This Game Called Life (Kingdom Book 4) (13 page)

She hadn’t heard
his approach, but his sudden presence didn’t startle her.

“It’s lovely,”
MacKenzie whispered as though reluctant to break the mood of serenity that
looking at the painting had settled around her.

“I think so,” was
Jake’s simple reply.

Something in the
way he spoke drew MacKenzie’s attention to his face. He wasn’t looking at the
picture; he was staring right at her and his look of intensity caused her to
suck in a sharp breath. Without conscious thought her eyes slid away from his
and landed on his lips.

“What’s on your
mind, MacKenzie?”

MacKenzie knew
Jake spoke to her, she could see his mouth move, but what he said was a
complete mystery. The sight of his dimples on display was all she needed to
snap her out of whatever trance he had cast over her.

Ducking her head, she
attempted to slide around Jake’s big body to put as much space as possible
between them. She knew the thought was fanciful, but it seemed to her that his
body kept growing. Whichever direction she moved in, he appeared to be there
blocking her escape.

“Tell me what
thoughts just ran through your mind?”

Not on your
life!
MacKenzie thought.

“Did you miss me,
MacKenzie?” Jake asked, staring intently at her.

“Of course, I
didn’t miss you, I only saw you last night at dinner.”

“That’s not what I
mean, and you know it,” Jake replied with a seriousness that made her nervous.

MacKenzie could
feel her insides begin to flutter and knew she was heading into dangerous
waters. She recognized the feeling because it happened every time she was in
his company. “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, and as this
conversation is going nowhere, I think the best thing is for us to remember why
I’m here.” Attempting to walk around him, MacKenzie gasped when Jake took a
step closer to her.

“MacKenzie, I
don’t normally play games with women, but with you I’m willing to play whatever
game you choose. The only thing you have to remember is, I always win.”

Rolling her eyes
at his comment, MacKenzie again attempted to brush past him, but instead found
herself pulled flush against his body.

**********

“Should I show you
how much you missed me?” Not waiting for an answer, Jake kissed her. He didn’t
ask for permission nor did he give her a chance to pull away. He already knew
what she was thinking. His question had been posed solely to see if she was
ready to admit to her feelings.

As his lips took
possession of hers, Jake had one intention. He wanted to stake his claim. At
any moment, Carlos would be joining them. Although he was reasonably sure
MacKenzie had no residual romantic feelings towards Carlos, he wanted her to
have a reminder whether she wanted to admit it or not, whether this was the
right time or not. He wanted her to be left in no doubt that when Carlos
stepped through his office doors the only thing she needed to remember was that
he was the father of her child, and the man who was singlehandedly attempting
to ruin her life.

What he said was
true, he didn’t like games, but this woman and her games thrilled him. Finally,
he had a handle on her. He understood what he had to do. He needed to put her
in a position where she thought she was the one who was making all the plays.
He understood, but first he had to make sure she knew what she was missing
every moment she tried to deny him.

Jake took her limp
arms and draped them over his shoulders. His actions opened her to him, and he
didn’t waste a moment cupping her ass as he pulled her against his hard body.
Holding her, he bent his knees and slowly pushed upward. He knew as every man
did that this was one of the ways a man could show a woman without words what she
did to him.

Jake knew this
wasn’t their time, they were too exposed, she wasn’t ready for him, but he
would make damn sure that before she thought about another man, his image was
foremost in her mind.

Cupping her face, his
fingers moved against her skin, his touch feather light, even as his hardened
cock rotated against her and then withdrew. That she followed where his hands
and body led was in its self-exhilarating, a demonstration of how much she was
turned on by him. How much she enjoyed his touch. He knew physically she wanted
him, but that alone wasn’t enough. He wanted so much more that sometimes the
intensity of his feelings surprised him.

He had given her
as much leeway as he intended. If she wanted him, she was going to have to show
him.

He would get her
through this ordeal, but after that, it would be up to her to convince him that
apart from her child, he was the most important person in her life.

Chapter 19

The persistent
ringing of his cell phone finally registered with Jake. Reluctant to break the
tenuous contact he was attempting to establish with MacKenzie, and with an arm
still holding her in place, he answered.

“Jacob Kingdom.”

“This is Curtis
Ernesto.”

Jake hesitated as
his gaze met MacKenzie’s. From their proximity, it was clear that she too had
heard who was on the line. The look she gave him told Jake her interest had
been piqued as she made no attempt to move away.

“What can I do for
you, Mr. Ernesto?” Jake inquired.

“The meeting is
off. Carlos isn’t coming.”

Jake could feel
his frustration rise but knew he somehow had to keep his anger under control.
Through clenched teeth, he could only manage a one-word response. “Why?”

The hesitation
that followed his question annoyed Jake even more. With it came the feeling
that Curtis was about to fob him off with some form of half-assed excuse. Jake
mentally willed Curtis not to voice an excuse, because if he did, Jake knew he
would probably go over to their house and do something he would later regret.

