Resolution (Heart of Stone) (9 page)

He was
offering Nate new anti-virus software he had developed that was apparently
impossible to hack or penetrate.

The first
thing that struck me was that he had attended the meeting in jeans and a long
sleeved t-shirt and in ‘La Roche’ that was something that was frowned upon
instantly and I couldn’t hold back the wry smile from my lips as Nate
introduced us.

“Gary, this
is my assistant Ava Stone.”

Gary turned
to me and his eyes sparkled and a small curl lifted the corner of his lips.
“Miss Stone” he lifted my hand and held it to his lips.

“Pleasure to
meet you, Mr Thornton” I smiled back and frowned slightly as he gripped my hand
a little too long, his eyes questioning and I frowned at him.

Nate coughed
slightly as I shifted my feet, either feeling uncomfortable or mesmerised by
his looks, I wasn’t sure which. Gary tipped his head and then proceeded to hold
out my chair for me to sit.

My eyebrows
lifted to my hairline as I sat timidly, slightly stunned at the gesture. Nate
settled next to me and Gary took the chair opposite me and the meeting began as
Gary explained his product, Nate bartered with the price and after half an hour
they were shaking hands and sealing the deal.

“So Miss
Stone, Tell me more about you” Gary said, his eyes holding mine and I shrugged
as I took a bite of my steak.

“Oh I’m
nothing special, Mr Thornton” I smiled.

“Oh? I’d say
you are very special” a voice whispered in my ear and I froze as goose bumps
exploded all over my body, my heart hiccupped and I closed my eyes.

“Kade” I
breathed.

“Hello,
sweetheart” he whispered as his lips planted a wet kiss below my ear. I bit on
my bottom lip as I stood up to greet him.

He cocked
his head as his eyes swept my face and a wry grin lifted his lips. We held each
other’s gaze for a long moment and then his eyes swept down my face and landed
on my neck.

The change
in him was immediate; his face darkened and he chewed on his lip in agitation,
his shoulders straightened and his fists clenched.

He reached
up to my shirt and pulled the collar back harshly. He exhaled profoundly as he
shook his head in dismay. “Well I see your still letting him into your fucking
knickers” he growled and I grit my teeth.

“Kade!” Nate
hissed.

“Nice to see
you too” I snapped and sat back in my seat.

Kade rounded
the table and took the chair to the side of Gary, his eyes never leaving my
face. I could see Gary’s eyes shifting from me to Kade and then back again and
I smiled apologetically. “I apologise for this arsehole Mr Thornton, he doesn’t
know when to keep his unwanted opinions to himself.”

Kade
signalled to the waiter and ordered his drink and I wondered how many he’d
already had.

His eyes
settled on me again. “So Nate tells me Mason’s been doing his usual excellent
job of treating you like a princess, Ava” Kade smirked.

My glare
shot to Nate who had the decency to shrink into his chair. “Oh, he did, did
he?” I growled and he looked away.

“I mean what
the fuck, Ava? Why do you let him do this to you? How long before he
extinguishes that fire inside you completely? It’s already nearly gone Ava, the
flame in your eyes, even I can see they’re fucking dead” he hissed.

I flicked my
icy glower at him. “Not fucking now!” I snarled.

“Is it his
money Ava? Or does he just fuck you harder than I did?” he hissed at me.

I shot up.
“Screw you” I spat as Nate stood up.

“Kade!
That’s enough!” he warned, his eyes blazing.

 “If you’ll
excuse me Mr Thornton, I need to go before I smash this arrogant,
self-righteous, narrow-minded arsehole’s face in to the table and ruin your
meal” I smiled sweetly, “It was lovely to meet you.”

Gary smiled
warmly and tipped his head to me. “It was my pleasure, Miss Stone.” He stood
and leaned towards me, kissing me gently on the cheek, “Until next time.”

I snatched
my bag off the floor while I gave Nate the filthiest look possible. “Ava, you
can’t go” Nate said as he jumped up and grabbed my arm.

“Did you
know he would be coming?” I asked “And don’t fucking lie, I always know when
you lie to me, Nate!” he looked away and I took his silence as an admission of
guilt.

I sighed and
shook my head. “How could you?” I hissed in his ear.

“Ava, he
cares about you” he whispered as he pulled me to one side.

“Nate, he’s
fucking pissed and has just embarrassed me in front of a new client” I bit my
lip. “Get back to Gary; I’ll see you at the office.”

Nate grabbed
my arm. “Ava, I can’t let you go alone. Let me phone Neo to come and pick you
up” he said but I shook my head.

“You’ve done
enough for one day, Nate” I hissed and stormed from the restaurant.

I decided to
walk back to the office, needing the air to cool my pistons and let my blood
pressure return to normal. I was fuming and humiliated and ashamed and aroused…
I mean, what the hell, aroused?

Kade could
always turn me on with one hot look, one of his sensual smiles, the way his
eyes would burn into mine as his tongue swept across his lip.

I always
knew I had a soft spot for Kade but I didn’t realise the strength of our
physical attraction until just now. I was so enraged at his behaviour and his
words that I shouldn’t be feeling hot and bothered.

I was
furious and disgusted with him but I also wanted to strip his clothes off and
lick every single inch of his hot hard body and I was so appalled at myself for
feeling like this.

I strolled
along Victoria embankment, my eyes mesmerised by the ripple and reflection of
the water. To say it was a weekday it was pretty quiet but for some reason I
felt uneasy.

I glanced
behind me and saw nothing unusual; a few men in suits, a couple of joggers and
a pair of amorous lovers. I shook off my nerves but sped up a little. My hairs
prickled on the nape of my neck and I turned again.

Everything
looked as before but one of the joggers was gaining speed, he was sprinting
more than jogging and he had his hood up and his head down. I squinted at him
to get a better view and I scanned him.

