For Love and Vengeance (17 page)

“Um...fath...Jackson,
the question you asked me earlier at dinner...I accept.”

Jackson smiled
and nodded his head in acknowledgment of Jason's words. “Stand up, Jason.”

“Pardon?”

“I said stand
up.”

Although he
didn't understand what was going on, he rose to his feet. Jackson immediately
enfolded him in a bear hug and kissed him on the cheek. Jason was so taken
aback by the demonstration of affection, he froze, his hands hanging at his
sides and his eyes bulging. Realizing Jackson had no intentions of releasing
him until he returned the embrace, he slowly lifted his arms and patted his
father on the back in an awkward gesture.

“I love you, my
son,” Jackson told the stubborn man who he held in his arms for the first time.

“Um...yes...well...thanks,”
Jason sputtered, feeling as uncomfortable as he had ever felt in his life,
acutely aware of his audience of three.

Jackson released
him and stood back, looking him straight in the eyes. “Don't worry, son, I can
wait for the words, and the title.”

“Well, alright
then,” Jason responded, running his fingers under the neckline of his t-shirt,
before stretching out his hand, hesitantly patting Jackson on his arm.

Jackson’s eyes
flashed a bright green as he said, “Well, I'll leave you young people to talk.”

Looking around,
Jason steeled his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. “Say nothing!”

Josh couldn't if
he wanted to, he was laughing so hard.

Aviva sat with a
hand over her mouth and he was sure the sparkle in her eyes was there because
she too was laughing at him.

Still feeling
awkward and stupid as all hell, he began to relax when nobody spoke.

“Well, alright
then?” Jake piped in, causing Jason to want to hit him. The eruption of
laughter around him sent heat rushing to his face and he picked up his
forgotten drink and threw it back in one gulp.

“Angel, I've
always been a solitary man, so please tell me how I'm supposed to put up with
these people?” Jason asked Aviva.

“Baby, the only
thing I can tell ya is...if you're gonna dish it, you better be able to take
it,” Aviva answered without the slightest note of sympathy.

A flight
attendant arrived, pushing a trolley of hors d'oeuvres, a decanter of whiskey
and glasses. “Mr. Kingdom sent these. He thought you might all be ready for a
respite.” This woman was older than the one who had brought their drinks
earlier, her eyes brimming with amusement.

“Thanks, Dara,”
Jake said as she placed everything between them. “We don't want to be
disturbed. We'll call if we need anything else.”

“Of course, sir,”
Dara said, withdrawing with a polite smile.

Jake watched her
disappear from his aisle seat. Once the main compartment door closed, he turned
his attention to Jason and nodded, indicating that they had complete privacy.

Jason took up the
story that led to them being in London when she called.

****Eight days
earlier****

“Josh, what's the
name and number of the taxi company you called for Aviva?”

“I'll find out,
give me a minute,” Josh said, leaving the room.

Jason paced the
floor of the family room, feeling caged, his frustration rising by the second
at not being in charge of what was going on around him. This nightmare had only
just begun and he already felt out of control. How dare that smug bastard
presume to take what belonged to him. He didn't know who was behind Aviva's
abduction, and didn't care. With that one act of reckless stupidity, he had
forfeited what all men hold most dear, his life.

In his opinion,
humans paid too little regard for the one thing that couldn't be replaced. The
notion held by certain people that the rules that governed mortality somehow
didn’t apply to them was something Jason had never understood. Human was human
and dead was dead.

It was this fear
that kept twisting his gut. Aviva's scream reverberated again and again through
his mind.
What if...
he refused to complete the thought, unwilling to
contemplate even for a moment where it would lead him.

“What the hell's
taking him so long? Is he setting up the damn company or something?!” He wasn't
actually speaking to Jake or his father who also occupied the room, rather they
were rhetorical questions to fill the void of silence encapsulating the room.

“Jason, he'll be
back in a minute. I'm sure he's going as fast as he can,” Jackson spoke in a
soothing voice, aware of how close his son was to losing control.

“Well, he's not
going fast enough!” Jason barked in response, uncaring of what Jackson thought
as he continued pacing, his hand running repeatedly through his hair, becoming
more agitated by the second.

“I called the
company,” Josh informed them as he came through the door and disconnected his
cell. “They're checking their records. They'll call me back as soon as they get
the relevant information.”