Deliberately
pulling in his temper, he eased MacKenzie away and walked around his desk and
took a seat. He had hoped that what he had found out and what he was about to
say would have been done face to face with Carlos.

“Tell your
brother, I know everything,” Jake spoke into the handset while finding and
maintaining eye contact with MacKenzie.

“What do you think
you know?”

The cautionary
question confirmed to Jake that the information he’d dug up could be the key to
the mess that surrounded them.

“I have MacKenzie
here with me. It was my hope that Carlos would also be present when I revealed
what I know.”

“I repeat, what do
you
think
you know Mr. Kingdom?”

“Be very sure you
want me to answer that question, because once I voice what I know, there will
be no turning back. I’m about to do you a favor, Mr. Ernesto. My brother told
me that you looked after Noelle while she was at your home, and I always repay
my debts; so listen closely to what I have to say and the way in which I say
it.

You and your
family need to understand that the accusations leveled against MacKenzie are to
be withdrawn today. If this doesn’t happen, I will not hesitate to destroy you
all.”

“Tell me.”

The dispassion in
Curtis’ voice struck Jake as odd. It was almost as though he was resolved to
what he was about to hear.

“I know about
Hayden Fox, and I do mean,
everything
.”

The silence that
stretched on after he finished was an indication that Jake’s strike had found
its mark.

“What are you
going to do with this information?”

“Now that depends
on your brother, this is a one-time offer. Set it right. I don’t care how you
do it, but when you do, make sure that MacKenzie comes out looking like the
innocent that she is. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Ernesto?”

“You don’t
understand what you’re asking. Everything isn’t as simple as you think.”

“When your family
started down this path none of you gave a moment’s consideration to MacKenzie
or Noelle. Therefore, I don’t care how simple this will be for your family.
Someone ill-advised within your midst thought it prudent to attack those I hold
dear. Fix it, or I will make it my personal quest to ruin your family, and you
and I know I have the means to carry out my promise.

I don’t know you,
Curtis Ernesto, but I have been assured that amongst your family, you are the
one with the most integrity. That fact carries only so much favor with me. I’ll
say again, set the situation right, or I will!”

“I hear you, Mr.
Kingdom, but maybe you also need to take a good look at
your
family, and
get
your
house in order... for all our sakes!”

Curtis’ response rocked
Jake, but he didn’t allow it to show. He was being given a clear message, and
with all his considerable intellect, he recognized that he had missed something
of vital importance.

“Twenty-four
hours. That is all the time your family has to set this right.” Without waiting
for a response, Jake hung up the phone.

Looking over at
MacKenzie, he knew that deliberately excluding her from the conversation would
pose questions he wasn’t ready to answer.

**********

The drive back to
the house was mostly conducted in silence. Jake was distracted. MacKenzie knew
he could probably feel the pull of her curiosity as she watched him in silent
contemplation.

That he had taken
charge of the conversation with Curtis had bothered her at first. As the
strange exchange continued, she had been content to take a back seat. She
didn’t understand most of what they were saying, but she would, because she was
about to ensure that Jake told her everything she wanted to know. It was her
life that was being manipulated, and she wanted answers.

“What’s going on,
Jake?”

“About what in
particular?” He replied still sounding distracted.

“Don’t play with
me, Jacob!”

The annoyance in
her voice obviously caught Jake’s attention. For the first time since they had
gotten into the car, she finally had his undivided attention.

“I’m sorry, I
guess you need answers. It’s just that I’m trying to figure out what Curtis was
alluding to regarding my family.”

MacKenzie
immediately felt contrite that she had snapped at him. From the moment she had
turned up at their house, all of the Kingdoms, and especially Jake had been
nothing but kind to her.

“No, I’m sorry,
and I apologize for snapping at you. Of course, you’re worried about your
family. I know Curtis, and he will protect his family at all cost; so I’m just
going to put this out there, he’s probably messing with your head.”

*********

As soon as they
arrived home Jake excused himself and disappeared into his office. Three
telephone calls later and his brothers and father strolled through the door.
Indicating they should take a seat, Jake waited until they had made themselves
comfortable before he addressed them.

“Is there
something going on with any of you that we need to know about?” Looking at each
member of his family in turn, Jake awaited a response. Josh and his father
readily shook their heads to denote they had nothing to impart; Jason
hesitated.

“What is it,
Jason?” Jake asked his twin.

“About Aviva’s
accident. She didn’t just go off the road on her own; she had help.”

Everybody began to
ask questions at once, demanding to know what had taken place. It fell to
Jackson to restore order to give Jason, an opportunity to finish what he had to
say.

“What happened?”
Jackson asked through tight lips.

