For Love and Vengeance

by Theresa L. Henry

  In his hand were two fighting stars. Jason quickly took in the men occupying the room and released his weapons without a moment’s hesitation. His brothers did the same and it took less than a second for four men to go down.

  Remaining was an older man, Farnsworth, and a blonde woman standing by his side. Jason found it impossible to ignore her beauty, her features as close to perfection as he had ever seen. But she was cold, emotionless, devoid of any expression reflected in her face. This was the assassin.

  She was holding a gun and as it moved, there was a commotion. Two men came through the door holding Aviva and her friend MacKenzie by the hair, pistols pressed against their temples. His knees went weak, nearly buckling with shock.

  Even through his shock, Jason took in Aviva's outfit. She was wearing some kind of skin tight bodysuit that would have been better suited to an ass kicking, afro wearing seventies movie heroine. He saw red. Turning to the side, his back towards a wall, he positioned himself so he could keep Farnsworth and Aviva in his sight.

  “Mr. King, or is it now Kingdom? These ladies were never a part of my plan but their appearance is most welcome. I can see they mean a lot to you. The cleanup will be so much simpler with so many of you here. The only outstanding element is your father, of course. Tell me, how does it feel to know that you have failed in your undertaking to destroy me?”

  Sweat broke out on Jason's forehead even as he realized one wrong move could end with the women being killed. Meeting the assassin gaze, Jason felt a coldness wash over him even as adrenaline again flooded his body.

  Just then, Aviva flicked back her head, catching the gunman who held her captive in the chin and Jason nearly died from shock at the level of her reckless foolishness. Without a moment’s hesitation, he unleashed two stars with deadly accuracy, one buried in the forehead of each of the men who held the women captive. At the same time the rapport of a silenced pistol echoed in the room as it took the life of Forrest Farnsworth.

  Chapter 28

  “How did you get here?” Jake asked MacKenzie, unable to look at her he was so angry.

  “We drove.”

  “Where's the car?”

  “It's around that corner.”

  Taking her by the arm, Jake started walking in the direction she pointed. He didn't speak as he pulled her behind him, nor did he make allowance for her shorter legs. If she thought it was okay to eavesdrop on them, and then follow behind, she better be able to keep up with him.

  “Slow down!” MacKenzie demanded as she quickened her steps even further in her attempt to keep up with his long strides.

  “No, why don't you concentrate on moving your feet as fast as you move your mouth. Do that and you should be fine.”

  MacKenzie was in shock. He did not just say that to her. “How dare you speak to me like that!”

  “Give me a break. The way you run your mouth, I should be canonized for not saying much worse!”

  “Who the hell do you think you are to speak to me like that?”

  “My dear, MacKenzie, at this point in time and the way I feel...do not imagine for one moment that I have any wish to enter into superfluous conversation with a woman who would so recklessly endanger the life of the child she’s carrying.”

  MacKenzie snapped her mouth close, his comment went straight through her and she had no comeback.

  Jake knew he had hit her low, but he refused to retract the words. They needed to be said. Reaching the parked car, he opened the door and waited until she got in before slamming it so hard the vehicle shook from the force of his action.

  Walking around the car, he got in, closed his door and looked over at the woman who had her head turned away from him, looking out the window.

  “Do I need to tell you to put on your seatbelt?!”

  Silently, MacKenzie pulled her seatbelt across her body and engaged it. Satisfied, Jake moved the car into the road.

  They drove for about ten minutes before Jake's voice broke the silence. Obviously still incensed about what she and Aviva had done. “If that was my child you were carrying, when I got you home, I would put you over my knees and your backside would be as red as your hair!”

  “Well, it's not your child and for that I give thanks. You're disgusting and I couldn't think of anything more repellent that carrying a child of yours!” MacKenzie shot back.

  Jake's eyebrow shot up at her heated words. Never having been called disgusting and repellent in the same sentence. As a matter of fact, he had never been called either of those things in his life. He secretly smiled. He kind of admired her fire but he wasn't ready to let her off the hook for the danger in which her actions had placed them all. He wanted to know more about her and the man who would knowingly allow his pregnant woman out of his sight.

  “Who's the father?”

  “Stay out of my business!”

  Jake knew the only way to get an answer from this stubborn, prickly woman was to rile her. She may never speak to him again after this night and frankly he didn’t really care.

  “You don't know, do you?”

  “How dare you say that to me...how dare you!” MacKenzie was way past angry. In fact, she was so mad she wanted to chop him in the throat so he would shut his disgusting mouth.

  “Really, my dear, one sure fire way to bore me is to be repetitive and I find that is exactly what you have become...a repetitive, not to mention loose...woman.”

  “Repetitive...loose woman,” MacKenzie sputtered. Did this man have no boundaries? “For the record, you pompous piece of filth, the father of my child happens to be Carlos Ernesto.”

  “The rock star?!” Jake asked, unable to hide his surprise.

  “He is not a rock star. He is an R&B superstar!”

  “Are you a groupie? Is that why you're not with him? Did you get pregnant on purpose, thinking he would marry you? Were you looking for life in the limelight, MacKenzie?” Jake didn't mean any of the things he was saying, but for some reason he was unable to stop.