“Joshua...never,
and I mean…never, do that again,” Jason spoke in a quiet voice, walking towards
his younger brother, coming to a stop directly in front of him.

“Do what?” Josh
asked, confused at the disjointedness of his comment.

“Don't you ever
put my woman in a taxi without knowing the name of the damn company. Do you
hear me?!” Jason shouted, not even trying to keep his anger towards the younger
man in check. Josh stood silently before him, a look of guilt moving across his
face.

“Come on, Jason,
cut him some slack. He had no way of knowing something like this was going to
happen.” Jake came to their younger brother’s defense.

“I wasn't
speaking to you, so stay the hell out of it!”

“You may not have
been speaking to me, but I sure as hell am speaking to you. This is not his
fault, so don't make him feel as though it is.”

“He was the one
who called the cab. He should know the name of the damn company!”

“I'm sorry,
Jason. You know how I feel about Aviva. If I thought for one moment that she
was in danger, I would have done everything...anything to keep her safe.”

“Josh, it's not
your fault. None of this is your fault, and I won't stand for him offloading
this shit on you.” Jake consoled his younger brother, seeing the look of guilt
on his face, and angry with Jason for putting it there.

“What's that
supposed to mean? Why don't you say what's really on your mind, you know you
want to.”

Jake maintained
eye contact with his twin yet was unwilling to voice what they were all
wondering.

“All of you need
to take a moment and calm down,” Jackson said. “Blaming each other is not going
to help us decipher this situation.”

“You think I
don't know what you all think? You think I don't know this is all my fault?
Aviva's somewhere out there alone, probably terrified, hurting because of me,
because of what I've done in the past, the decisions I've made. You think I
don't know that? Do you?!”

“Jason, we
understand your frustration but this behavior only serves to exacerbate the
situation. Attributing blame is something we will not do. Not now, not ever!”
Jackson said again, attempting to defuse the mounting tension.

Moments of
silence followed Jackson's remark before Jake nodded in acceptance of his
words. Jason gave no such acknowledgment, instead he turned away, presenting
them with his back.

“We are a family,
and we will get through his together. Jason, I realize you’re finding this hard
to accept, but before this ordeal is over, you will come to understand that
when all else around you ceases to make sense, we will be here to support you
without judgment.”

The shrill of a
phone broke the silence that enshrouded the room as Jackson’s words drew to an
end. Raising the handset to his ear, Josh answered the call, listening to the
information the caller relayed.

“She was dropped
off a West Fourteenth Street at roughly one forty-five. The driver noticed that
she turned down Eighth Avenue.”

“That's all I
need. Where's your computer?” Jason asked, his previous surliness gone,
replaced with a look of determination that he finally had information he could
work with.

Josh led the way
out of the room, down a long hallway before coming to a stop outside a pair of
tall oak paneled doors. Swinging one door open, Jason was confronted by a bank
of computers that resembled a small IT suite. Raising an eyebrow, he looked
over at his twin, curious to know why they needed so many computers.

“We work from
home a lot.”

“Ah hum,” Jackson
cleared his throat at the comment.

“Okay... I like
computers, alright. I need this many to keep up with...things.”

Jason was
skeptical of the reply, but quickly lost interest to concentrate on how thankful
he was that his twin was a computer geek. That fact would come in handy before
the night was over.

Walking to the
nearest computer, Jason pulled out a chair and powered up the machine, his
thoughts narrowing, honing in on the task at hand. Fingers running over the
keyboard, he quickly forgot the other occupants of the room.

“What do you have
in mind?” Josh asked, standing beside his brother, watching him as his fingers
moved with rapid intent.

“Okay, I know
where and at what time she was dropped off. Now I need to locate her on a CCTV
camera and try to pick up her trail.”

Without comment,
Jake powered up another machine as Josh took a seat to do the same.

“What can I do?”
Jackson asked, wanting to do his share of the search. Although no slouch with a
computer, he knew he lacked the same level of technological skills as his sons.

Jason's fingers
abruptly stopped moving as he looked at Jackson, long and hard, weighing up a
decision. Seeming to come to a conclusion, he spoke. “I need you to find out as
much information as you can about
Malcolm
Alexander and Forrest Farnsworth, specifically what they've been up to, and
where they've been in the last six weeks.

“You'll need to check for them under aliases as well as their real names.
In fact, Jake, I think Josh and I can handle the CCTV scans. You help Jackson
with the search. They're slippery bastards and if you both work on this,
hopefully we won’t miss anything. Do you both think you can handle that?”

