For Love and Vengeance
By Theresa L. Henry
Copyright ©2013 Theresa L. Henry
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored or shared in any form, including but not limited to: printing, photocopying, faxing, recording, electronic transmission, or by any information storage or retrieval system without prior written permission from the author and copyright holder; excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. References may be made to locations and historical events. However, names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and/or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business events or locales is either used fictitiously or coincidentally. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademark, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only.
Adult Content: Contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. This book is for sale to adults only. Please store your files responsibly, where they will not be accessible to under-aged readers.
Published by: Theresa L. Henry
This book is dedicated to all the wonderful readers I have met along the first steps of my writing journey. I appreciate you all very much.
Also a very special mention to my new friend, Trey M. Thank you, your support has been invaluable.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 1
They had been in London for three days, pushed up against walls of nothingness. It hadn't been difficult to track Anderson down. The man had been living in London, at the same Kensington address, for years. He was well known in the area for giving extravagant parties and keeping company with the elite. Only now, it would seem, he had disappeared. He hadn't been seen in the area for weeks.
Jason had no doubt that they would find him. It was only a matter of time. What worried him, however, was the longer it took to locate him, the longer it took to find Aviva and bring her home. The possibilities of what she was going through weighed heavily on his mind. Not a minute went by without him wondering how she was dealing with her captivity and what they were putting her through. He had firsthand knowledge of what men of Alexander's ilk were capable of, and he didn't know if his little angel would be strong enough to survive their sadistic games.
He felt sure their arrival in London had been noted, and that they were being watched. What frustrated him the most was that while those bastards knew where to find them, he and his brothers were still searching blindly through London in an attempt to gather information. It was driving him crazy!
Frustration growing by the minute, Jason flung himself down on the bed and clasped his hands behind his head, looking up at the ornate splendor of the ceiling that was so much a part of this hotel owned by the Kingdom family. Everything about the suite was opulent, and it was getting on his nerves. Here they were, surrounded by so much wealth, having enough money between them to buy a small country, yet they couldn't find Aviva. He knew, at that moment, she wasn't indulging in such luxury. She was probably in some rat infested hole. Cold, afraid, hurt...Jason couldn't continue with the thought. To allow his mind to roam in that direction would lead to him demolishing the room.
The ringing of his cell beside him drew his attention. He was almost reluctant to look at the screen to see who was calling him. Anderson hadn't yet made contact despite his promise to do so. Steve had been the only person to call him on that number after he had filled him in on what was going on. He had wanted to come and help in the search but Jason managed to persuade him otherwise.
Picking up the phone, he looked at the screen. He didn't recognize the number. It had a London dialing code. That fact alone immediately piqued his interest. Finally, something was going down. Jason realized his hand was shaking as he lifted the mobile device to his ear.
“Hello.”
“Jason, it's me.”
“Aviva, are you okay? Where are you? Are you hurt?” His heart rate shot up at the sound of her voice.
“Jason...I need you to come and get me.”
“Where are you? I'm on my way.”
“I'm in London, Jason. I'm at a bed and breakfast hotel in Victoria. I should be okay here for a few days. How long will it take you to get over here?”
“I'm not that familiar with the London streets, but I should be able to make it there in around thirty minutes.”
“Thirty minutes...you're already in London?”
“Yeah, we've been here for a while. Angel, all this can wait. Give me the address of where you are and I'll come and get you.” While Aviva was giving him the address, he was already in motion, heading for the main living area of the suite.
“Hang in there, Angel. I'm coming. I love you.” Jason's words were met with silence from the other end of the line.
“Angel, are you still there?”
“I'm still here...please, just hurry!”
“Stay in your room until I get there. I'm on my way.” Jason was reluctant to disconnect but he knew he had to.
Emerging from the bedroom in a rush, he saw that the main living area was empty. Raising his voice, he called out for his brothers who rushed into the room in response to his shouts.
“Aviva just called. She's at a hotel in Victoria. I need to get to her, bring her home.” His statement was met by looks of astonishment.
“Aviva called?” Josh asked, giving voice to his surprise.
Jason only just managed to stop himself from smacking him around the head at the dumb ass question. “Don't get dense on me now, Josh, I already said that. What I need from you is transportation...and I need it now!”
Jason was only paying his brothers a minimal amount of attention as he tapped the address into the satellite navigation system of his cell phone. He then memorized the directions to his destination by the shortest route. Information committed to memory, his head snapped up only to see his brothers standing in exactly the same position of moments before.
“What the hell's the matter with the two of you? I said I need a car!”
