This Game Called Life (Kingdom Book 4) (7 page)

“You’re right of
course... you should go.” While she was speaking MacKenzie attempted to move
out of his embrace, but Jake refused to release her.

“Whatever you’re
thinking, you’re wrong!”

“You have no idea
what the hell I’m thinking; so why don’t you just let me go so you can get the
hell out of my house!”

Again MacKenzie
had managed to hear his words and somehow distort them. He didn’t like when she
did it, and he was beginning to see a pattern. It was a survival mechanism that
she employed in order to keep him at arm’s length. Now that he recognized the
cause of her abrasiveness towards him, he could begin to formulate a plan of
action.

In a show of sheer
strength, Jake rose to his feet with MacKenzie still in his arms. Her yelp of
surprise gained her a curious look. Jake repositioned his grip and allowed her
to slide down his body, the hem of her dress falling into place.

Before her feet
touched the floor, he wanted her to be left in no doubt as to just how strong
his reaction was to her. The widening of her eyes as she came into contact with
the ridge of his arousal was almost comical.

Setting her down,
Jake stood back and ran a hand down her arms and brought one hand to his lips,
and placed a tender kiss in the middle of her palm. “Will you see me out?”

Thinking that this
was a night of firsts, Jake was amazed when MacKenzie’s only acknowledgement
was a silent nod.

With her hand
still held in his, Jake retrieved his jacket and headed for the door. Before
stepping through, he gave MacKenzie one last lingering kiss.

Jake waited until
MacKenzie closed and secured her door before making his way to his car. The
same feeling that had assailed him in the restaurant returned; he felt as
though he was being watched. Knowing better than to stop moving, Jake’s eyes
darted around the quiet street. Even as he got into his vehicle his
surveillance of his surroundings continued. That he saw and heard nothing out
of place was what worried him the most. Unwilling to leave before he felt
assured that MacKenzie was not in any danger; Jake sat in his car until he
could no longer feel the disturbing presence.

**********

Inside the
apartment, MacKenzie was still in a state of confusion about her feelings
towards Jake. Stripping off her clothes, she was on her way to the bathroom
when her home phone began to ring. Her first thought was that it was Carlos and
that something had happened to the baby. Her heart dropped.

Rushing to the
nightstand, she snatched up the handset and all but shouted into it. “Hello?”
Silence. Nothing but silence. There was no crackle to denote a faulty
connection, just a sinister eerie silence.

“Who is this?”
MacKenzie demanded. Silence was her only response. Two seconds later MacKenzie
slammed down the handset and sat staring at it; unsure of what had just
happened.

Chapter 11

Somehow, Jason had
been persuaded to become a part of the Kingdom family business, but he still
remained by and large on the periphery. He had his own businesses to take care
of, so his time was limited. However, it seemed to him that his wife was even
busier than him.

It was his
birthday. After pampering him for the entire morning, Aviva left the house to
attend a meeting. Before she left, she showed him images of the new Broadway
musical producer she was going to meet. Looking at the photo of the handsome
man, Jason had almost insisted that he go with her. That he was experiencing
feelings of jealousy had nothing to do with Aviva, he trusted his wife. It was
other men he didn’t trust.

That she knew they
had a dinner engagement, and she hadn’t called, and he couldn’t reach her
worried him. Something didn’t feel right. Just about to call Aviva for the
umpteenth time, Jason’s phone rang. Grabbing it, he spoke into the mouthpiece.

“Aviva?”

“May I speak to,
Jason Kingdom?” Came an unknown voice.

“Who the hell is
this?” Holding the phone away from his face, Jason looked at the screen in an
attempt to identify the caller. The number showed up as private.

“Are you Mr. Jason
Kingdom?”

The man’s
avoidance pissed Jason off. He didn’t know why he was so reluctant to answer
the callers’ simple question. All he knew was that a feeling of dread was
settling over him.

“This is Jason
Kingdom,” he finally confirmed.

“Mr. Kingdom, my
name is Detective Saunders–”

“What the hell is
going on here?” Jason broke in before the man could complete what he had to
say.

“Sir, if you would
just hold on a minute, I’ll fill you in.”

“I repeat, what’s
going on?” Jason’s heart rate had sped up so much he was having difficulty
breathing. The only thing his mind was capable of doing was repeating the words
don’t say
Aviva
, over and over again, in its reluctance to hear her
name mentioned over the phone.

“Sir, there has
been an accident...”

Jason remained
silent through the detective’s pause, refusing to assist the person he knew was
the bearer of bad news.

“Mr. Kingdom, are
you still there?”