Folding his arms, Jake cracked his knuckles and rolled his head from
side to side. “Move,” he said, looking at Jason.

“Why?”

“Because I need mega-man.”

“You know, I really don't have time for your nonsense right now. Say
what you mean or shut up and do what I asked you to do.”

“Move. You’re using mega-man, and I need him. Any of the other
computers can cope with what you're doing. Mega-man has the capacity to go
where you need me to in order to get the information you asked for.”

Rolling back his chair, Jason moved and Jake took his place. Unable to
resist a passing quip, Jason mumbled under his breath, “I bet you have a name
for your dick.”

“Yeah, sure do. It’s call bigger than yours.”

“Is that right? Then you must be hung like a...”

“Gentlemen!” Jackson said, raising his hand. “I do believe that last
statement was my cue to leave you. I think my skills may well be superfluous to
the task at hand. Jake, I have no doubt, is more than capable of handling
everything without my assistance.”

“I apologize if I offended you. That wasn’t my intention,” Jason
informed his father with the utmost sincerity, having come to respect the older
man over the past six weeks. He was just used to saying whatever he wanted to
whomever he wanted.

“No offense taken. I remember my youth and all that came with it. I'll
go see if I can't rustle up some food and coffee. I have a feeling we may need
lots of it before the night is over.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your help…that goes for all of you.”

“No need for thanks. Remember what I said Jason,
family
. There
is one more thing I think you should know. Malcolm Alexander is known to me. He
and I attended school together as boys.”

“Did you know he was a trustee of the Aldrich Institute?” Jason asked.

“At the time of the boys’ interviews, I can assure you he was not. Had
he been, I would never have even entertained the possibility of their
attendance. I disliked him from the first moment he tried to befriend me and my
feelings have not changed. I just pray he has no involvement in this whole
sordid affair. Although, I have a feeling I'm going to be proved wrong.”

Jackson’s exit heralded a return to the task at hand. While all the
brothers were talented in the use of IT, their skills were far surpassed by
Jake's. Each of them blocked out what the other was doing. Jake searched for
information and the other two derived devious ways of hacking into CCTV
equipment along the route Aviva may have taken. Jason and Josh decided to take
different quadrants in order to cover as much ground as possible.

“Got her,” Jason said as he watched Aviva walk down Jane Street, stop,
and look up and down the road before turning and walking in the direction from
which she had just come. Jason was slightly baffled by her actions until he
realized his angel was lost. He couldn't help but smile. Her propensity for
getting lost if she was without a navigation system, somehow seemed endearing,
even if he had difficulty understanding why her sense of direction was so
abysmal. Moments later, he could no longer see her on the screen.

“She's coming your way,” he told Josh.

Josh remained silent for a few moments, searching the monitor for a
sign of her. Not every part of the street had cameras so there were intervals
where she wasn't visible.

“Got her. She's on Horatio Street. She went into some kind of clothing
boutique. The camera I picked her up on is across the street and to the left by
about two shops. Time was 14:15.”

Josh kept his eyes trained to the screen, not wanting to miss her
exit. He waited ten minutes in real time with Jason breathing down his neck,
but still she didn't emerge. Josh looked over his shoulder at Jason, an
unspoken question in his eyes. Jason shook his head to indicate the negative.

“Remember she called me later than this. It's too early for anything
to have happened. She hasn't been to the hair salon yet. When we spoke, she
already had her hair done and was on her way to do more shopping. Fast forward
enough to speed things up but make sure we don't miss her leaving.”

Turning back to the screen, Josh sped up the image. A car stopped
outside the boutique Aviva had entered and remained idling as though waiting
for someone. Jason was immediately suspicious. However, he didn't ask his
brother to playback the tape knowing the angle was all wrong. They could tell what
type of car it was but it was unremarkable in its similarity to thousands of
other cars that graced the streets of any large city.

Their wait was suddenly at an end. Aviva emerged, carrying shopping
bags and waving to someone in the doorway of the boutique. She got into the
waiting car which wasted no time pulling away from the curb.

“Damn,” Jason swore as he used his muscular legs to propel himself
back to his own monitor. He’d been so focused on watching Aviva, happy and
smiling, never for one moment thinking her world was about to come crashing
down. Desperately tapping keys, Jason accessed camera after camera in an
attempt to spot the car that had driven Aviva away.

