For Love and Vengeance (24 page)

“Dangerous,
how?”

“Like,
killer dangerous.”

“What
the hell are you talking about?”

Aviva
knew she had to convince her friend of the type of people they were dealing
with so she would understand why she should remain behind. Making up her mind,
she gave MacKenzie the abridged version of what she had just been through.

MacKenzie
was so shocked at her friends’ words she was speechless. Then she got angry.

“Have
you lost your mind? Get your things right this minute, we're leaving. These rich
people are crazy!” Aviva stood her ground and folded her arms in exasperation
at MacKenzie’s tirade.

“I'm
not playing with you, move your ass right now!”

“Calm
down and lower your voice,” Aviva told her, using a placating tone.

“Calm
down? You just told me you were injected with God knows what, hauled off the
street, transported to another country and dumped in some godforsaken room, and
you want me to calm down? Girl, you better get moving before I do it for you,”
MacKenzie said, her hands popped on her hips, so angry she wished Jason were
there so she could knock him out.

Aviva
started losing her temper. She loved MacKenzie, but she wasn't going to stand
for her bossing her around. “I'm done with this discussion. You can leave if
you want to, but I'm going to that house.”

“Oh
yeah, and how are you going to get there?”

“Shit,
I never thought of that!”

“You
never thought of that? You wanna hang with those big ass gangsta wannabe dudes,
and you never thought of that!” MacKenzie mocked, still pissed that Aviva
wouldn't see sense. But she knew that once her friend’s mind was made up, very
little would change it. Well, this is your lucky day. I did think about it, so
if you're ready, let’s go.”

“What
about Jackson?” Aviva asked.

“He's
in his room so as long as we're quiet, he should be none the wiser.”

As
far as Aviva could see, MacKenzie had all the bases covered. Being as quiet as
possible, they left the house and made their way to the car she had stashed
away out of sight of the main house.

“How
did you manage all this?” Aviva wanted to know. She had spent more time at the
house than MacKenzie and she didn't even know where the garage was located.

“While
you were doing whatever it was you were doing with that man, I was taking care
of business. What I've come to realize is that when the pregnant lady tells a
man she doesn't feel well or she needs to lay down, nobody questions or bothers
her.”

Aviva
was totally impressed. “Wow, I'll remember that. It could come in really handy
in the future!”