  His words hit so close to the things Carlos had said to her that tears sprung to her eyes. This was the final straw. She had never met anyone so hateful in all her life and she refused to speak to him or even look at him.

  Jake knew he had gone too far and that she would probably never speak to him again. Cutting the engine outside of the house, he turned to her to apologize but she was already on the move, rushing towards the front door. But it was locked. Getting out of the car, he went to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, knowing he needed to apologize for his behavior.

  MacKenzie recoiled at his touch so violently, Jake dropped his hand and looked down at her. “MacKenzie, please accept my apology. I didn't mean any of the things I just said to you.”

  Jake could see that she had shut him out so completely, his words of regret appeared to float into the air without registering with her. Turning his key in the lock, he opened the door, and she was gone.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Josh drove with Jason beside him and Aviva sitting in the back. The silence that surrounded them was so complete, Josh knew it was not the time for levity he didn't feel. What the women had done was way too serious to make light of. Were he in Jason's position, he was unsure how he would handle the situation.

  Coming to a halt outside the house, Josh saw the door just closing behind Jake's back. Leaving the engine running, he waited as Jason got out of the car and opened the door for Aviva.

  “Aren’t you coming in, Josh?” Aviva inquired.

  “Nah.” He didn’t need more than a one word response.

  “It's got to be close to 3am. Where could you possibly be going at this hour?”

  Raising an eyebrow at her, he decided to be completely honest. “I'm going to get laid.”

  “Oh, I see. Umm...well, enjoy yourself.” She wanted to bite out her tongue at her comment, now too embarrassed to maintain eye contact.

  “That's the idea,” Josh told her as Jason slammed the door closed.

  Taking her by the arm
, Jason led her towards the house without a word spoken between them. He was still too furious to speak.

  Once inside, he stood looking down at her, his expression blank. If he could raise a hand to this little woman, he would put her over his knee and paddle her ass. When he was finished, if the thought ever entered her head to do something so reckless in the future, memory alone would be its own deterrent.

  “Go upstairs.” They were the first words he spoke to her since leaving the house of death.

  “Jason, let me explain.”

  “Aviva, do – not – push – me,” Jason told her through gritted teeth, his eyes black with fury.

  Knowing when to shut up, she did as she was told. Reaching the top of the stairs she saw MacKenzie heading towards her, bag in hand.

  “Where are you going at this time of the morning?”

  “I'm leaving. I refuse to spend another moment in this place!”

  “Why...what happened?”

  “That man is the biggest freaking bastard I've ever met, and I'm not looking to spend the rest of my life behind bars for killing him.”

  “Jake...what did he do?” Aviva was concerned, could this night get any worse!

  “I'm not having this conversation with you right now. I'll call you.”

  “But how are you going to get home?”

  “Cab's on its way,” MacKenzie said, giving her friend a quick hug as she hurried down the stairs and out the front door while Aviva stood watching her departure.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  As Jason watched Aviva disappear from sight, he headed for the family room. He needed a drink to calm himself down.

  Entering the room, he could see Jake had beat him to it. Without comment, he headed for the bar and poured himself a good measure of whiskey and threw it down his throat. He closed his eyes as the heat of the liquid spread throughout his gut.

  Pouring another, he looked at his twin who was watching him. “What did you do?” Jason asked him.

  “Insulted a woman to an extent that even surprised me.”

  “Why?” Jason asked as he took a seat beside his brother.

  “Don't know...even though I knew I was being insufferable, I just couldn't seem to stop.”

  “What did you do?” Jake asked him in return.

  “Nothing. I can't even bring myself to speak to her.”

  Jake didn't even try to offer advice. He was in no position to do so. He had made a complete mess while speaking to MacKenzie, so maybe Jason had the right of it by remaining silent.

  The brothers remained side-by-side, each lost in thought, sipping from their drink. Looking down at his glass, Jake saw it was empty and rose to get a refill. There and then he decided he was going to get roaring drunk.

  “Would you like to join me in a drunken binge?”

  Jason looked at his twin, giving his question serious consideration. “No, I think I'm going to head upstairs.”

  Raising his empty glass to him, Jake reached for the decanter and poured himself another drink as Jason left him alone to carry out his plan.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Aviva had showered and was sitting up in bed when Jason finally came into their bedroom. He didn't even glance in her direction. Aviva watched his every move as he walked over to the bathroom and closed the door between them. She heard a brief quiet followed by the sound of the shower that returned to quietness once again. He's really mad at me, Aviva thought as she sat in silence and waited for his return.

  When the door reopened, Jason walked to his side of the bed and pulled off the towel he had secured around his waist and moved under the covers. With his back to her, he switched off the bedside lamp and grew still.

  “Jason, we need to talk.”

  “Not now, Aviva.”

  “Yes, now. I know how angry you are with me but I can explain.”

  Silence.

  “I had to go. If I wasn't there, that bitch would have put a bullet through your back!”

  Silence.

  “Okay, don't talk to me. But I'm telling you that I don't regret going, and if I had to do it again, I would!” Aviva spoke to his back emphatically.

