“Aviva, did you hear me? Do as I say. Go! Now!” When she still remained immobile, Jason spoke to Jake. “Get her into that bedroom!”
Jake moved toward Aviva, ready to escort her out of the room. The man Jason held captive thought his momentary distraction gave him enough time to wrest himself from his grasp to gain the upper hand. He thought wrong. With a tilt of an outstretched foot, Jason swept the man’s feet from under. Reversing his grip, Jason held the intruder by the lapels and smashed him down on the floor with such force it sent vibrations through the room. Upon landing, the man remained motionless. Rising, Jason didn't even glance in his direction, his foot taking the place of where his arm had been only moments before, at the man’s throat.
Jason was pissed. Just once, just one time, he wanted her to do what he told her to do. Pointing a long finger in Aviva’s direction, Jason spoke through clenched teeth. “Aviva, get your backside inside that room before I have to come over there and put you there myself!”
“Please don't order me around, Jason!”
“Shit…shit… shit,” Jason swore, grinding his teeth in frustration, running his fingers over his scalp.
“Yeah, that's right. You keep shitting until you shit yourself!” Aviva fired back, unaware of how comical the whole situation was. There she stood in a robe at least three sizes too big for her, hands balled into fists at her sides in defiance, while Jason had his foot lodged in an unconscious man's throat and they were having a battle of wills. She was completely fed up with people bossing her around.
Josh laughed at their antics as he squeezed and pulled up his captives folded back arms even further. A precaution, just in case the idiot had ideas of trying the same move his hapless cohort had attempted. If they were to get answers, they needed at least one of them with their faculties in working order.
“Jacob, do what I told you to do. Get – her – into – that – room. Carry her if you have to, because lady, if I have to come over there, you're not going to like it!” Jason wanted to hit something, he was so frustrated. He hated having to speak to her like that but her defiance was driving him crazy.
Jake too couldn't help grinning, glad Aviva wasn't his woman. He loved her like a sister, but he was glad, that she was Jason's to handle. He wasn't a fool. He knew if he did as Jason wanted, she would balk. Jackson had raised him, and he used that advantage. “Aviva, honey, Jason would like you to retire to the bedroom. It's not safe for you out here. He just wants you safe. Would you allow me to escort you to the bedroom?”
Aviva wasn't fooled for a moment. She knew Jake was just as bad as Jason. Both of them were arrogant sods. He was trying to use some kind charm offensive on her, and she wanted to snort in his face. But she could see Jason was getting more and more red in the face, a sure sign he would do exactly as he had promised; carry her into the bedroom.
“Why of course, Jacob. Please tell Jason, in the future, if he wants me to do something, he need only ask – not give me orders.” Smiling sweetly up at Jake, Aviva gave Jason a superior look before sticking her nose in the air and walking towards the bedroom, her hips swaying from side to side in the gait of the seductress, sure Jason's eyes followed her every move.
“Lord God, that woman is hot,” Jason whispered under his breath.
Josh heard him and couldn't resist muttering. “Yes, she is!”
Jason wasn't amused by his brother’s comment. “Don't make me have to come over there.”
“Come on, Jason. I've got my hands full, all I was doing was agreeing with you. Where's the harm in that?”
“Back off, don't make me have to tell you again!” Without realizing it, Jason's foot applied more pressure to the incapacitated man's throat in his agitation at Jake's words.
“If you don't want to kill idiot number two, I suggest you let up on that oversized foot of yours.”
Realizing what he had been doing, Jason removed his foot and looked down at the man. Satisfied that his chest still moved up and down, he was still breathing. Casting his eyes towards his younger brother, Jason pointed at him. “When this is all over, I'm gonna hurt you,” Jason said through bared teeth.
The man Josh held captive was confused. They looked alike, only one had fair hair and the other dark. The one who had escorted the woman from the room was obviously a twin to the blonde, yet they seemed to be at odds, but they worked together seamlessly. He couldn't help thinking the blonde still in the room seemed slightly demented and the one who held him seemed to take pleasure in pushing his buttons. He had seen the move blondie had put on Vince. He hadn't even been paying him any attention, he had been focusing on the woman, yet Vince was out for the count. What had they gotten themselves into? They weren't paying him enough to have to deal with these machines.
“Sure, bro, whenever you're ready. I'm your man.” Josh was amused, deriving enjoyment from getting a rise out of Jason. He knew, as did Jason, that they had this situation under control. If this was all they had to throw at them, they were on their way home sooner than he had anticipated.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the bedroom, Aviva sat down on the loveseat at the foot of the bed and looked up at Jake, leaning against the closed door.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure, Aviva?”
“Jake, I'm fine. It doesn't matter how many times you ask me, the answer will still be the same. I'm fine.”
“I hear you but I don't believe you. You don't seem fine to me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You seem, I don't know...splintered.”
“Splintered?”
“Yeah, fragmented, thinking one thing and doing another.”
“Jake, if you're going to stay in here and be my watchman, you need to make sense, because honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about.” Aviva's tone was meant to dismiss whatever point he was trying to make. She was fine…and if she kept saying it out loud, maybe she would convince these overbearing men, and more importantly herself, of the validity of her words.