Their lack of urgency aggravated him further. They just stood there, staring at him when he knew they'd heard him. Yet neither of them had moved to comply with his request – okay, his demand. What did they want from him, a cherry on the top, he thought nastily.
“What, do you want...you need a please? Okay, you got it. Please get me transportation and get it now!” Jason told them, his words dripping with sarcasm and command.
“Hold on a minute, Jason.” Jake spoke for the first time since coming into the room. “That's not why we're hesitating. We need to have a plan. We can't just go rushing over there. Have you thought that this might be a setup?”
Jason slowly turned his head and looked Jake up and down with a disdainful expression. “You think I don't know that? You should know better than to take me for a fool, Jake.
But it doesn't matter to me if this is a trap. Aviva asked me to come get her and that's exactly what I'm going to do. Now, are one of you going to get me a car or do I have to go down to that garage and hot-wire a vehicle?”
Jake made up his mind in a second. They couldn't stop him, short of physically holding him down, and it had always been his intention to accompany Jason. Someone had to watch his stubborn back. But he didn't like the fact that they were going in blind.
“We're coming with you,” Jake told him.
“No.”
“That wasn't a question, Jason.”
“I said no, and I mean no. If either of you follow me, I'll kick you both to another time zone!”
“Oh, so you're the original bad ass, right? You think you can take us both on and win?” Jake asked, his own temper on the rise.
“Jacob, when it comes to that woman, I'll walk on water and baffle the laws of science if that's what it takes!”
Jake gave up. He knew he was in an argument he wouldn't win. In all honesty, he'd probably be the same way if it was his woman who had called for help.
“Okay, you win. We've got what you need. Josh, Aviva will need some protective clothing as well.”
“On my way. Bring him downstairs as soon as he's changed.”
“I need you two to stop wasting my time!” Jason retorted, further angered by the continued delay.
“Come with me, Jason.” Jake didn't wait to see if he followed as he walked towards his room and went inside.
Muttering to himself, Jason had no other recourse other than to follow his twin. But what he wanted to do, maybe even needed to do, was kick Jake's ass for wasting his time.
As he crossed the threshold into Jake's room, he only narrowly avoided being smacked across the face by not one, but two, items of leather. Snapping out his wrist, he caught the missiles and looked down at what he held in his fisted hands.
“Put those on.”
Holding up the motorcycle leathers, he immediately understood what his brothers had failed to explain to him. Dropping the lower half of the outfit, he pulled on the jacket and zipped it up. Of course, it was a perfect fit for his bulk as it obviously belonged to Jake. Nodding his head in thanks, he was finally ready to go and get his angel.
~~~~~~~~~~
The section of the underground garage in which he stood was obviously private. As Jason's eyes ran over the vehicles that occupied the space, he was impressed. His brothers had some serious rides. However, he was too impatient to be on his way to stand around admiring them. His eyes immediately honed in on the gleaming motorcycles standing at one end of the space.
Josh was already seated astride a black BMW K1200S, and was kitted out in a leather jacket and helmet. The exact same bike sat beside him with a jacket and helmet resting on it, this one was also black. Yet another, a Suzuki Hayabusa GSX 1300R, held two helmets and a much smaller black leather jacket.
“I thought I'd made myself clear. I'm going alone!” Jason reiterated as Josh hadn't been there when he had first made the comment.
“Jason, just listen for a moment. We all know this place is being watched so we plan on tipping the odds in your favor as best as we can,” Jake informed him.
“What do you have in mind?”
Jake's mind had been running on overdrive to come up with a plan that would satisfy his need to ensure that his brother was protected. “These bikes are pretty nondescript, but they can really pack a punch if they need to, and they should be able to blend in with the other traffic on the road. We're all going out the front together.
“The tricky part will be getting back inside. Here's what I want you to do. Once you get Aviva, you need to call me. You need to tell us how long it will take you to get back here. Josh and I will arrive back alone at five minute intervals. That will give you exactly fifteen minutes to deposit Aviva to us at the back alleyway, make your way to the front entrance of the garage and come back inside alone.”
Considering what had just been outlined to him for a few moments, he nodded his agreement. “I take it I won't have any difficulty finding the back entrance?” Jason asked, needing clarity as he was unfamiliar with the hotel.
“Don't worry, you can't miss it,” Jake assured him, picking up the smaller jacket along with the spare helmet and stored them away in the bike's rear compartment.
“Oh, one last thing. When we leave, each of our bike tags will be hidden. This button,” Jake said, pointing to a red knob, “will flip it down once you get clear of this street. Do you understand, Jason?”
Jason looked at his twin, one eyebrow lifted in annoyance. “Do I look like an idiot to you?”
