AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter thirty-one
STONE
Ifinallyfellasleep in the early hours of the morning and don’t wake until nearly midday. Checking Ava’s room, I see she’s already up. I want to find her, but I know I need to put things right with Reid first. I was a prick. I shower and then call him but hear his phone ringing from the other side of my bedroom door. Mason opens it and they both step in.
“He’s already here, you stubborn bastard,” he chuckles.
“Sorry, man,” I say sincerely to Reid, ignoring Mason.
“You’re all good. We were all worried.” He’s seriously a great friend.
“How about I cook lunch?” I offer them both.
“I’m always up for apology food.” He grins. We head downstairs and I expect to find Ava down there, but she walks in the front door as we’re passing it, looking surprised to see all three of us here.
“Where have you been?” I ask. She ignores my question, kicking her shoes off and making her way to the stairs, but I step in front of her. “I asked where you’ve been.”
“And I ignored you perfectly fine the first time,” she retorts.
“Hey, Aves,” Mason says over-casually, probably trying to diffuse the tension between us. “How are you doing?” He has concern in his eyes and she narrows hers.
“I’m fine. Nothing happened.”
“It’s not nothing if you don’t want it, princess.” He sounds calm, but his clenched fist and jaw show his anger, and I doubt Ava has seen Mason’s serious side yet. “Anyway, we’re going to make some lunch. Want me to bring some up?” His switch in mood has her eyebrows raising.
“I’ve already eaten.”
“Okay. We’re here if you need anything.”
She narrows her eyes suspiciously at him, and then at me, but I let her pass. I found out what I needed to know. I just saw his car drive past the window—she must have been out with Cole. But as she starts up the steps, I notice something on her shoulder. Banding an arm around her waist to stop her, I trace the marks with my fingers. I clear my throat, desperately trying to keep my voice level when I ask, “Who the fuck was it, Ava?”
“What are you talking about?” Looking over her shoulder at my fingers, she sees the beginnings of a bruise, the area a mottled deep red starting to turn purple. This wasn’t obvious like the fingerprint marks last night. It will definitely look a lot worse over the next week or so, but even this stands out against her pale skin. She spins and pushes out of my hold, her face a mask of fury. She jabs her finger into my chest.
“You don’t get to act like you care now. This could’ve been from when your minions shoved me into the closet.”
“Was it?” She sets her jaw but doesn’t answer, so I’m taking that for a no.
“Princess, you need to tell us who it was.” Even though he uses her nickname, Mason still sounds just as dangerous as I do. “We can do something.”
“I don’t need a single thing from you,” she tells him, but it’s me who answers.
“You’re going to get it anyway.” Her brow furrows, and I take the opportunity while she’s not hissing at us.
“We need to talk.”
“Why?” she asks.
“You’re not marrying Lewis,” I say, like it’s not obvious.
“Yeah, thank fuck for that, Aves,” Reid chuckles.
“Did you all seriously think I was?” She looks at us in turn with hurt on her face, but we’re done with lying.
“Yeah. It fucked with our heads,” Mason says.
“Why?”
“Because you’re so unlike someone who would marry for money. Or not even money, but as a business deal.”
“So why did you believe it?” She asks that as if the answer is so simple.
“You wouldn’t be the first rich white girl to do it.” She flinches like he’s hit her and tries to hide her expression a bit too late. Mason’s eyebrows hitch at her reaction. “Not that you’re like any of the others,” he tries to backtrack.
“Whatever. No Lewis, no marriage. Can we drop it now?” They both nod, but I lean into her.
“We still need to talk,” I say quietly.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” I cup her jaw before she can turn away, stroking her cheek with my thumb.
“I gave you last night, and I’ll give you today. I called your friend. Do you know how hard it was to leave you when you were like that? To leave you with someone else? My patience has run out.” She tenses at my low, menacing tone, but I don’t think it’s because she’s scared. I continue. “You don’t want to talk? Fine, just listen. I will find out who did this and they will pay, whether you tell me or not.”
“I don’t need you to fight my battles,” she insists, but she doesn’t try to pull away from me. With Reid and Mason watching, I can’t do more than soothing touches, and that kills me.
“No, you don’t. I’ve seen that first-hand. But that doesn’t mean I won’t. Twice you’ve been hurt recently, and it’s not going to happen again.”
“Well, you can blame yourself for them both.” She feebly tries to shove me off as she hits me with her words, but the guilt I feel is already an ocean.
“I do.” I press a kiss to the bend in her neck and pull back quickly, not wanting to push my luck too far. God, I wish I could just drag her into my arms and keep her there. She takes her chance and leaves, heading up the stairs as we all watch her go.
“Where’s your head at?” Reid checks as we settle in the kitchen snug.
“A mess,” I answer honestly. “I need to know what happened last night and who was there. I need to talk to Ava about how we move forward now she’s mine.”
“How do you think Ava feels about that?”
“You heard her. She blames me for last night, and for everything. She said the same thing last night.”
“Fuck, man.” Mason sighs. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. It is my fault. All of it. I started this slut crap for nothing. A reason that turned out to be fake.”
“At least her being with Lewis is bullshit.”
“Yeah, which means I have to get her to realise that she’s mine.”
“She’ll realise last night wasn’t your fault,” Reid reassures me. “Did she tell you anything about what happened?”
“She won’t tell me—she’ll barely talk to me. All I know is what you told me, and we’ve all seen those marks now.”
They both nod. It looks like she’s been pushed hard up against something, and the redness around her lips and the bruises on her arms are more obvious today. They’ll only get darker from here. How am I not going to lose my shit every time I see them?
“We need to find out who did it. They need to pay,” Mason says soberly.
“Yep,” Reid agrees. They’ve both grown to adore Ava nearly as much as I do, so I’m not surprised they’re just as angry about what she went through. “But she needs to tell us first. We can’t go out guns blazing, we need to know who.”
“I’m working on it,” I promise them.
“Good. You know we’re ready to help as soon as you know.”
“I feel like a sisterwife. A brother-husband, I guess?” Mason chuckles, always one to lighten the heavy mood. I spin my glare at him, but he smirks. Fucker knows I’d never hurt him. “Chill out,” he says. “Ava and I aren’t like that.”
“Why not?” Reid asks, which is fair. Mason is a bigger slut than me, he’s just more charming about it.
“Dunno. We’ve been like brother and sister from the beginning. I care about her, but not like that.”
“Good,” I growl at him. “Make it stay that way.”
