“Where did you get them from?” Jason asked, suspicious even as he retrieved the bag she had indicated and withdrew the contents.
Studying the labels, he saw that the ointment was of a homeopathy variety. Its base content was Aloe Vera which he knew was often used for burns. He also studied the bottle of pills which stated that its main ingredient was ibuprofen.
“I got them from the woman who helped me get away.”
“What woman? Where did she come from?”
“I don't know where she came from. All I know is she was there and she helped me get out of that place. She gave me some clothes, money and the medication then told me to get out of East London. Oh, and she also told me not to go to South London, because that would be the first place they’d look for me.”
“What else? What's her name? What does she look like?”
“She was a blonde. Now that I think about it, I can't really recall what she looked like exactly, although I remember thinking she was very pretty. She never looked me directly in the eyes. All I really thought at the time was that she was being so kind to me, and I was grateful.”
Jason didn't like this turn of events. Who was this woman, where had she come from? He needed answers, but he could see Aviva didn’t have them.
“Okay, Angel, but you didn't tell me about this part of the story and I need to know everything, no matter how insignificant you think it may be. These men are dangerous, and I don't want any surprises later on down the line.”
Jason looked down at the medication he still held in his hands and decided to allow her to use them. If they had been opened or looked as though they had been tampered with, he would have had another fight on his hands, one which he would’ve won.
Sitting down behind her, he unscrewed the cap off the tube of ointment and removed the protective foil that denoted its lack of use. Squeezing a dollop onto his fingers, he dabbed the salve over the affected area of her back until he was satisfied with his work. Reaching across the bed, he pulled the shirt towards him and helped her into it. He then got up and knelt on the floor before her and made quick work of doing up the buttons.
“How does that feel, Angel?”
“Good, it feels good, thank you. I can already feel the difference.”
Jason gave her a small smile as he rose and disappeared into the bathroom, emerging a moment later with a glass of water which he handed to her. Unscrewing the cap of the pain relief capsules, he dropped two into her hand and again saw the burn in the middle of her palm, which although deep, appeared more healed than those on her back.
Turning abruptly, Jason rummaged through another bag and pulled out black cargo pants and a black shirt that immediately snagged Aviva's attention. Dropping his towel, he pulled on his underwear, followed by his pants and flung the shirt over his shoulder. He then retrieved a pair of socks, sat down and pulled them on. Next came a pair of wicked looking black boots which he put on and laced up.
Aviva watched his every move with intense concentration. She had never seen him dressed in this way before.
“What are you doing?” Aviva asked Jason as he tied his last boot. His only reaction to her question was a glance from under his brow. Okay, she thought, that didn't come out quite how she’d intended it to.
Drawing in a breath, she focused her thoughts and tried again. “Why are you dressing like that, and what's with the shirt that's never going to fit you?!
“It fits,” Jason said pulling said shirt over his head, rolling it down his broad chest and pushing his arms through the sleeves. Pulling it down further, he pushed the end into his pants, and zipped and buttoned the fastener.
“Lay down, Angel, try to get some rest. I'll go downstairs and bring you something to eat.”
“I'm coming with you.”
“You need your rest. I'll bring you something.”
Not bloody likely, Aviva thought. There was no way she was staying secluded in the room while he planned to do God knows what. She had a pretty good idea what he was about and she would do anything within her power to stop him. His silent refusal to answer her questions was telling in itself.
“I need you to rest. Will you do that for me?”
Aviva remained silent. Jason knew exactly what she was about, just as she knew what he was preparing to do. He may not be prepared to voice his actions but nor was he prepared to hide them.
“I'll bring you something up. Try to rest.” Were Jason's parting words.
Aviva had other ideas. He may be way bigger than her but pain or no pain, she had every intention of finding out exactly what he was up to. Rising tentatively, Aviva moved to one of the shopping bags and removed a dressing gown. Pulling it on, she sneezed. Whoever picked it out for her had a sick sense of humor. The thing had a lapel of fluffy white feathers that puffed up around her neck and tickled her nose, while the hem pooled against the floor in a ridiculous fashion.
What was the matter with these rich people? Did they think every woman who had money was at least five feet ten? This nonsense was getting on her nerves, and these ostrich feathers were a joke. But feathers or not, she was going downstairs. She was going to find out what these Kingdom men were about, because she knew without being told that all the brothers were involved up to their handsome noses.
Chapter 12
Jason had no feeling of misgivings. He knew what needed to be done and he intended to make sure that it was carried out. His only concern was Aviva’s safety. She needed to be protected while he was gone. Entering the kitchen, he saw his brothers dressed in a similar fashion to him and they once again gained his grudging admiration. They may have grown up in the lap of luxury but it would seem these men knew how to handle themselves.
“Jake, did you get all the things on the list I gave you?”
“I've got them.”
“Good. I need to get Angel, I mean, Aviva, something to eat, then you can fill me in on any intricacies I may have missed while I was upstairs. One of you will have to stay with Aviva. There's no way I'm leaving her here on her own.”
