve already told you. That cameo was the only thing they found in my crib.” Admitting that sad little detail never got any easier, and seeing Ava studying me as if trying to understand how such a thing could happen felt like icy fingers walking up my spine.
“It belonged to Aggie’s family,” she said.
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“Aggie recognized it. Apparently, her grandfather had it made for his wife. Look…” She turned it over and pointed to faint carving. “She quoted it exactly. Without even looking at it.”
Having seen it on numerous occasions myself, I too didn’t need to study that inscription. I grabbed my cell out of my pocket.
