Resolution (Heart of Stone) (25 page)

It had been
two weeks since I locked Mason behind the garage door and he was slowly
reverting back to his own previous happy, caring and fun self. His shakes and
sweats had subsided and he was starting to manage small amounts of food, one
being a craving for my apple and cinnamon muffins which he was currently trying
to take humungous bites out of while playing on the Xbox with Sam and Greg.

My patience
was being thoroughly tested at the moment; whenever these three urbane, mature and
tough men played Call of Duty they seemed to turn into very angry, sulky little
girls.

They were
all sat on a sofa in front of the huge flat screen Mason had insisted was
brought in while he remained in his ‘prison’. I was sat on the armchair that
had also been dragged in so I could get some work done at home on my laptop and
be beside Mason at the same time.

“Oh yes,
prepare to die… 9 kill streak!” Mason declared excitedly and I raised my eyes
from my own screen to theirs to watch the match.

“Score
streak dickhead… It’s not kill streak anymore!” Greg declared, “Get it right
guys if you’re gonna play!”

Sam and Mason’s
head turned slowly towards Greg. “Very sorry Mr COD expert” Mason laughed and
elbowed Greg in the ribs as Sam barked out a deep laugh.

Greg was
losing by a massive 9 kills and Sam was grinning at Mason’s excitement. “Bring
it on, Mase!” he teased.

Greg groaned
and shook his head, “For fucks sake, gimme a break here!”

I chuckled
at Greg. “Come on Greg, slaughter the bastards!” I smirked and shook my head at
his efforts to shoot Mason, missing him by a mile.

“Here come
the grenades… eat shit motherfuckers!”

Greg reached
over and tried to grab Mason’s controller and within another few seconds Sam
had took another kill on each of them. “Come on guys, I’m thrashing you here” Sam
announced.

I groaned,
trying to concentrate on the boring spread sheet I was currently working on,
making my eyes flash and drop closed as my mind wandered and I dozed.

“OH – MY –
FUCKING - GOD!!” Greg screamed and I jerked upright, now wide awake with a headache
fast approaching. “Gimme a chance guys!” Greg cried grumpily as Sam punched the
air with his fist and laughed loudly.

“I’m
spinning up the death machine… you are so fucking dead!”

Greg flew
off the sofa and flung his controller across the room, narrowly skimming my
head. “For fucks sake Greg, watch Ava” Mason growled and cursed as Sam racked
up another two kills.

I regarded
Greg who was stood angrily watching Sam increase his lead and I felt quite
sorry for him, he never won.

I shook my
head in exasperation and stood up; bending down to pick up Greg’s controller
and went and sat next to Mason.

Him and Sam
turned to look at me and smirked. “And what are you gonna do little girl?”
Mason laughed.

I hid my
smile and shrugged, “Just thought I might be able to get a shot in for Greg.”

Mason
smirked at me and side hugged me as Sam scoffed loudly. “Awww babe, this here
is the fire button, this one moves you and this one is your aim button” he told
me as he pointed to various buttons on the controller.

I bit my
lip, supressing my grin and nodded seriously at him. “Okay, I’ll give it a
whirl” I smiled innocently.

Mason turned
back to the screen as I rolled my shoulders, cracked my knuckles and began to
play. “Hey bastard, that was my care package” Sam yelled as I aimed and took
him out, turned, found Mason in my sight and shot him in the head, ran round
towards the spawn point and took them out again with a single shot to the head
as they spawned.

By another
eight minutes I had thirty kills and declared the game over.

Mason, Sam
and Greg all stared at me, eyes wide and jaw’s dropped, “Oh my fucking God!”
Greg laughed. “You both got beaten by a girl” he chirped.

I stood and
patted him playfully on the cheek. “Well done Greg, you won!” I winked and
walked back over to the laptop as he grinned widely at me.

“I love you,
Ava” he declared.

“Where the
hell did you learn to play?” Sam asked astounded.

“Me and Nate
play in our lunch hour!” I shrugged as I clicked onto another document.

The room was
silent for a while and I basked in the peace and when I eventually looked up
all three men were sat on the sofa, heads down whilst they each fiddled with
their fingers, sulking.

I smirked to
myself… round one to Ava!

“Wanna
rematch, guys?” I asked as I bit the side of my cheek to stop the snort from
erupting out of my nose.

They all
shook their heads rapidly. “No, No, I got things to do, not that I couldn’t
slaughter you, Ava” Sam narrowed his eyes and I nodded.

“Of course,
I was just lucky” I shrugged and then laughed when the snort broke free. “You
guys are so lame!”

***

     I stretched my arms out to the side and rolled my head
around my neck as I finally shut down the laptop and looked up to see Mason sat
watching me from the sofa, where he was perched watching some reality TV series
he had become addicted to while he had been held in the garage.

“You okay?”
I asked and he shrugged.

“Just going
a bit stir crazy” he revealed and set his attention back to the screen.

I frowned
and watched him for a while and pursed my lips. “Fancy a walk?” I asked and his
head shot round, his eyes wide.

 “What?
Around the garage or in the actual sunshine?” he asked hopefully and I smiled.

“Well seems
as though it’s a shit day out there I can’t promise the sunshine but I can
promise some fresh air.”

He shot off
the sofa and came to pull me up. “Come on baby, I’m getting excited here” he
chuckled and I laughed as I stood up but then regarded him seriously.

“Promise me,
Mason.”

He
understood and nodded. “I’ll be good” he whispered as he cupped my cheek. I
grinned and nodded as I took his hand and knocked on the door.

