Abandoned but Not Alone (20 page)

“
Please let me go, I need to at least look
for him.  He shouldn
’
t be along
right now, he needs somebody
–
he needs
me!
”

“
Listen to me,
”
Jacob said rubbing her back.
“
He left you with us because he knew, even if it was on a
subconscious level, we would look after you. He knows our name and where we
’
re staying. Come back with us, wait for
him at our hotel. From what little I
’
ve seen of
how he responds to you we won
’
t have long
to wait. Believe me, he just needed a little time and space to clear his head.
”
At her hesitation, Jacob urged again not
giving her a chance to comment.
“
Come on
Aviva, you know I
’
m right.
There
’
s no way he would just
leave you.
”

“
Listen to him, we can
’
t all just stand here until he turns up,
and there
’
s no way we
’
re going to let you go running around
this city searching for a needle in a haystack. He
’
ll come to you once he
’
s had time
to cool down.
”

Their words
had merit but she was very worried about him. Jason had gone through so much
today. First the whole debacle with Hope and now this, how much more could he
take before he snapped. Joshua dried her eyes with the handkerchief he removed
from his inside pocket, waiting patiently for her decision as to whether she
would accompany them to their hotel.

“
Okay, I
’
ll go with you, but let me see if he
’
ll pick up if I call him.
”
  Aviva opened her purse to look for her cell phone only to see
she had left it behind. 
“
I don
’
t have, I don
’
t have my cell,
”
she
wailed, fresh tears springing to her eyes as she looked up at Joshua. Not
realizing that even if she had her phone she would still be unable to contact
him, she didn't know his number. At the sight of her tears, panic gripped him,
exchanging a look with his brother who looked equally unsure of how to deal
with her tears. Their expressions were so comical, Aviva bit down on her bottom
lip in an attempt to master her emotions. It would seem these huge men, who
appeared to be able to rumble with the best of them, had no idea how to deal
with a crying woman.

“
Sorry, it
’
s okay, see no more tears, don
’
t worry. Let
’
s go to
your hotel and wait for Jason.
”
  She said
patting them both on their massive arms.

The look of
relief that passed between them would have made Aviva laugh under normal
circumstances, but she was so worried about Jason; she had to look away as
tears once again welled in her eyes.