“Tell me.” All the
anger went out of Jason’s voice as he steeled himself for what he was about to
hear.

“Sir, your wife
has been in an accident. Her car went off the road somewhere around 5:00 pm this
afternoon.”

“Where is she?”

After the
detective informed him of Aviva’s whereabouts he hung up the phone, no longer
interested in anything else the man had to say. His only intention was to get
to her as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to know anything else. The
irrational part of his mind didn’t want to hear what the man had to say; nor
did he want to think about what he would find when he arrived at the hospital.

Jason walked
through the door of the hospital alone. At no point in his mad dash across the
city did he think about calling anyone for support. Aviva was his wife and his
responsibility. Never once did it enter his mind that the rest of his family
would want to know that she had been in an accident.

Hesitating outside
her hospital room, one of his hands made contact with the cold steel of the
door handle. His other hand remained locked at his side, fisted with tension.
As he vacillated, his senses were assaulted by the antiseptic smell he had long
associated with hospitals. A deep breath later, he pushed open the door.

Aviva was lying
motionless on the bed and Jason almost lost his mind. A few giant steps were
all it took to bring him to her side, and to realize her chest moved up and
down in a regular fashion. There was also an absence of equipment and tubes
normally associated with someone in a critical condition, which did nothing to
lessen his worry.

Resting his
shaking hand against her pillow for balance, Jason carefully kissed her cheek.
Just then the doctor and nurse walked into the room.

“Mr. Kingdom, I’m
doctor Park.”

From his inclined
position, Jason turned and looked at the man standing at the end of his wife’s
bed. Whatever the doctor saw in his visage caused him to take a hurried step
backwards.

“You had better be
here to tell me my wife is going to be as good as new,” Jason spoke quietly,
enunciating each word; well aware that he was probably frightening the man with
his unsmiling expression.

Taking a visible
gulp, the doctor looked down at Aviva before he again attempted to speak to
Jason.

“Mr. Kingdom, your
wife was brought in around 6:00 pm this evening having been in a car accident.”

“What’s the matter
with her? I want to know everything!” Jason demanded.

“Mr. Kingdom, I’m
going to have to ask you to calm down. If you are unable to do so I will have
no alternative other than to call security and have you removed!” The doctor
said, clearly losing his patience in the face of Jason’s demands.

“I’d like to see
them try it, Doc, but I get your point, and I apologize. How is my wife?” The
only reason Jason bothered to apologize was because he didn’t want any further
delays in finding out about Aviva’s condition.

The doctor nodded
once by way of accepting Jason’s apology. At the same time the nurse walked to
the opposite side of the bed, picked up Aviva’s hand and took her pulse.
Jason’s eyes flashed over to the woman so fast she dropped Aviva’s hand.

“Lady, you had
better take more care when you’re dealing with my wife!” Jason told her through
tight lips.

“Mr. Kingdom,
maybe we should speak outside,” the doctor suggested, looking at the startled
nurse.

“No! We’ll speak
here, and I’m through waiting to hear what you have to say!” All Jason’s good
intentions were gone in an instant. Never thinking for one moment that he was
the cause of the nurse’s reaction. “Talk,” he said, almost sneering at the
doctor.

Seeming to sense
that Jason’s patience was at an end the doctor began to speak. “Your wife was
admitted at around 6:00 pm. When she arrived, she was unconscious. We’ve
conducted an MRI scan. Your wife is a very lucky woman, Mr. Kingdom. The test
shows only a mild concussion. However, that she hasn’t yet regained
consciousness is a cause for concern.”

“Are you telling
me my wife is in a coma?”

“No, that’s not
what I’m saying at all. She has a concussion. We will continue to watch her
vital signs for any changes. In my opinion, she should be waking up soon. We
will also want her to stay at the hospital for at least the next twenty-four
hours.”

“Thank you for filling
me in on my wife’s condition, doctor. The detective I spoke with said the
accident happened at around 5:00 pm my question is... why did it take you
chumps over two and a half hours to contact me?!” Jason was furious. Now that
he finally knew Aviva’s condition, he didn’t try to hide his anger.

“Jason.”

The sound of Aviva
whispering his name made him put aside his anger.

“Hey Angel, how
are you feeling?” Jason asked as he brushed another soft kiss against her
cheek.

“Like I’ve been in
a car wreck.” Came the soft but lucid reply.

“Mrs. Kingdom, I’m
Doctor Park, do you know where you are?” The doctor asked standing at the other
side of Aviva’s bed.

“Well, if I
didn’t, that white coat and your title would sure give me a good idea,” Aviva
responded attempting to smile.