He was
wearing grey jogging pants and hoody and I could see the wires from his iPod
strung round his neck. He looked up for a second, his eyes met mine and he
quickly looked back down.

He seemed
normal enough but I still sped up, trying to pinpoint the something that was
disturbing me about him and I was grateful that I had worn my wedge sandals
today as the weather was unusually hot for October…. Fuck!! He wasn’t sweating,
what jogger didn’t sweat? Only one that hadn’t been running far or had only
just started running! He wasn’t even red in the face for such a hot day.

FUCK!!!

I swiftly
reached into my bag and curled my hands around my phone. Running faster as I
slid my phone screen I pressed the middle icon and bombed it towards the main
streets of the city centre.

 I pushed
past people, trying to keep to the crowds and I took a quick glance behind me
every now and again.

My phone was
ringing in my bag and I ran into a large department store, heading for the
women’s lingerie, nobody would stick out more than a male jogger in the knicker
department.

“I’m in
Debenhams, women’s lingerie. I’m been followed by a white male in a grey
jogging suit about 6 foot 2” I said as I answered whilst I scanned the area
quickly.

“Ava, I have
two guys heading your way now. They are both wearing jeans and white polo
shirts, they are both white. Ken is 5 foot 8” and Tom is 6 foot 1”. Stay on the
line with me Ava; I’ve got you on map and I’ve got visual on you. I’m scanning
the area for the perp and as yet I can’t see him in your vicinity… oh wait,
hang on. I’ve got visual Ken” Elijah said to me and then obviously to Ken.

“Ava, he’s
coming up the escalators to your right” I spun round and ran to the opposite
side of the floor and ducked down behind some of the more raunchy underwear,
admiring a red and black bra and thinking if I got out of here alive I would
treat myself to it.

“He’s
scanning the floor Ava, stay where you are. Ken and Tom are 5 minutes away.
He’s moving towards you, hold tight, Darling.”

The phone
went quiet for a moment while Elijah anticipated the jogger’s next move and I
could hear the beat of my heart in my ears, my hands were sweaty and my legs
were trembling.

“AVA MOVE,
MOVE! THERE’S ANOTHER ONE” Elijah exploded into the phone “SHIT!! Black hoody.”

 I shot
between the clothes rails, keeping my head low and my waist bent. “Which way?”
I asked quickly.

“Go left Ava,
quick!” Elijah shouted.

I spun
quickly and swore as I collided with a rail full of special offer underwear and
swore again when I couldn’t peruse through the bargain goods and wondered if I
should grab a pair of knickers to replace the ones that Mason had ripped off
this morning.

The rail scuttled
across the floor and into another rail, crashing loudly and I saw the black
hood pop up and cold eyes under the hood blazed at me.

Time seemed
to stand still as we both looked at each other and I froze.

“Shit! It’s
Simon Bell” I screamed at Elijah through the phone.

“Fuck, fuck!
Ava, get the hell out of there!”

Quickly
assessing my surroundings I decided my best option was to make my way
downstairs and towards Elijah’s people. “Where’s your guys?” I asked as I
sprinted across the floor.

“They’re
just coming through the main doors Ava, make your way there if you can.”

I heard him
speaking to someone else on another phone as I darted over to the escalators,
pushing past shoppers as I raced down them.

Glancing
over my shoulder I spotted the grey hooded guy shoving people out of the way in
his pursuit of me. I jumped off the escalator and ran across the home wear
section, pulling shelves down behind me so he had to clamber over them to get
to me.

“Where the
hell are they, Elijah?” I panted.

“They’re
right behind you Ava, gaining on the perp” he told me and I could see a corner
wall approaching fast.

“Fuck, where
the hell do I go?” I panicked as I hit the wall and spun round, the phone
slipping from my sweaty hands.  

Jogger
skidded to a halt in front of me and cracked his neck, his ice cold eyes
laughing at me. “Nowhere to go bitch?” he sneered.

I flicked my
eyes round, my stomach sinking when I didn’t spot anything I could use as a
weapon.

Having to
make an instant decision, I took a deep breath and grinned at him and tipped my
head in a challenge as I cracked my knuckles. He laughed at me. “Bring it on,
little girl” he dared.

I calmed
myself, and dug deep for my fury, the fury that I was using way too much
lately.

Locating the
familiar little bubble, low in the pit of my stomach I began dragging it up
through my veins, through every nerve ending and feeding from it, consuming it.

It took a
split second to develop and within the next half second I was charging towards
him, leaping at him and throwing us both to the ground.

He spun us
round as he pinned me down and his fist connected with my cheekbone. My hand
shot up and grabbed his hair and I pulled his head down as I jerked my head up,
head-butting him and instantly breaking his nose.

He screamed
in pain as I rolled him over and straddled him, pinning his arms by his side
under my thighs as I lifted his head and smashed it into the floor and repeated
it. His eyes rolled backwards but he managed to buck me off, throwing me
backwards and onto my back.

He climbed
over me and his knee connected with my stomach.

I saw him
fly off me as a man in a white shirt body slammed him and tackled him to the
floor, instantly grabbing the jogger’s wrists, pulling them behind him and
cuffing him in a matter of seconds.

Closing my
eyes I took a huge gulp of air as the other one of Elijah’s guys scooted to the
floor beside me. “Miss Stone, are you okay?” he asked as he tipped my head to
look at my cheek.

I nodded
while I panted, “You get Simon?” I asked.

He shook his
head. “No, Elijah lost him while tracking this guy” he grumbled.

I lay flat
out on the floor. “Fuck me” I puffed.

“You’ve got
some great skills, Miss Stone” he said and I smiled without opening my eyes.
“You want a job?” he chuckled.