For Love and Vengeance (11 page)

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 had 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.”