“Just what do you have in mind, young man?” Jason spun round to be confronted by Jackson. He was wearing an impeccable navy blue three piece suit looking suave and sophisticated in a way Jason knew he would never achieve.
Jackson’s presence presented a situation he had no wish to deal with at that moment. He already had too much on his mind.
Jason took him in for a few seconds while he decided how to answer the question. He still hadn't figured Jackson out. His brothers seemed as though they could handle themselves but he was still unsure if their father knew what his sons were really like. His mind made up, Jason responded.
“Nothing you need worry about.”
“My dear young man. Please don't attempt to patronize me. I walked into this house to be confronted with my sons dressed in black as though someone has died. Or, should I say, someone is about to die, and you have the effrontery to tell me, I have nothing to worry about? That, I cannot accept. Therefore, I ask again, what do you have in mind?”
Jason eyed Jackson as he strolled over to a chair and took a seat at the table. This having a father business was getting on his nerves. All his life, he had answered to no man. Yet when he was confronted by this softly spoken older man, he had difficulty remembering that. Cutting his eyes to his brothers, he found them reposed in their seats with amused looks on their faces that clearly said you're on your own for this one.
His mind made up, Jason decided to water down the extent he was prepared to go in order to exact punishment on Aviva's perpetrators. “I'm going to have a little talk with the men who kidnapped Aviva.”
“I see,” Jackson said, relaxing into his seat, looking Jason up and down. “You must forgive my ignorance, but how does a talk necessitate all of my sons’ sudden penchant for dressing from head to toe in black? And I don't think I'm going to pass comment on your footwear.”
Hell, the man was doing it again, making him feel like a pimple-faced youth who had
just been called out by a parent. Widening his stance, Jason folded his arms and held Jackson's gaze. He was good at this, maybe it would work, yet somehow he had the feeling he was about to lose this standoff, so he changed the subject.
“I would have you do something for me, Jackson.”
“If it is within my power, I'll do it. However, I am your father and you will address me as such.”
“Are you telling me it's a prerequisite that I call you father in order for you to do me a favor?”
“No, you miss the point. It is my desire that I have you for a son. I would have you in the same position as your brothers. Why do you refuse to accept this?”
“Because I'm not in the same position as Jake and Josh, and I never will be. Why can’t you accept that?”
“I won't accept that because I have three sons. Three. I don't care if your presence has been known to me for a lifetime or under two months. I have three sons!”
Jason wasn’t yet ready to deal with Jackson’s words so he ignored them and changed the subject. “So, as your son, I'm asking you for a favor. Will you watch over Aviva until I get back?”
“I will not answer your question until you answer mine. What are you going to do?”
“I need to take care of some business.”
“What kind of business? And don't take me for a fool. You will tell me what I want to know or I will seek enlightenment elsewhere, and don't think for one moment that I won't learn everything I want to know.”
“They,” Jason said, raising his chin in Jake and Josh’s direction, “may defer to your every whim and may be willing to spill their guts at your slightest command, but that shit doesn't cut it with me.”
Jackson's laugh was derisive. He was at the end of his patience with Jason's stubbornness. He loved Aviva, and he could see that she was perfect for his son, and therefore he would do anything to ensure her safety. But if it was the last thing he did on this earth, Jason would acknowledge him as his father and he would show him due respect. To date, he had done nothing to earn disrespect and was therefore unwilling to accept anything less, so Jackson remained silent, his expression clearly showing the ball was in Jason's court and he would have his way.
“What the hell do you want from me? I'm asking you for a favor, you'll either do it or not!” Jason stormed, wanting to use much stronger language but the teachings of Mrs. B dictated that he watch his manners when speaking to his elders.
“You have a lot to learn, my son. For you and your brothers, I would do anything and the only thing I would ask in return is total honesty. I'll allow it this time as you didn't lie to me, but for the record, I do not like omissions or a change of subject as a means of avoidance. And by the way, I've been here a while, and oh...how did you so eloquently term it...that's right, Jake and Josh have indeed already spilled their guts to me. I know as much as they know.”
Jason gave his brothers a passing dirty look before he again turned back to Jackson. “You want honesty? How's this for honesty; I'm going to kill every last person I find in that house. I'm not going to ask any questions, and unless they have a sign pinned to their chest that says: I'm only here to deliver pizza, they’ll die!”
“For God's sake, Jason, you can't do that!” Jackson said, jumping to his feet, a look of anxiety written across his face.
“Those bastards knew enough about me to hit on the one perfect thing in my life. Seeing as how they think they’re such bad asses, let’s see how they handle the real deal, me!”
“Listen to yourself. You can't take the law into your own hands like this!”
“You think not?” Jason said with a raise of his eyebrow, still maintaining his arrogant stance.
“Jacob, talk some sense into him, God knows I'm not getting through to him!”
“Sorry, Dad, can't do that. I agree with him.”
Jackson was dumbfounded. “Joshua, what about you? Do you also agree with what he's proposing?”
“Yes, sir, I do.”
“Then I'm disappointed in you all. I thought I had raised you better.”