“I'm pleading the fifth on that one.” Jake said, always having a smart mouthed response at the ready.
Jason had reached his limit. He had already wasted too much time. Jake's plan was a good one and he would follow it. He knew they had already worked out the time frame in which he should be in touch with them. He also knew, without being told, that his bike had a tracking system, and if the timings they had already calculated went awry, they would have his back.
Jason pulled on his helmet and sat astride his bike. Once Jake was ready, they gave each other one final look, nodded their heads, they snapped down their visors and switched on their bikes, which emitted almighty roars that bounced off the walls of the underground chamber. They were ready to go. Jake left first then Jason with Josh tagged on at the end.
Chapter 2
Jason found the road the hotel was located on without trouble. He was relatively sure he hadn't been followed, however, he didn't know what to expect once he got inside.
Stopping at the end of the street a few minutes later, he looked around to see if he could detect anything amiss. He saw nothing or anybody that worried him. Sick of the waiting game, he made his move. He had told Aviva he would come for her in thirty minutes and his time was up. He was going in to get her.
Parking the bike outside the hotel, he removed his helmet and strode up to the front door of the rundown hotel. Ringing the bell, he waited for a response, all the while conscious of his surroundings. The seemingly deserted street, the yellow glow of the street lamps and the lack of other vehicles passing along the road.
Ringing the bell the hotel door was opened by a middle aged woman who smiled politely at him. Jason gave her his most charming smile as he informed her he was there to pick up the lady in room five. The woman's expression remained blank as she opened the door wider for him to come inside.
“Wait here, please.” The older woman told him as she made her way up the shabby stairs to alert Aviva of his arrival, or so he hoped. His senses, still on high alert, could detect nothing out of the ordinary. Moments later, the sounds of footsteps moving along the upper floor could be heard, followed closely by a small figure coming into view.
Aviva stopped halfway down the stairs, blinking rapidly as she took in Jason's presence. There he stood, larger than life, in the dilapidated hallway, wearing a black leather jacket and jeans. Aviva wanted to rush into his arms to feel his reassuring embrace. But she didn't throw herself into his arms as she wanted to. If she did, it would lead to questions that she wasn't ready to answer.
From her initial reaction, Jason was sure she was pleased to see him, but in the passing of seconds, something changed. Well, if she wouldn't come to him, he’d go to her. Where she was concerned, his pride was nonexistent. Readying himself for movement, he was stopped by her words.
“No! Wait, don't come up. I'm coming down…we need to get out of here.”
“Angel, are you okay? I missed you.”
“I'm fine, Jason. I missed you too,” Aviva replied as she once more started walking down the stairs, doing her best to ensure she kept her movements as smooth as possible.
“So can I get a hug or a kiss or something? Anything?”
“Not now, Jason...please, let’s just get out of here.”
“Do they know you're here? Is that what’s wrong?” Jason immediately began
looking around for signs of possible danger he may have missed. All seemed quiet and his senses weren't reacting to anything untoward. But her behavior told him something was very wrong.
“Nobody knows I'm here. I covered my tracks pretty well, I think.” Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Jason stood blocking her path. She didn't want him to touch her, it would hurt too much, but she could see from the expression on his face, if she didn't take control of the situation he would. Standing on her toes, she supported herself with one hand against his chest, and softly kissed his lips, pulling back abruptly as his hands began moving towards her.
“Now can we please get out of here?”
Although the situation in which they found themselves was extremely bizarre, Jason felt as though something else was wrong. Her reaction to his presence disturbed him. He just didn’t know what that something was, but he could feel that it surrounded them both.
“Okay, let’s go. Put this on.”
Holding the jacket at the ready to assist her, Jason waited for her to slip her arms into the openings. Aviva eyed the garment, knowing that if she complied, it would bring her into too close a proximity with him. Snatching the jacket from his relaxed grip, she somehow managed to hold in her reactions to what the sudden move had cost her. Turning her back to him, she bit down on her lower lip. Perspiration dotted her forehead as she slipped into the protective clothing.
“Now can we go?” she asked, her back still turned towards him, attempting to bring her breathing back under control, while surreptitiously passing a hand over her brow to wipe away all traces of her perspiration.
“Is the bill taken care of, Aviva?”
“Yes…everything has been taken care of. Please, let’s just get out of here!”
Jason walked to the front door in silence. This wasn't how he had envisaged this meeting. She was in pain and foolishly thought she could hide it from him. They had hurt her and she didn't want him to know. But her pain had been evident from the moment he saw her walking down the stairs.
“As you can see, I’m riding a motorbike. Are you think you're going to be alright riding pillion?” he asked as they both made their way outside.
For Love and Vengeance Page 1
