Read Online Fortitude (Heart of Stone) by D. H. Sidebottom - Free Book Online Page A

single one of her ribs through her dress. I could also
feel the pain radiating from her. She is in no position to fight you off if
needs be.” He glared at me resolutely. “I come with you or I’ll make sure you
don’t leave this building walking.”
    I smirked at him. “You want a job?”
    He blinked at me in shock. “What the…”
    I stuck out my hand to him. “Mason Fox.”
    His eyes widened and he stepped back. “Fuck! I just
pulled Mason Fox’s wife’s knickers down in the toil….”
    He went down faster than I thought he would but he
laughed and got back up without even wincing before he stuck out his hand in
return. “I closed my eyes.” I shrugged, pacified by his honesty and apology.
“Toby Kirkland. And I’m open to offers Mr Fox.”
    “We’ll talk on the way. I need to see my wife.”
    “Lead the way!” We both said to Carrie.
    She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Okay. Come on, but I’m
warning both of you, I don’t care how fucking hard you are, you upset Ava then
you’ll get to see my bad side.”
    I lifted a brow and smiled at her. “Job offers open to
you too.”
    She laughed and shook her head. “I’m fine just nursing
your wife at the moment.”
    I winced at the thought of Ava being cared for. She would
hate that. Losing her independence was the last thing she would ever cope with.
I just wished she’d have let me be the one to care for her.
    “Come on, we’re wasting time. My eyes are eager to see
her.”
    “Mason,” Carrie said softly as she stopped me with a firm
grip. “You must remember what I said, Ava isn’t the Ava you know now.”
    “I don’t care, Carrie. She’ll always be my Ava, whatever
she looks like, whether her breasts and hair have gone, she still owns me, all
of me.”
    She nodded. “Then don’t hurt her with looks, because
believe me I’ve worked with a lot of cancer victims and the first thing she
will look for is your initial reaction to her looks. And I told you, you hurt
her and I will watch you beg on your knees as I hurt you.”
    I grinned at her, “Fuck, you’re a pitbull.”
    She laughed as she walked towards the doors, “Nah, I’m a
viper and my bite will kill.”
    “Fair do’s” I acknowledged. “You must have something to
put up with Ava’s poorly side for so long.”
    “Yeah,” she laughed. “You know her alright.”
     

Chapter Fourteen
Denial
Ava
     
    I wasn’t sure if I was angry or hurt. All I could picture
was Mason’s eyes, closed as his mouth devoured my friend, the lips that had
once worshipped me, that once only touched me, on hers and now giving her
pleasure as I knew his perfect kisses did.
     
    I had sobered up pretty quickly since then, shock had a
strange way of doing that.
    I pulled out the flour and eggs and cursed when the bag
of sugar split, trailing a line of white grains across the floor.
    I stared at it and wondered if it was too late to get
high. I didn’t do it often, just the occasional line when I was down. I hated
myself for it. After everything Mason had put me through with the stuff, I now
had grown to rely on it for comfort – for the oblivion it provided.
     
    I stared through the window and gripped the edge of my
vest, pulling it away from my chest when it itched my scars. The tree at the
far end of the garden swayed in the late night summer breeze. It suddenly
seemed to mesmerise me, the long branches reaching across the garden for the
delicate buds that had just bloomed on the edge of the garden as they appeared
to gobble them up.
    My mind was too active and I grit my teeth before I ran
up the stairs and pulled out my knicker drawer, snatching the small plastic bag
that was taped to the underside of it.
    Within seconds I had a white line shooting up my right
nostril through the thin tube and I sat back on my heels as I waited for the
calm to roll over me.
    It didn’t take long and a deep sigh echoed around the
room when everything seemed lighter, less of a drag pulling at me and weighing
me