“You didn't raise me so don't trouble yourself on my behalf. As for them,” Jason said with a toss of his head towards his brothers, “I've changed my mind. They're not going with me.”
“Do you think we'd let you go into that mess on your own? Come on, man,” Josh scoffed.
“Your father doesn't want you to go...so you're not going. Heaven forbid that I should get his little boys into trouble.”
“Stop it this minute, you sound like a child. Do you think what you're planning to do is a joke?”
“Do you see me laughing?” Jason shot back, his eyes changing to a fathomless black. “Don't you dare talk to me about this being a joke. Those men kidnapped my woman, they tortured her, burnt her, pissed on her, and for that…each and every one of them will die!”
“Jason,” Aviva said softly. None of the men heard her approach, so intense had been their disagreement. Jason closed his eyes and grimaced, he had wanted to protect her from what he had planned.
“Jason, please tell me I misheard what you just said.” Aviva wanted revenge, and had hoped, no had known Jason was planning to exact retribution for what had been done to her, but mass murder was something she was sure she couldn’t live with. Nor was she prepared for him to shoulder that type of burden.
Jason turned to look at her beloved face and he immediately recognized her disquiet in what he had planned. He had reasoned that were she ever to find out about this, it would be after the fact, long after the fact. And when or if that time came, he would deal with it. Well, it appeared that time had come much sooner than he had anticipated.
“You heard correctly.”
Aviva's temper went from zero to infinity in the blink of an eye. “Well, you're not bloody well going, do you hear me?”
“Aviva...I have to do this.”
“You don't have to do this. You are choosing to do this and I won't have it, Jason King, I will not have it!”
“I'm sorry, Angel, but the decision is not yours to make.”
“If you walk out that door with mass murder as your intent, you will never see me again.”
“Don't give me ultimatums, Aviva. I don't take to them well.”
“Right now, I couldn't care less what you take to. If you go out that door, I go out too, but in the opposite direction, and I will never speak to you again for as long as I live!”
Jason knew this woman, and he knew she spoke truthfully. He could feel his blood boiling and his temples began to pound, his temper was at breaking point, but for the sake of his relationship, he had to make her and Jackson understand.
“You don't know these men. None of you know these men and what they're capable of. The only reason they've left me alone for so long is because I was invulnerable...until I met you, Angel.”
Jason broke off and focused his gaze directly on Aviva. He wanted her to understand the full impact of what he was saying.
“They knew if they put a hit out on me, the papers I have on them would find their way into the hands of the authorities, and that would have been counterproductive. They corrupt everything they touch, and to them, nothing...and I do mean nothing, is sacrosanct, from children to the sanctity of life. Now that they've found my one vulnerability, they won't stop until they get their way.
“Angel, if they had wanted you dead, you would be dead. This...what they did to you, it was just a warning. Worse will come. So even if you wanted to leave me, I wouldn't allow it. The number one reason is because I love you more than anything else in this world, and number two is that you'd be dead inside of a week.”
Both Aviva and Jackson were horrified at Jason’s final remark. Jackson recovered first and broke the silence that had overtaken the room.
“If what you say is true, and I have no doubt that it is; this is exactly why we should go to the authorities.”
“No authorities,” Jason replied, never taking his eyes from Aviva. He was waiting to hear what she ha
d to say. His only interest was in what she had to say. He could see her mind was in overdrive attempting to process his words.
Her mind made up, Aviva spoke. “Okay, no authorities, but no killing either. There must be another way.”
“What other way, Angel? If you can tell me another way, I'll consider it.”
“You lot are the ones with the super brains, surely one of you can think of something,” Aviva said in desperation, looking at Jake who shrugged his shoulders and remained silent. Josh didn't even bother with shrugging, he just held her eyes and said nothing.
“I will not condone murder. What about if you just give them a warning? Yes, that's it. Warn them off. Tell them if they try anything else you...” Aviva trailed off at a loss of how to conclude her thoughts.
“We'll what, Angel? Do go on, I can't wait to hear what we should do after we've warned them off.”
“For God sake, Jason, at least I'm trying to think of something other than killing people!”
“This conversation is a waste of time, and it's at an end. Now what do you want to eat?”
“I don't bloody well want anything to eat, and you will not change the subject!” Aviva shot back in frustration.
Two giant strides took Jason within a hair’s breadth from her. “Didn't you hear anything I just said? I will not allow anyone to hurt those I love. I sent out a warning once before and look how that ended. Two of the best people I have ever known are dead. I will not allow it to happen again, do you hear me? It will not happen again!” Jason spoke through clenched teeth, sweat breaking out on his brow.
Jason’s agitation warned her that she had one final shot to try to change his mind, and she knew she would have to change her tactics in order to gain his agreement. Lifting a small hand to his face, Aviva gently rubbed his stubbled cheek. “If you kill for my sake, I wouldn't know how to live with that. Please promise me you won't do that to me.”
Jason closed his eyes for a brief moment, absorbing her touch. It had been too long since she had touched him in this way. Then he took a step back and extended his arms to his sides. Knowing he would do anything this woman asked of him.
For Love and Vengeance Page 10