That his father
was angry was obvious, and Jake felt the same way. Sometimes he wanted nothing
more than to wring his twin’s neck. Jake just couldn’t understand why Jason
hadn’t told them something so important. Then he remembered that Jason and
Aviva had returned home not long before MacKenzie had arrived at the house.
From that moment on it seemed as though every moment had been taken up with
concern for MacKenzie and Noelle.

By the time Jason
filled them in on what had taken place, Jake could see that his younger brother
and father were only just managing to hold on to their anger.

“That’s not the
kind of thing you keep to yourself, Jason. What is the matter with you! What
the hell is it going to take for you to realize that we are a family? Aviva was
in an accident, and even more importantly she was run off the road, and you
didn’t think we needed to know that?”

Jake could tell
that his good-natured younger brother was furious with Jason, so was he at the
information they had just received. However, from what he could tell, Aviva had
come through her ordeal relatively unscathed.

Jake understood
Jason. He knew that his twin would have been taking care of his business; given
the same set of circumstances he would be doing the same thing. The only
difference between the way they handled situations; he wouldn’t have kept
something so serious to himself. All it would have taken was a phone call to
one member of the family, and they would have all been at the hospital lending
their support.

“I am extremely
disappointed in you, Jason, but that can wait.” Jackson didn’t need to raise
his voice to make his point, his disappointment was apparent. “What have you
found out about this deliberate act against us?”

“I’ve got nothing.
The police won’t divulge what they term,
police business
. Every avenue
I’ve gone down has produced zero information.”

“Which officers
have you spoken to?” Josh asked with a look of curiosity.

“Officers dumb and
dumber, who go by the names of Bonetti and Saunders. Why do you ask?”

“I was hoping you
wouldn’t say those names.”

“Why?” Jason asked
with curiosity.

“I’ve had dealings
with them in the past and get this; for some unknown reason they seem to think
I’m a smart-ass. Can you believe that?” True to form, Josh was full of swagger,
but the seriousness of his expression contradicted his joke. “Give me a few
minutes.” With that said, he walked over to the furthest corner of the room and
pulled out his cell.

Jason’s eyes
tracked his younger brother’s every move, but Jake’s gaze was fixed on his
twin.

“What?” Jason
demanded, no doubt feeling his stare.

“What is the
matter with you; when are you going to learn that you shouldn’t keep things
like this from us?”

“I said nothing
because my wife asked me not to.”

“Why would she ask
that of you, Jason?” Jackson took up the questioning where Jake had left off.

“She said you guys
already had enough on your plate, and she didn’t want you to have to worry
about her accident as well.”

 “While I have no
doubt, Aviva spoke those words once the whole MacKenzie incident arose; that
does not detract from you not having called us when you were at the hospital,”
Jackson admonished his son.

“It never occurred
to me.”

“It never occurred
to you! Jason–”

“Hold that
thought,” Josh broke into his father’s anger towards his brother. “You can bust
his scrotum at a later date because we all know his last comment was BS.”

Giving his
youngest son an irritated look, Jackson asked him what he had found out.

“Nothing! The cops
have no information that would shed any light on what happened to Aviva.”

“Who did you speak
to?” Jake wanted to know.

“There’s this
leggy brunette who completely adores me. I keep her sweet, and she
reciprocates.”

“Lord help me; my
son is a man whore!” Jackson exclaimed in exasperation.

“That’s not true,
dad. Your son is a connoisseur of fine women!” Jake winked at his father.

Giving his
youngest son a look of exasperation, Jackson made no further comment to Josh’s
outlandish statement.

“So it would seem
that we’re back to the exact position of ten minutes ago.” Jason threw in, a
frustrated look on his face.

“It may look like
it, but we’ll get to the bottom of this. Now that we know there is someone out
there prepared to hurt Aviva, their days are numbered.” Coming from the
patriarch of the family, the words carried more menace than any of his sons
could have managed.

As his brothers
continued to stare at their father, Jason looked over at his twin. “I presume
the reason we are all here is because something happened or was said at your
meeting with Carlos.”

“It was a
telephone conversation with Curtis, not his famous, or should I say infamous
brother, and his exact words were, ‘
maybe you also need to take a good look
at your family and, get your house in order for all our sakes.’
The silence
that followed Jake’s verbatim quote was finally broken by their father.

“I want answers,
and I want them now!” Jackson demanded not trying to hide his anger.

Jackson’s
exclamation still hung in the air as Aviva came into the room. “Dinner’s
ready.”

The curious look
she passed around the room wasn’t lost on any of them. Without comment, all the
men rose and followed Aviva to the dining room.

The meal passed
with their usual banter, but to Jake it seemed forced as they all seemed to be
preoccupied with their thoughts. With dinner finished, and as per their nightly
ritual, everyone made their way to the family room. In various states of
repose, the conversation was light while they enjoyed coffee and brandy.

Hearing his name,
Jason looked up to see the family butler, Mr. Ronson standing at the door with
a look of embarrassment and anger on his face. “Mr. Jason, you have a visitor
who insists on seeing you.”