The doctor laughed
at her response before asking her a series of questions. Her responses seemed
to satisfy him as he finally nodded.

“As I explained to
your husband, we want you to stay with us for a little while longer. If
everything checks out, you should be able to go home tomorrow.”

“Thank you
doctor.”

“You’re welcome,”
the doctor smiled. “Mrs. Kingdom. I’m afraid you’re going to have to answer
some questions about the accident. I’ll go and tell the detectives you’re
awake.”

With another smile
at Aviva the doctor nodded to the nurse; and ignored Jason as they both left
the room.

“Jason, you need
to learn to be a little more patient.”

The voice that
came to him was barely above a whisper and immediately pulled his attention
away from the dark thoughts that inhabited his mind.

Giving Aviva his
complete attention, Jason sat on the side of her bed and took her hand. Turning
it over, he brushed his lips across her palm. “If I weren't so worried about
you, I’d show him just how patient I am.”

Closing her eyes,
Aviva gave Jason’s hand an almost imperceptible squeeze. “Behave yourself, I
can’t deal with you getting mad at anyone right now.”

Feeling guilty,
Jason made no further comment as he kissed his wife on the forehead. When a
soft knock sounded on the door, he surmised that the detectives had arrived to
question her.

“Do you want me to
get rid of them?” Jason asked, prepared to send whoever was standing outside
the door away.

“No, it’s okay,”
Aviva said with a shake of her head.

Her immediate
wince caused him to question whether he should ignore her assurance that she
was up to answering questions. If the smile she offered was supposed to
reassure him, she failed miserably, but he complied with her wishes.

The two detectives
that entered the room represented a reverse parody. Both male, one short and
thin, the other tall and very overweight. Each looked as though they could do
with a good night’s sleep before being given the opportunity to change their
rumpled suits.

From the looks the
detectives gave him, it was clear they were unsure of who he was. Standing his
ground, Jason blocked Aviva from sight and introduced himself. “I’m Jason
Kingdom, which one of you is Saunders?” Jason asked belligerently.

“Jason!”

That one word
carried with it all the warning he needed as a reminder that he’d promised
himself not to upset his wife. When this little meeting was over, he would
accompany detective Saunders outside, and he would have his answers.

Holding out his
hand, the shorter of the two introduced himself as Saunders. Jason didn’t
bother to shake his hand. Rather, he looked down at the man with a menacing
stare. When he was sure his look had registered, he broke eye contact and
stepped aside to reveal his wife.

“Mrs. Kingdom, my
name is detective Bonetti,” the taller of the detectives said. “The doctor assured
us it would be okay if we asked you a few questions.”

As the detective
moved closer to the bed, Jason folded his arms and widened his stance, his eyes
following his every move.

“Yes, please go
ahead,” Aviva confirmed.

Detective Bonetti
started off asking innocuous questions about where she had been coming from,
what time she had left her appointment and who she was meeting.

Jason remained
quiet throughout this line of questioning as this was information he already
knew. His interest, as well as the detective’s lay in how the accident actually
happened.

“Mrs. Kingdom,
please tell us what you remember about the accident.”

It seemed to Jason
that Aviva hesitated before she began to speak. That she refused to look at him
was an indication that his wife was fighting an internal battle.

“Are you okay,
Angel?” Jason asked, his concern evident.

“I’m fine, Jason.”
Taking a deep breath, Aviva finally looked over at the detectives and began her
recollection of the event.

“It was an
accident. I was driving along and something, an animal I think ran in front of
me, I swerved to avoid it, and the next thing I knew I was heading for some
trees. When I woke up, I was here. That’s all I remember,” Aviva finished with
a slight shrug.

The detectives
continued to ask more probing questions in an attempt to garner as much
information as they could. When they began asking the same questions with a
slight twist, Jason called a halt to the proceedings.

“That’s it
detectives. My wife’s tired. If she remembers anything else, we’ll let you
know.” Jason could see they wanted to protest but obviously thought better of
it.

Giving Aviva a
probing stare; he wanted her to know he was not happy with what she had just
revealed to the detectives. Breaking eye contact with her, Jason walked to the
door and held it open for the two men. Following them outside, he closed the
door firmly behind him, ensuring a deliberate barrier between them and Aviva.

Knowing better
than to go on the offensive, he chose his words with care. He wanted to find
out as much as possible about what they knew. He was sure Aviva hadn’t told
them the whole story. In fact, he was one hundred percent sure she had omitted
much more than she had imparted. There was a reason for her omission, but that
could wait. Right now, he intended to find out, what hard facts the detective
had.