“
Come on, honey
”
Jacob said as he placed her arm through his to begin the walk
to their hotel a block away. None of them spoke, all lost in thought as to the
turn of the evening
’
s events.
Aviva wondered where Jason was and if he was alright. Jacob was still reeling,
he had a twin brother who he hoped was okay and Joshua mentally kicked himself
for throwing their father into the mix just when it appeared Jason was calming
down and would begin to speak to them. Both brothers wondered how their father
would take the news of a son that he hadn
’
t known existed.

~~~~~~~~~~

When they
arrived at the hotel Aviva was too distracted to pay any attention to the d
é
cor. Of course she had heard of Kingdom
Hotels, who hadn
’
t, they had
been around for generations and was still run by the original family. Jacob led
her towards the elevator while Joshua stopped to speak to the receptionist at
the front desk. By the time the elevator arrived Joshua had re-joined them.
“
I took care of everything Aviva, as soon
as Jason arrives they
’
ll send him
up.
”

They rode
the elevator to the pent house where the doors majestically opened to reveal a
vast room with floor to ceiling windows displaying a magnificent view of the LA
skyline. At the sound of the elevator doors opening an older version of his
sons rose to his feet. The older man had pure white hair and as she walked
closer, Aviva could see that he too had the same dark eyes as his sons.

“
Hello boys, who is this delightful young
woman?
”

“
Dad, I would like you to meet Aviva
Johnson, Aviva this is our father, Jackson Kingdom.
”

“
It is always a pleasure to meet such a
beautiful young lady.
”

“
Likewise, I mean the pleasure part, not
the young lady part.
”
Aviva
clarified with a shake of her head.

Jackson
chuckled at her response to his greeting.
“
I understand completely my dear, please come in and take a seat.
May I get you something to drink?
”

“
No thank you, but may I use your rest
room?
”

“
Of course my dear, right this way
”
Jackson stretched out his arm indicating
the way. Stopping at a door at the end of a hallway, he smiled, asking her to
join them once she was ready. With words of thanks, she opened the door and
stepped inside to repair her makeup which she knew without looking was an
absolute mess. She also thought Jackson had noticed she had been crying, but
good manners dictated that he not comment.

Aviva was
right, Jackson had noticed she had been crying and came storming back into the
sitting area to confront his sons.
“
You both
had better be about to tell me that you are not the reason that young woman is
in such a state.
”
Both his
sons stood with a drink in their hands, worried looks on their faces and by
their looks, Jackson thought he might need one too. Spinning around at the
sound of the elevator door opening, a furious Jason rushed into the room.
Jackson was stunned at what he was seeing.
“
Lord!
”
he
exclaimed as he clutched his chest, staggering backwards, unable to believe a
replica of Jacob was standing before him. Jackson thought he was going to pass
out. Seeing the look on his father
’
s face,
Jacob rushed to his side, while throwing a disgruntled look in Joshua
’
s direction.

“
I told them to call us when he was on his
way up,
”
Joshua defended
himself against his older brothers
’
look of
annoyance.

“
Where is she?
”
Jason bellowed not bothering to acknowledge anyone in the room.

“
Who are you, where did you come from?
”

Looking at
the three occupants of the room with cold hearted disdain, Jason ignored the
look of shock on the older man
’
s face.
“
I see dumb runs through your family, you
boys are not that bright or they would have already told me what the hell I
wanted to know. And just for the record, old man
–
you
’
re a little
too long in the tooth to be asking me about the birds and the bees. So I
’
ll ask you all again where
–
is
–
she?
”

“
Now wait just a minute, you do not get to
come into our home and disrespect my father,
”
Jacob warned.

“
Seems like I just did that frat boy, what
ya gonna do about it?
”

“
I
’
m
gonna
kick your arse, that
’
s what I
’
m
gonna
do about it!
”

“
I
’
d like to see you try
…
I don
’
t even need an excuse to wipe the floor
with you right now.
”
Was Jason
’
s quick comeback, a sneer curling his
lips.

“
Jason,
”
Aviva cried to get his attention.

“
Come on Aviva, we
’
re leaving.
”

Aviva
hesitated.

“
What are you waiting for, I said come on,
I don
’
t want to spend
another minute around these people.
”
She could
see Jason was physically shaking with emotion. She wasn
’
t moving fast enough for his liking, so he rushed towards her.

Having
witnessed the whole electrically charged exchange between his three sons, and
there was no doubt in his mind, this new addition was his son, Jackson took a
step in Jason
’
s
direction, intent on stopping him before he reached the young woman.
“
Wait a minute son
…”

“
Don
’
t you call me son
…
don
’
t you ever call me son, do you hear me
old man
…
not ever!
”
  Jason shouted, tears rolling down his
face. Turning back to Aviva and making no attempts to wipe away his flow of
tears, Jason extended his hand and whispered.
“
Come on Angel, I really need to get out of here.
”
Aviva
’
s heart felt as though it were breaking to see such a strong man
reduced to tears from a situation over which he had no control.

“
Jason, please listen to me.
”
  Jackson tried again to reach out to
him, he wasn
’
t
listening.

Jason
continued to hold out his shaking hand towards Aviva, waiting for her to take
it. Slipping her small hand into his larger one, he pulled her to his body and
held her so tightly she had difficulty breathing.
“
Angel, I need to get out of here, please come with me, I need to
get out.
”
Aviva couldn
’
t speak so she nodded her head. Keeping
her close to his body, Jason made his way towards the door, never once glancing
at the other people who occupied the room. Therefore he didn
’
t see the tears that rolled down their
cheeks that matched his own.

Before the
doors to the elevator had completely closed, Jackson was on the phone to the
hotel
’
s security.
“
There are two people who will be leaving
my private elevator shortly. I want them followed, discreetly, and I do mean
discreetly. When you have an address, report back to me.
”
Hanging up the phone he turned around to
his remaining sons and shouted out his rage.
“
That bitch, I
’
m going to
kill her when I get my hands on her!
”

Jason
remained silent on the drive back to his house, his stillness unnerving Aviva.
Knowing she couldn
’
t begin to
understand what he was going through, she did however know he was hurting very
badly. Since gripping her hand back at the hotel he had yet to release his
clasp.

He felt
numb. He couldn
’
t recall
having felt so out of control since he was a child. He knew he had a temper,
and it had taken years for him to master it, but the events of the day seemed
designed to push him over the edge into a rage the likes of which he had
experienced only a few times in his life. The only thing keeping him sane,
grounded, was the feel of Aviva
’
s soft hand
and her small body pressed up against him, giving him the comfort he so
desperately needed. He also felt ashamed that she had witnessed his breakdown.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew his behavior could backfire on their
budding relationship. But he couldn
’
t seem to
help it, couldn
’
t seem to
reign in his fury at meeting the men who bore such a startling resemblance to
him. He realized all of these things, just as he realized she deserved an
explanation for the way he had behaved at the restaurant, and at the hotel, but
not now, God, not now.