  Turning over so quickly she gasped at the speed of his movement, although she should be used to it by now. He was on her in an instant, pinning her down with his body.

  “Do you know what you did to me tonight? Do you?!”

  With only the glow of the lamp on her side of the massive bed, he appeared as a shadowed specter hovering over her, and Aviva grew a little frightened.

  Swallowing, she shook her head, silently telling him no.

  “What do you suppose I would have done if something had happened to you tonight? How do you think I would have been able to live with myself, knowing you had been hurt or worse killed?!” Jason said, grabbing hold of her face so she had no choice but to meet his gaze.

  What she saw there took her breath away. His eyes shone with such pain, Aviva was rendered speechless.

  Releasing her, Jason sat up, pulling his legs to his chest as he bowed his head and held it between his hands, elbows resting on his knees. “If you understood what you mean to me, you would never have acted as you did tonight. If you understood how much I love you, you would never tell me you would do it again.”

  “I do understand, Jason, I do!”

  “That's just it, Aviva, I don't really think you do.” His words were so softly spoken, Aviva barely heard them.

  Turning away from her, Jason stretched out his long body and placed an arm under his head.

  “Jason?”

  “Not now, Aviva!”

  She could tell he had shut her out so she decided to say no more. She switched off her lamp and turned onto her side, closing her eyes as they lay side by side, a gulf of more than just bedding separating them. Aviva tried to hold in the tears but they found their escape even as she bit her lip to ensure she didn’t make a sound.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Jason knew she was crying even as she held herself rigid to keep it from him. Closing his eyes tightly, he hardened himself. She had nearly felled him when he saw her in that house tonight, and moments ago she had thought nothing of telling him that she would do it again.

  God, did this woman not know? How many times must he tell her, show her, before she realized she was his life? The feel of her trembling as sobs passed through her body was his undoing. Reaching over, he switched on the lamp before turning and pulling her onto her back even though she resisted.

  “Look at me. Aviva…look at me.”

  Once Jason gained her compliance, he brought up one of his large hands and cupped her face as he propped himself up on his elbow. “This is what I need you to understand, Angel. If I had lost you tonight, I would have made sure that I didn't leave that house alive.”

  “Don't say that, Jason!” Aviva said crying even harder.

  “You see...that's what I mean, you still don't understand.”

  Aviva went still as he at last saw the dawning of comprehension reflected in her eyes.

  “Ah, at last. I would give and do anything for you. Just one word from you is all that would be required and it's yours. Because of you being in my life, for the first time, I care whether I grow to be an old man. Because of you, I want to know what it's like to hold my children in my arms. Because of you, I want to know and embrace being a part of a family, but I only want to do all these things if I can do them with you.”

  Aviva flung herself into Jason's arms unable to speak through her sobs, her face buried in his chest. Holding her close, he closed his eyes and absorbed the almost violent shaking that overtook her body. But her tears weren’t enough, he needed her to voice her understanding of what he was attempting to convey. “Do you understand, Angel?”

  “Yes, I understand and...Jason, I was only trying to protect you the way you protect me.”

  “I don’t need your protection, Angel. What I need is your love, always,” Jason told her.

  “You have it…always,” Aviva promised.
<
br />   Jason grew silent and Aviva thought their conversation had come to an end. Moving slightly away from her, Jason broke their bodily contact and looked down at her, his eyes intense and unblinking. “How do you feel, Angel?”

  Unsure of the question, Aviva asked one of her own. “What do you mean?”

  “Does you back still hurt?”

  “Oh, no I feel fine, thank you.”

  “Good…then you’re ready for me…all of me,” Jason told her as he repositioned his hands and pulled her up his body.

  Aviva sucked in her breath at his words. The first thought to jump into her mind was that this man was so sexy when he got this intense. The second was that she was more than ready. The third…well, there was no third because all she could think about, feel was…him.

  The strength of the hands that almost spanned her waist was something Aviva reveled in. The feel of his body started a reaction in her and all her senses kicked in. She responded to everything about this man, the feel of the solidity of his muscles, their definition, six foot five of pure perfection and he was all hers. The scent that was only his was an aroma she would forever be able to distinguish from any other living person.

  Held firmly against his chest, Aviva watched, transfixed as Jason’s head moved to press soft kisses against her forehead, her cheek, and finally her lips. With each touch of his lips, he lingered a little longer, almost as though he were reacquainting himself with the contour of her face.

  Jason ran his fingertips along the smoothness of her face, his touch gossamer light. Jason stilled all movement and stared down at his love’s face. What was it about this woman that made her so different from all the others that he had known? She wasn’t the most beautiful or the most intelligent woman he had been with. The sides of his mouth kicked up as a thought hit him. She may not be any of the things that just moved across his mind, but she was one of the funniest. She made him laugh without even trying, and she made him happy.

  Jason knew that he loved this woman above all others and he wanted nothing more than to demonstrate just how much she meant to him with the joining of their bodies. He knew he would make love to her before the night was over, maybe even more than once, but he had another need that he didn’t quite understand.