“You
intend to have big head babies with that blonde man?” MacKenzie asked as she
maneuvered the car towards their destination. There was no way she was letting
her girl drive or all the action would be over before they ever arrived.

~~~~~~~~~~

Parking
the car around the corner from the house, MacKenzie turned to look at Aviva.
“This is your last chance to change your mind about the single most stupid
thing you have ever thought of doing.”

“I'm
going. I know it's stupid and believe me I would much rather be tucked up in
bed, but I just know that I have to do this.”

“Do
this
what, Aviva?”

“I
don't know. It’s just a feeling I have, and I have to act on it!”

“I
don't suppose there's any way I can persuade you that this is an act of lunacy?
These people are dangerous!”

“Do
you think I don't know that? He came for me. He would always come for me, no
matter what the danger...he would come for me.”

Chapter 27

****Earlier
that day****

“I've
told you, the brothers will be eliminated before they reach the house and once
Jason King is inside, he'll be dealt with. You are perfectly safe. Then I'll go
to their house and take care of the woman and the father.”

Farnsworth
couldn't help but feel uneasy. Nobody knew what had happened to Alexander…he
just disappeared. It had taken days and countless calls before someone went to
the house in Shoreditch and reported back what they found.

He
was certain Alexander was dead. He didn’t care one way or the other, the man
had become a liability. He had spent too much time and money in the protection
of his good name and that fool, Alexander, had been a threat to that. If he was
dead, it could only be a good thing and was one less problem for Farnsworth to
worry about.

The
reports of the state his men were found in was a major concern to him as he
couldn't fathom why they had been left alive. What he did know, however, was
that the Kingdom men were dangerous, and he needed to get to them first. That
was the reason he hired the necessary people to see the job done – tonight.

“Did
you get the last set of papers?” Farnsworth asked his companion.

“I
got them. But the real question is, did you get a complete list of names for who
held those documents?”

“I'm
a wealthy man, I grew up with wealth, and the one thing I know is how to get
what I want.”

“Ah...the
trappings of wealthy men... Yes, that I too understand more that you could
imagine.”

“What
does that mean?!” Farnsworth asked, detecting an undertone of something he
didn't like.

“Mr.
Farnsworth, I've worked for the wealthy for a long time and comprehend much.”

“I
don't pay you to
comprehend
me. I pay you to do as you're told!” His
companion smiled, not in the least bit affected by this man's condescension,
and it infuriated him.

“Where
are your people? Are they in place?”

“You
needn’t worry about my people. Your only concern is to make sure that Jason
King and his whole family die tonight, as planned!”

“I
can see I'm irritating you so I'll excuse myself to prepare.”

Farnsworth
didn't bother to answer, his mind already tuned into the fact that after
tonight, after all the years of caution, he would finally once again be able to
indulge himself as he had done all those years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~

Opening the gate, the
brothers slipped through. As soon as the last of them was inside, they moved as
a unit. Watchful, anticipating danger at every moment. It didn't take long for
it to begin.

Sensing rather than seeing
anyone, Jason dove for cover. His brothers reacted, moving at exactly the same
time. They all heard the whoosh of the bullets as it passed over where they had
been standing only moments before. At least now they knew where one of the
snipers were hidden. Josh broke off, disappearing into the darkness.

Moments later he returned.
With a nod, they again moved forward. The second round of silenced shots were
fired from a longer range, but went much wider than the first. This time, it
was Jake who broke off from the group. Jason and Josh heard the rustle of
leaves and a low thump as Jake brought his man down. The brothers moved forward
again as Jake materialized and fell in beside them.

They were now much closer
to the house. From their intel, Jason knew that the two shooters were the only
ones that had been placed on the grounds of the mansion. He hated sneaking
around, but knew if the threat of these men was ever going to end, stealth was
their only option. Recalling that the information they’d received in London had
been incorrect, and the number of men they eventually faced was greater than
anticipated, his guard was on high alert.

He knew that as a group
they presented a bigger target, but he insisted that they stick together. He
now knew what his brother’s capabilities were and his worry for them was mostly
gone. They could take care of themselves, and they all knew to be ready for the
unexpectedness of a situation such as this.

This was it. As soon as they
opened the door, all hell was going to break loose. The men behind the door
would be armed and he had every intention of leaving that house alive. He had
too much to live for, for it to be any other way.

First, he looked at his
younger brother. Josh again had on the stupid ass coat and his visage carried
no impression of his usual good humor. Jason had come to realize that this man
was probably the most ruthless of them all. Next, his gaze alighted on his
twin, his mirror image. Somewhere along the way, this man had lost some of his
joy for life, but had gained a compassion Jason had rarely seen in another
human being.

For the first time, he
didn't want to hold back the words. In a low whisper, he told them exactly what
was in his heart. “I love you guys. Be safe. I need you guys around to be my
kid’s Godparents.”

He could see by the looks
in their eyes that he had hit a nerve with them. Before his eyes, they seemed
to become more than they were only moments before, and he felt the power his
words had on his siblings. Almost from the instant they had met him they had
accepted him as their brother. Yet this was the first time he had completely
accepted them.

Josh's good humor returned
for a fraction of a second. “Are we going to hug it out or are we going to kick