“You need to tell Jason what happened to you while you were gone. That man would give his life for you. Those men out there, they're just the first wave. They're going to come harder and faster, and we need to be prepared.
We only just found our brother, and we want the opportunity to get to know him. You’re essential to him, and by extension, important to us. Please don’t take that the wrong way; we’ve all come to love you, but I won't allow you to withhold information that will keep Jason safe.
When he asks you to tell him what you've been through, I would ask that you answer him truthfully, leaving nothing out. This family can't do without him now that we've found him. I can't do without him. He's the something I've always felt was missing, I didn't know what it was, all I knew with a certainty was there was a part of me missing. I know what that is now. So, I ask you, please, don't let him go into battle for you unprepared. I know it will be hard for you, but he needs to know, he needs to know it all.”
Jake’s words were so pure they lodged in her heart. They were also more words than he had spoken to her in all the time she had known him. Jason was finally amongst family, people who offered him unconditional love. How could she deny his request, no matter how much it hurt her in the reliving?
Nodding her head, she gave her acquiescence. For Jason's peace of mind, she was willing to relive all her captors had put her through. To keep her love safe, she would revisit her nightmare.
Jake was satisfied with her response. He wasn't a man of many words unless something was important to him, and the most important thing to him was his family. If he knew they were safe, unharmed, he was content. It had always been that way for him, and he didn't question it. It was just the way he had been programmed.
“Go back in there, Jake. I know you need to make sure they're okay. I'm fine. How could I not be? I have the men of planet Kingdoria protecting me, and more importantly, each other.”
Jake hesit
ated, unsure of what she was talking about. Although he was anxious to get back to his brothers in case they needed help, although he doubted they did. He was acutely aware she wasn't making sense. What the hell was planet Kingdoria?
Chapter 6
Moments after Jake's departure, Jason entered the room carrying the shopping bags with her clothing. Depositing the bags beside her, he stood looking down at Aviva. She had pulled herself up on the side of the bed until her feet dangled over the edge. Jason couldn't help thinking she looked like a confused, lost child in her oversized bathrobe and bare feet. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and surround her with the warmth of his love. But he didn’t as he was unsure how she would react.
Eight days ago, he wouldn't have hesitated in carrying out the action running through his mind. But this Aviva was different. She made him uncertain of how she would react to his touch, and that didn’t sit well with him. He could handle men like the ones who had just intruded on them, but he doubted he would be able to handle his angel's rejection of his touch for much longer.
Deciding he had waited as long as he could bear, Jason knew he had to touch her, feel a part of her skin against his. He watched her as she tracked the path of its approach. His intent had been to touch her cheek but somewhere in mid motion, he changed his mind, not wanting her to pull away from such intimacy. He wanted to run his fingers down the plains of her smooth face to remind himself how her soft skin felt against his. Instead, he gathered her fisted hands in his, and kissed them, determined to show her he would do nothing she wasn't ready for.
Aviva watched Jason hesitate, change the path of his outstretched hand, his actions so unlike the strong commanding man she had come to know, and she knew she was to blame. Or rather what she had been through had wrought the change. She wanted things, them, to be back in the same position they had shared only days before, but too much had happened. She needed time to regain her footing, to process what she had been through and why it had happened.
Aviva knew she was hurting him. His handsome face depicted how her rejection affected him. With everything in her, Aviva wanted to reach out and comfort him as he was attempting to comfort her, but she just wasn't ready. He needed to understand that – she just wasn't ready.
“It's okay, Angel. You take as much time as you need. When you're ready, I'll be here waiting. For you, I'll wait a lifetime.”
“What if...I’m never ready?”
“There is no what if. Whatever happened to you, whatever you did, had to do, it's alright. Everything will be alright.”
“How can you say that without even knowing what happened?”
“I can say it, and you should believe it, because you know me. Whatever you've been through over the last week has been because of me, my worthless life, what I've done, and I refuse to allow you to bear the burden of any blame. That I will not allow. So, whatever you need, it's yours.”
“Don’t you dare say your life’s worthless. I won’t allow it!” she told him, angered at his denigration of his life.
“Shh, you don't need to say anything else. All you need to do is get dressed. My brothers and I will take care of everything else. I promise you, you have nothing to worry about. Something like this will never happen to you again. This is my promise to you.”
“How can you say that? How can you make that kind of promise? You have no control over these people. You don't know what they’re like, what they're capable of!”
“Angel, I know exactly what they're capable of, and I just became their worst nightmare.”
As Jason drew to a closer, Aviva felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. Suddenly, he seemed like a completely different person from the man who had only moments before had tried to comfort her. His face had taken on a mask of determined conviction. This man she readily admitted scared her.
Although she had never witnessed it, Aviva knew Jason had a dangerous streak. He had admitted to her and his family that he had dispensed his own form of justice on those who had crossed him, and Aviva knew he was again in that same place. She wanted to know what he was going to do, but coward that she was, she couldn't ask. She was disturbed and frightened that she might stand up and urge him on. Even worse, she might suggest ways of making whatever punishment he dealt out even worse and their suffering more prolonged.