It opened to
a frowning Sam, whose eyes shifted from me to Mason and then back to me in
query. “We’re gonna take a short walk” I told him as I pulled Mason through the
door.

“You need me
to come with you?” Sam asked but I shook my head.

“I trust
him” I said over my shoulder as we went in search of shoes and coats and as we
walked through the front door Mason took a huge intake of air.

“Oh god!” he
sighed happily.

I smiled and
squeezed his hand as we ventured down the driveway and through the massive
gates that led to the road.

We walked in
silence for a while as we made it down onto the canal side and walked along the
path, smiling at some amorous couples who regulated this stretch of the canal
to make out.

“Have you met
with Gary yet?” Mason asked as he put his arm around my waist.

I shook my
head, “No, I need you with me for that. I just told him you had glandular fever
and I would arrange a date later.”

He nodded
and then frowned, “Any news on Dane?”

I shook my
head again. “No, I can’t work it out, it’s been a few weeks since Frank’s death
and it seems to be too quiet” I worried and Mason’s grip on my waist tightened.

 “Mmmm.” His
brow furrowed but he didn’t say anything else.

He smirked
and caught my eyes as we walked past a panting and moaning bush. “Must need
water” I chuckled as we carried on and Mason led me to a bench that was free
and he pulled me onto his lap as we sat quietly watching the water ripple and
the barges bob on the water.

“I’m so
proud of you, baby” I said quietly as my head rested on his shoulder.

“It’s been
hard Ava and I still get cravings but, you know” he shrugged and I tilted my
head back to catch his eyes.

“I don’t
think the craving will ever subside but you’ve gotta learn to control it cos’ I
don’t ever wanna repeat the last two weeks. Watching you suffer like that
nearly broke me Mason and I know I can’t…” He broke the sentence with one of
his hot, smouldering kisses as his fingers wrapped into my hair.

His mouth
hovered over mine. “I promise Ava, I don’t ever wanna see that pain and hurt in
your eyes ever again” he whispered then came in for another kiss.

I pulled
back eventually. “You’re not getting much fresh air here, only my air” I
chuckled and he laughed.

“I’d take
your breath any day of the week” he said softly and I palmed his cheek.

“You take my
breath away all the time, Mason” I stated and he smiled and pulled my head back
against his shoulder.

“My little
warrior” he breathed into my hair.

I frowned as
I saw a man in black clothing settle on the bench on the other side of the
canal, a newspaper open and resting on his lap but he wasn’t attempting to read
it.

His hand
sneaked under the paper as his eyes lifted to mine and I froze as I saw him slowly
pull his hand back.

“GET DOWN!!”
I screamed at Mason as I pushed him off the bench, onto the floor and rolled
over him as a gunshot sounded and a bullet marginally whizzed past my ear.

“FUCK!”
Mason hissed and I rolled over and dragged him behind the bush near us.

I looked to
my right and sighed in relief as I saw the bushes lead all the way along the
canal. I drew my phone from my pocket and pressed the icon for the emergency
situation.

It rang back
immediately, “One white male across the canal firing at us!” I declared as soon
as I answered.

“I got him,
Ava” Elijahs voice came over the line. “Carry on along the canal behind the
bushes. He’s gotta go all the way around to get to you. I’ve got two guys on
route to you” he said as Mason and I crouched and ran along the muddy path
behind the greenery. “When you get to the end of the bushes you’re gonna have
to make a run for it Ava, he’s following you from the other side, gun trained
in you.”

 Mason had
gone in front of me and was scanning our surroundings constantly. “I’ve got Neo
at the entrance of the canal waiting for you” Elijah told me as Mason put his
hand out to stop me.

There was a
wide gap in the bushes and it would bring us into his sight for a few seconds.
“We gotta run baby, you okay?” Mason asked and I nodded, my adrenaline was
holding back the fear as he counted to three and then we dashed across the gap,
Mason’s hand in mine as he pulled me behind him.

Another
gunshot rang out and people screamed and started to panic. “Good, they’ll help
us” Mason declared as a mass of people ran towards the exit.

“Come on” he
dragged me behind him and pulled us into the middle of the crowd. “Keep your
head low” he shouted at me as he bent his knees to disguise himself in the
crowd.

My heart was
pounding too quickly and my head spun as my blood surged through my body as we
went with the flow of people until the steps we needed to take came into view.

“You ready?”
Mason glanced at me and pulled me in front of his wide frame, protecting me
from the shooter. I took a breath and nodded as more gunfire filled the air.

I could hear
Elijah shouting more instructions into his other phones as I took a deep breath
and sprinted across the open area towards the steps.

We crouched
lower as a bullet skimmed Mason’s ear. “Fuck” he hissed.

“You okay?”
I shouted as I stooped lower and sped up.

“Yeah, keep
going!” he shouted back.

“HE’S DOWN
AVA, HE’S DOWN!!!” Elijah shouted in my ear and I bent over and grasped my
knees, fighting to fill my lungs.

“They got
him” I told Mason who then sagged in relief and dropped to the floor, trying to
control his own breathing.

Neo came
down the steps two at a time and ran over to us. “You okay?” he asked as his
eyes still scanned the area. We both nodded and he pressed his earpiece and
said something I couldn’t hear over the pounding in my ears.

“Jesus, this
isn’t what I had in mind for a quiet stroll along the canal” Mason smirked at
me and I laughed.

“The
exercise will do you good after two weeks on your arse” I panted.

He rolled
over onto his back and laughed heartily and I did the same as we both regained
our breathing and our composure.

Mason sat up
and took my phone, “Any clue who he is Elijah?” Mason asked and frowned to
himself. “Nah, don’t think so” he looked at me.