some ass and get this thing done?”

“Get it done,” the twins
replied with the exact same words.

Just weeks before,
mimicking each other’s words would have pissed them off. Now, their lips curled
in exactly the same way, and they recognized it and they embraced it.

Turning the handle to the
front door, the brothers charged through – it was on!

A seasoned fighter, Jason
subconsciously took in his environment even as he ran, rolled and dodged the
barrage of bullets that flew around them. Adrenaline flooded his system as his
focus narrowed. This was a battle of survival. This was a battle for his life,
and he intended it to be a very long life.

The first thing Jason
noticed was that there were men above them. That was dangerous as they could
fall back out of sight, reappearing when they were engaged with an opponent on
ground level.

What the hell was going on?
He had been assured that the upper level snipers would be taken care of.
Curling into a ball, he flung himself across the floor out of the range of the
bullets that came at him one after another.

Pist, pist, the overhead
barrage of shots stopped. They hadn't been betrayed. Their contact had come
through but Jason was still on his guard, there could be more. Looking forward,
Jason saw there was a man moving towards him. The man was huge, even bigger
than him, none of his physique carrying an ounce of spare flesh. This man was
built for pure power, and by the way he carried himself, Jason knew he had a
battle on his hands. Rarely was size an issue for him as he was normally
bigger. This time it was different. This time he was at a disadvantage and his
opponent had form.

He saw all this in an
instant. The man stood with his legs spread apart, his knees flexed, bouncing
on his toes, his body turned to give Jason the smallest possible opening to his
body. Although a big man, Jason knew that his one advantage over this brute,
who looked as though he wanted to take off his head, might just be his speed.
For such a big man, most of his opponents underestimated just how quickly he
could move. He had never relied on strength alone. That was the way of the man
who wanted to lose a fight, and he had lost his fair share, but never as an
adult, and that wasn't going to change now.

Taking up his fighting
stance, Jason pulled in a deep breath as he balled his fists, centered, ready
for the engagement. He could hear the sounds of fighting around him but he
remained focused, trusted his brothers and their contact had everything else under
control.

His concentration narrowed
even further as his opponent circled him. He knew it was unlikely that he would
come out of this without some battle scars but he intended to keep them at a
minimum.

As the men circled each
other, Jason could see the respect his opponent had for him reflected in his
eyes. But he could also see that the bigger man wanted to take him out.
Following quickly on this rationalization was that this man was prepared to
take his life as a badge of honor.

Jason knew he had to
dictate the range of the fight if he was to have any hope of winning. This man
was bigger, and probably stronger than him, so he would have to use his brain.

He circled his opponent,
feigning forward then retreating. He side stepped each fist that was thrown at
him, knowing better than to fall into a pattern that could be predicted. Jason
was focused on his opponent, ready to attack as soon as he saw an opening. This
was a fight he wasn't going to lose and he intended to end it quickly.
Beckoning the brute forward, Jason smiled as his opponent took the bait and
moved closer. In an instant, all his amusement vanished. The situation was too
serious to waste time with this artificially pumped up monstrosity.

In the blink of an eye, his
opponent rushed forward. Jason did the same but at the last minute, he threw
himself down, relying on his speed as he swept his foot forward, swiping the
bigger man’s legs from beneath him. Spinning on his palms, he was back on his
feet, ready for a counter attack. The man did some kind of weird flip and was
back on his feet as though he never fell.

Okay, Jason thought, this
dude was definitely on something and was feeling no pain. The force with which
he had hit the floor should have at least slowed him down. He knew this man
wasn't going to stay down unless he got dirty. Jason steeled himself as he
realized what he was up against. So far, he had managed to avoid the hits that
had been directed towards him but now his opponent had seen some of his skills,
knew his speed and the sizing up was at an end.

One of them was going down,
and it wasn't him. Springing back, he again took up his fighting stance, giving
the impression he was in retreat. All at once, Jason rushed forward, chin down
with his body protected.

Arching his back, he only
just avoided a blow that would have surely taken him out. Pivoting on his toes
to the left, Jason unleashed a fisted right handed blow filled with all the
power he could from his legs and his core. On contact, he heard the sound of
the man's jaw shatter. The force he had put behind the punch sent shock waves
through him, vibrating up his arm and through his body. Jason’s hand already
ached from the blow and he was surprised he hadn’t broken it. For good measure
he again tensed his biceps and delivered an uppercut with his left hand to the
man’s already shattered jawline. The hulks head spun around, blood flying from
his mouth, pooling on the marbled floor.

The huge man’s legs gave
out and he crumbled to the ground, and he stayed down, blood seeping from his
mouth where he had bitten into his tongue. Whirling around, his fists at the
ready, adrenaline still pumping through his veins, Jason realized all around
him was quiet. His brothers had locked down the rest of their opponents. They
now stood watching him.

“Let’s finish this,” Jason
told his brothers, more than ready to get out of that hell hole. There was only
one barrier left between him and his ultimate goal, and he went through it
without hesitation. With his brothers at the ready behind him, he kicked in the
door Jake indicated Farnsworth was behind.

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.