Jake stopped his research, picking up on Jason's desperation, wishing
there was something he could do to change the events leading them to this
desperate race against time. He knew the area where they’d located her. Streets
intersected with streets so it would be like traversing through a maze.

“I've lost her... I can't find her...shit...shit!” As his words
drifted away, Jason sat immobile, his brain quickly processing what his next
course of action should be. It took only moments for him to shake off his
feeling of desperation and again move into action.

“Josh, find out the name of that boutique. I want to know the name of
the owner, a telephone number and an address. Someone there may know where that
car took Aviva.”

“On it.”

Jason couldn't sit still so he started pacing as he waited for Josh to
gather the information he wanted. Somehow movement helped him to keep his
emotions in check and not put his fist through something. Once he had the
contact details, he was going to call on the owner and he or she had better
have some information for him – it was his only lead.

Jackson came back into the room, followed by a man and a woman pushing
trollies, loaded down with food and coffee. The thought of food turned Jason's
stomach, not to mention the smell.

“I know you may all feel as though food is the last thing on your
minds, but you should try to eat something. Mrs. Emerson has kindly gone to the
trouble of preparing these platters for us and I would hate for her trouble to
go unappreciated.”

Jason and his brothers approached the waiting trays, as Jason wondered
how Jackson always managed to make three grown ass men feel as though they were
children who had no choice other than to do as their parent requested. Jason
decided the man was a master manipulator as he picked up a plate and helped
himself to sandwiches and a cup of coffee.

“Good...very good, although nothing will make this situation bearable,
we all need to keep our strength up in order to deal with whatever dilemma is
placed before us.”.

The ringing doorbell was the perfect distraction for the brothers to
return to their seats in front of the computers. Placing the plate and coffee
beside him on the desk, Jason once again focused his attention on locating
Aviva, zoning out all the sounds around him.

Unaware that Jackson had left the room, he resumed his search.
Intellectually, he recognized the possible futility of his actions, but was
unable to sit idly while he waited. His concentration was broken by Jackson’s
voice requesting his presence in the family room.

“I'm busy, Jackson, just in case it's slipped your notice.”

“I really think you need to hear this, Jason.”

“I repeat, I'm busy. Now leave me alone to get
on with what I have to do!” Jason knew he was being rude, but he didn't much
care. All he cared about was finding Aviva and bringing her home, safe and
sound. Every second, every distraction made his one focus that much more
difficult and he refused to put up with it.

“Young man, I will tolerate your last
statement only because I realize you are under duress. However, I give you fair
warning, don't make the mistake of speaking to me in that tone of voice again!”

Jackson didn't wait for a response from a
visibly irked Jason. He knew that this son, whom he was not responsible for
raising, would forever push the barriers of their relationship. He may not have
raised Jason, but he had raised two other men to maturity, and if there was one
thing he knew, it was how to deal with recalcitrance.

“Come with me – now!” Having said all he
intended, he turned and left the room with no doubt his directive would be
followed.

“Shit!” Jason swore under his breath.

“For God’s sake, Jason, do you honestly think
he'd drag you away if this wasn't important!” Jake said, already heading for
the door, followed closely by Josh. Although reluctant, Jason rose and followed
them, cursing and muttering under his breath about being treated like a child.

Entering a room he had not seen before, Jason saw a young woman seated
on a large sofa, looking very uncomfortable, her posture stiff and erect.
Surrounding her were lilac bags with white writing emblazoned across them. They
looked like the type of bag women carried home after having been on an
expensive shopping spree.

As soon as the thought passed through his mind, he dismissed her.
Looking at his father, Jason waited for an explanation as to why he was there.

“Jason, this is Miss Hudson. She very kindly agreed to deliver these
bags for Aviva after she visited her boutique earlier today.”

Jackson's words immediately snagged his attention, and his green eyes
darted towards her, pinning her with his stare. “What’s the name of your
establishment?”

“Ah...it's called
Bathing in Beauty
,” the woman answered, rising
to her feet, not wanting to look so far up at the men who had just entered the
room.

“Where is this shop located?” Jason fired off another question.

“It's in the West Village.”

“Specifics – be specific!”

“Ah...um...ah...”

“For God sake, do you have a speech impediment, or is there another
reason you're having so much difficulty answering, what is in my estimation, a
very simple question?” Jason demanded, his impatience on full display.

