Ava
“Okay,” I said to Harry the hog as I held both hands out in front of me. “I think we should let bygones be bygones and start again.”
I took a tentative step back when he took one closer.
“I could really do with a friend right now, and you seem to be the only one around here. Apart from Frank that is, but I'm not biased, I can learn to love you both the same.”
Scrunching his snout, he appeared to take a deep sniff of me. I mimicked him, praying that I didn’t smell like dinner.
“You can either be my mate or my breakfast. Up to you, but please don’t eat me.”
“He’s a vegetarian, Ava!” Mason laughed behind me, his arms circling my midriff tightly. “You know, he’s probably feeling the same as you. Weighing you up. You are a stranger in his domain, after all.”
“Well, forcing his snout into my rear is not the usual way to make friends!”
“Oh, I dunno,” he whispered in my ear, my body welcoming him with a contented sigh. “Seemed to work for me.”
It had been a few weeks since Mason’s last ‘episode’, but I wasn’t delusional. I knew the darkness persistently preyed on his soul and would manage to battle its way to the front again soon.
“I have something for you.”
Turning in his embrace, I blinked down at what he held in his fingers. My heart leapt, and I took the photograph from him. “She looks troubled,” I muttered as I stared at my beautiful daughter. She was so much like me that it was scary to anticipate what her future could entail.
Mason had a ‘guy’ he had employed to occasionally send us updates on Katie’s life. I missed her with my very soul, but I had to have hope that she would find her peace now her father and I had taken away the disease that we were. This way could be the only cure that would heal Katie from the illness we had infected her with.
“She knows who took Steed out,” Mason revealed, observing me.
“How the hell has she found that out?”
Taking a deep breath, his chest pressed into mine, and my body tingled. I missed the intimacy only sex could grant, and after months of self-pleasuring, my soul was becoming more and more lonely. “I told her.”
My mouth fell open, and I stared at him. “Have you been in contact with her?”
Quickly, he shook his head. His face was as troubled as the captured image of Katie, making my heart bleed for the both of them. “No. I left a note with William.”
Not sure how I felt, I merely nodded. I was hurt that he hadn’t told me, but then I had to permit father and daughter their last moments, whether it via touch, a quiet word, or by the ink of a pen. I had lost that moment with George, and in the end, there had been so much I wanted to say to him.
“Do you think she can handle it?”
Mason smirked, quirking an eyebrow at me. A smile grew on my lips, a rare one lately, and I nodded. “She’s a chip off the old block,” he said, tapping the tip of my nose with his finger.
“She loves you so very much, Mason.”
“I know.”
“That’s what you need to remember, baby. Focus on the good.”
He snorted but took me in his arms again. “I’m not sure the appropriate word for Katie is good.”
“She has a good heart, Mason, and she loves you with all of that heart. Surely that must tell you something.”
Answering with only a smile, he nodded. “Listen, I have to go to France for a couple of days.”
“What? Why?”
“Nothing important. Just had some info that I need to check on.”
Scowling at his secrecy, I fixed him with a stare. “You know I hate secrets, Mason.”
A soft smile curved his luscious lips, and he framed one side of my face with a hold as tender as his gaze upon me. “Frank Scott has been released, and he’s been sighted in France.”
The beat of my heart quivered, grasping a little hope. “Is Etta with him?” It had been years since Etta had disappeared; if we found her, then we would also locate my grandson.
“I don’t think so.”
“I’ll go pack a bag.”
When I made to move, Mason stopped me with a hand on my arm. “I need you here!”
Anger floored me, and I glared at him. “What the hell, Mason? Why do you still insist on omitting me? After everything…”
“Calm down!” He grasped my chin, and I jutted out my jaw defiantly, spitting rage at him through my eyes. “I also have intel that Etta could be in the UK. I need you to follow up on that!”
“Oh.”
Fluttering my eyelashes in apology, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. “That quick temper of yours will one day be the death of you, baby.”
“It might as well join the queue behind everything else that has tried to kill me.”
“Ah.” He smirked. “You’d hate a boring life, my little warrior.”
“Most probably.” Checking on Harry’s whereabouts and determining I was safe, I turned back to Mason. “So, will you be staying at the chateau?”
“Yeah. I should be able to remain discreet enough. Will you be okay here?”
“Of course. I need all the intel you have on Etta, but I’ll keep you up to date.” Quirking an eyebrow at him, I fixed him with a piercing stare. “Please make sure you give me the same. I know how damn secretive you are.”
“I promise,” he replied, dropping a kiss to my cheek. “But you need to be careful, Ava.”
Sighing loudly, I rolled my eyes at his worry. “It’s only Etta. I’m sure I can handle her.”
“I’m sure you can,” he confirmed. “But if Frank Scott is out of the nick, then it’s likely he will have put a detail on Etta and our grandson.”
Although I tried to subdue the emotion swelling in my chest, I couldn’t help but grin at the bubble of excitement building inside me. I didn’t dare to hope, but I couldn’t not. No one even knew the name of George’s son. Etta had been sent to live with Kade and Grace after I had killed her mother and Frank had been sent down for child trafficking. Then, just before she was due to deliver my grandson, she disappeared. Mason and I had put out the word, even hired someone to look for her, but it was as though the depths of hell had scooped her up and hidden her from the world.
“Baby.” Mason ran his thumb over my cheekbone, breaking me from my thoughts. “You need to stay level-headed for this.”
Nodding, I attempted to hide my excitement. Mason was right. If the information he had received were a dupe, then I would be sorely disappointed. Our life over the last year had been one failure after another, and I could only pray that this was our turning point.
After all, when you hit rock bottom, there’s only one way to go.