“Change your clothes, Angel. One of us will come and get you when it's time for us to go.”
“Go…go where?”
Jason hesitated, not wanting to alert her to the type of danger he thought they were in. These men already had their plans in motion while they were operating blindly, only just managing to stay one step ahead of them. If he didn't have her to think about, keep safe, he wouldn't wait for them to come at them the way they had just done. He would hunt them down and taken them out without a backwards glance.
“We're moving to a safe house. Now change and be ready to go as soon as someone comes for you.”
“What are you going to do?”
Jason was growing impatient at her constant questioning, and it showed in his response. “Just do as I say. Change and do not leave this room!”
Aviva was completely over the tone of voice he kept using when speaking to her, but realized it wasn’t the time to question his dictates. Their position was at the very least precarious, two armed men had just walked into their suite bent on killing them. It was definitely not the time to argue with him.
“Please be careful,” Aviva said, looking up at him with concern.
Her words surprised him. He had been sure she was getting ready to take him to task for giving her orders. His angel never ceased to surprise him. He wanted to kiss her, take her into his arms and kiss her in a way that would make up for the days they had been apart.
Jason didn’t try to hide his feelings, they were there shining in his eyes, leaving Aviva in no doubt as to what was on his mind. But he didn't act on his need. Instead, he gave her a curt nod and left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~
The sight that greeted Jason on his reentry into the living area would have been comical if they were not in such a dangerous situation. The man he had felled was still laying in the same position in which he had left him.
Josh, on the other hand, had gone to the trouble of finding white material from somewhere and had trussed up his captive to look something like a semi mummified body. The material covering him from his mouth to his knees, his shins left unbound. If he tried to run, he would have to move with his calves flicking outwards from side-to-side, no doubt looking like a demented fool.
Jason looked over at Jake and they both shook their heads. Their younger brother had a warped sense of the ridiculous. Jason knew he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of finding material and wrapping the thug up in the way Josh had. He would have just knocked him out and saved himself the effort.
“Having fun?” Jason asked his younger brother, nodding to the man sitting beside him on the sofa. The man's eyes moving furiously back and forth between him and Josh.
“Oh yeah! The fool tried to head-butt me.”
“I see. Well, I need you to remove the um...binding from his mouth. He has questions to answer,” Jason told Jake with a wave of his hand in the direction of fool number one.
“Well, alright!” Josh said with a hand pump in the air. “What’re we gonna do to him if he doesn't want to answer – can I hurt him? Please say I can hurt him!” He finished with a maniacal laugh.
“But of course you may. I know you need to get your enjoyment wherever you can. Far be it from us to deny you your simple pleasures,” Jason said with an indulgent look in his younger brother’s direction, his eyes never leaving mummy boy, liking the way sweat was breaking out on the hapless fool's face.
Jake remained silent and watchful. He knew that a situation could change in a matter of moments. His brothers could ham it up as much as they felt the situation necessitated. He, however, wasn't about to take any chances with any of their lives.
Reaching over, Josh pulled the binding from the man's mouth, and his tongue snuck out to run over his dry lips. Maybe it was just the fact that his mouth had been covered for a while or maybe he was nervous. Jason hoped it was the latter, and just in case it wasn't he intended to make it so.
Walking toward the bound man with slow, deliberate strides, Jason stopped directly before him. He stood close so that the man would have to crane his head backwards to look up at his superior height. He had long ago realized that his height alone could be used as a means of intimidation to smaller men. Coupled with his bulk, most people quickly saw things his way.
Jason wasn't a bully. In fact, he hated anyone who preyed on those less able to protect themselves. But this man may have been one of the people who held Aviva in captivity, had the audacity to hurt her and then to come into their house brandishing a gun. Oh yes, he most definitely had questions to answer. Therefore, Jason would use whatever means he felt necessary to extract the information he wanted.
Looking down his nose, Jason folded his arms across his chest and widened his stance, looking fool number one straight in the eyes for long moments, regard ice cold. Aware they didn't have the luxury of time, he used his will as a means of backing the man into the position he wanted him in.
When Jason spoke, it shook the silence that seemed to have become a part of their very surroundings, making the sweating man jump. Good, he thought, his tactic was working.
“You have two choices, you either answer my questions or I hurt you. You have exactly twenty seconds to make up your mind. Josh, if you please, you are the timekeeper. I want to hurt this bastard so bad I may lose track of time. Yet, I am a man of my word. I gave him twenty seconds and twenty seconds he shall have. The countdown starts...now.”
Jake couldn't help but smile. He could see Jason was straining to get a hold of the man he had so effortlessly intimidated. Obviously, he wasn't the brains of this two man infiltration team. Standing closest to the bedroom door, Jake heard the handle turn and felt an almost imperceptible change in the temperature around him. Aviva had cracked open the door to peep out at what was going on in the main room. He decided to ignore her. Jason whose ears were tuned in to everything going on around him didn’t make the same decision. He had heard her turn the handle of the door, and could feel her curious eyes roaming around the room, stopping on him. He wasn't having it.
For Love and Vengeance Page 5