“Jason!” His brother’s warned in unison.

“That's enough!” Jackson said, speaking at the same time as his sons.

The poor woman looked as though she were going to have a heart attack
at Jason's rudeness. He didn't care what any of them thought, so he ignored
them. If she had something to say that would shed light on the situation, she
had better start answering his questions and the rest of them could go to hell.
“Shall we start again? Where is your shop located?”

Taking a visibly deep breath, the young woman attempted to get her
nervousness under control to answer his question. “Well, technically, it's not
my shop, I just work there on the weekends for my cousin.” As she looked at the
big man with the dark blonde hair who had just asked her the question, he
raised one eyebrow and waited for her to give an answer to this question.
“Horatio Street.”

“Good, see that wasn't so difficult, now was it?” Jason smiled at the
woman in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. Those looking at him could see
that he failed completely. The expression he wore more resembled a scowl than a
look of reassurance.

“Umm...well...it was kinda, you're really big and scary looking. Like
honestly, you kinda remind me of when my grandfather gets constipated. His wife
says...she's not my grandmother, he married her because she said she was having
his baby. Silly old fool, the woman had to be sixty if she was a day.” Looking
over at Jackson the young woman didn't even pause for breathe in her nervous
chatter. “Sorry, are you married to a younger woman? I know rich old dudes
sometimes do that. It's like they want to recapture their youth or something,
and you know, they probably want eye candy and all...” Finally realizing what
she was saying the young woman stopped talking and snapped her mouth shut,
embarrassment burning her face.

Confronted by four stunned looks of amazement, her face heated even
more. Before the men could utter a word she began speaking again. “Sorry, like
that kinda came out all wrong. Look, Meri just asked me to drop off these bags
for the lady who bought these swimsuits and stuff earlier today. She had a date
so she couldn't do it herself, Meri that is, she's my cousin – so here I am!
Okay then, see ya all later.” That said the young woman took a step backwards
then another and another, attempting to make a quick escape from the giants
that surrounded her.

“Don't take another step.” Jason ordered through gritted teeth. He
still wanted answers, and the silly twit wasn't leaving until he had them. Stunned
by his command she came to a dead stop with one foot raised in the air, looking
like a stork, her foot bent backwards and her body leaning forward. Blinking as
though she had grit in her eyes.

Jackson could see the girl was completely intimidated by the situation
and deemed it the right time to intervene before Jason lost his temper with
her.

“What's your first name my dear?”

“Ah...It's Haphilda, but everyone calls me Hapë, you know, like Zoë,
with an accent over the e.”

“I see, how very charming, Meri and Hapë, yes, most charming indeed.”
Jackson drawled, the names tickling his funny bone although his thoughts
remained absent from his expression.

“Please Hapë, take a seat. My son just has a few more questions for
you and then you can be on your way.”

Reluctance written all over her face, Hapë retook her seat and waited.
A potentially disastrous situation averted, at least for the moment, Jackson
gave Jason a warning look and took a step back. “In fact why don't we all take
seats, I'm sure we'll all be more comfortable that way.” With an almost
imperceptible movement of his head by way of a command, all his sons took
seats.

“Jason, I believe you have further questions for Hapë.

“At
last,” Jason mumbled under his breath, impatient with her ridiculous ramblings.

“Now...ah...Hapë,
could you tell me where the woman who purchased these garments went after she
left your cousin's establishment?”

“Yes,”
Hapë said and then remained silent.

Jason
closed his eyes, willing himself to patience. His brothers and father were all
leaning forward in their seats, hands over their mouths, spellbound at the pace
of the conversation unfolding before them, each wondering how long it would
take for him to blow.

Through
with the nonsense, Jason somehow managed to keep control of his temper. He had
no time for her college girl departures into the realms of, as far as he was
concerned,
who gives a damn
. The longer she gave her monosyllabic
responses to his questions, the longer it would take to locate Aviva, and he
wasn't prepared to let that happen. He also knew he had to make sure he didn't
frighten her again.

He
had to admit, he was more than a little peeved with her. Women normally liked
him, responded to him, yet this young woman was acting as though he were some
form of monster. Then it hit him. He actually didn't care what she thought of
him. The only woman he was interested in was the one who had been snatched
away. Hapë was in possession of information that would take him one step closer
to finding Aviva and that was his only concern.