The Ties that Bind (Kingdom) (31 page)

Pushing back her chair in a rush, Aviva knew she had to get away from the disgusting man. Nixon was a complete and utter narcissist who would never see, let alone admit to the damage he had brought to so many lives.

As she picked up her purse and secured the strap over her shoulder, she reached for the glass of water set out before her, and threw its content directly in Nixon’s face. As he jerked away in shock at the icy touch of the water, she followed up by emptying the whole jug, ice cubes and all, directly in his lap.

“The first glass was just for the fun of it, and the jug was for my mother. Embarrassed now, Nixon? I’d say!”

With her head held high, Aviva looked neither left nor right as she exited the restaurant.

Chapter 33

Their meeting had gone just how Aviva had imagined it would. She had been the one to walk out, leaving Nixon literally sputtering. As far as she was concerned, it was job done, and good riddance to bad rubbish!

High on her exit, Aviva was totally caught unawares by the grip on her arm. Her whole body was spun around by the force of anger she had only experienced once before in her life.

The sight of the fury that masked Nixon’s face threw her back into memories of her abduction. She saw hatred, and it was completely focused on her.

Aviva watched as the hand of the much larger man descended towards her. She knew it was going to hurt, but she had been through worse, much worse. Unable to stop his hand, she readied herself for the sting of pain. The difference was, this time she wasn’t bound. This time she would fight back. She was finished with being abused, of having pain inflicted on her by weak men. She would take the blow, but she would come back fighting.

She felt nothing. Somewhere through the haze of her adrenalin rush was the sound of rage. Before Nixon’s hand could find its mark it was arrested in mid-air. The force of his downward motion was being used against him, bringing him to his knees.

Emerging from the place where she had ensconced herself ready for the blow, Aviva saw Jason. His fury distorting his face so much, she hardly recognized him.

In a split second, as though in slow motion she saw his right hand ball into a fist, descending towards the older man’s face.

Aviva recognized his intent. Jason’s blow intended to kill him. She couldn’t allow it. Pulling on all her strength, Aviva somehow managed to grab onto his massive arm. Holding on she threw her whole weight against his massive power.

Feeling the full force of his strength, she knew his control at not hitting Nixon had nothing to do with her puny weight hanging onto his arm. It had nothing to do with the lessening of what he wanted to inflict on Nixon, and everything to do with his affinity to what she wanted.

“He’s not worth it, Jason.”

Jason didn’t look at her. His fury was a palpable thing. It emanated from him encapsulating the three of them to the point that she knew she dared not break the control she had over him.

Everything around her seemed to be hanging in a balance. It was as though her words hung in the air for an eternity. Aviva experienced everything frame by frame. Even the feel of the breeze that blew against them seemed suspended until Jason finally looked at her. The blackness of his eyes told their own story. While he had responded to her plea, he still fought an internal battle. The relaxation of the tautness of his muscles was Aviva’s cue that she could finally do the same.

That was her mistake. In a blur of motion that she should have become used to with him, she was standing on her own. Jason had the older man flat out on the ground and he was on one knee, bending over him like a harbinger of death.

“You must have lost your mind to think I would allow you to raise your hand to this woman. Believe me when I say... I will kill you for that alone.”

“Jason... please, Baby. Please don’t do this.”

As Jason looked at Aviva, she could tell he was still fighting an internal battle. The moment he broke eye contact with her, she knew she had lost control of the situation.

“If you see that woman over there again, you only have one option, run... run for your life. If I even think your existence causes her a moment of distress, I will remove you from your pitiful existence.”

Aviva knew his choice of words was for her benefit. Yet they left her in no doubt as to his meaning. He may not have realized it, but she knew her man, and she understood what he was capable of.

Her worry over the situation lessened. She had told him she didn’t want him to use force against Nixon, and she knew he would respect her wishes. What concerned her more, was how he had known where she was, and how he had come to be in the right place at the right time to save her from Nixon’s anger.

Nixon already forgotten, the direction of her thoughts led Aviva to an obvious conclusion. With that certainty, she turned and walked away. With each step, she picked up speed. Soon she was running, and Aviva didn’t like to run. She knew that as soon as Jason realized she was no longer by his side he would come after her.

Reaching her car, she was behind the wheel in a flash and speeding out of the parking lot, tires screeching. Here she was working so hard at regaining her confidence, taking back her life after all she had gone through, and the bloody man was having her followed!

Peeling down the highway, Aviva’s anger was a boiling mass lodged in the pit of her stomach. She had worked so hard for the mileage she had gained. Venturing out on her own hadn’t been easy. Merging back into a semblance of normality hadn’t been easy, and all the time he had assigned someone to watch her. Someone who dogged her every move.

Aviva knew that had it not been for her meeting with Nixon, she would never have known she was being watched. The people he had hired were good, very good. She was now constantly on her guard, and she had neither seen nor suspected their presence. Her complete ignorance to the fact that she was being followed was what scared her the most.

Aviva had thought she had done all she possibly could to ensure her own safety. She had staggered the times she left home, taken meetings that she knew she should have attended in person via conference call, she even had pepper spray in her purse.

As her mind tormented her, she was aware that none of the precautions she had taken meant anything. Someone had been on her tail all the time, and she hadn’t even known it. Somewhere in the back of her mind Aviva knew she should feel comforted by knowing that Jason was ensuring her safety. But she didn’t. Maybe if he had taken the time to discuss his intention with her, she might have agreed. Now she would never know, and at the moment that lack of choice really pissed her off.

**********

When Jason looked up, Aviva was gone. All he caught sight of was her lithe form slipping into her car, and the sound of tires screeching as she drove away.

Her departure escalated his fury. His conversation with Steve had shown him to what ends the man who was currently propped up against a car was capable of going. He had lost control of one daughter, and he had foolishly thought to move on to another.

That thought alone made Jason’s blood boil. Since the night of Hope and Steve’s engagement party, he had known that the man cowering before him needed to be removed permanently from Aviva’s life.

Looking down at Nixon, he knew that he had already lost interest in the older man. But he took the time to voice one more warning now that Aviva was gone.

“Forget Aviva and Hope’s existence. If they ever mention seeing or hearing from or about you, I will kill you!”

“Who do you think you are? I’ll have you up on assault charges for this!” Nixon said, attempting a show of bravado.

Jason laughed in his face. “Go ahead, but know that I have a long reach. You should also know something else about me, I never forget or forgive a slight, especially one made against Aviva. This is your final warning.” Jason’s words were delivered with such cold intensity, he saw Nixon shudder.

His point made, Jason lifted the older man to his feet by his collar. With one final loaded look, he turned his back on Nixon and walked away.

Jason’s mind had already turned to Aviva, and he knew he was in for yet another hard night, which was okay with him. As long as she was in their home when he arrived, anything that came after, he could deal with. Jason knew that if she wasn’t at home he would rip this town apart looking for her.

His brisk steps were intercepted by a nondescript looking man. Looking down at him, Jason paused. His ability to blend into the background was the reason he had hired him. He was non-threatening to anyone who saw him, and he had done his job well. Jason knew the much shorter man could handle himself, another reason why he was currently in his employ.

“Do you need anything else tonight, Mr. King?”

“Where is she?” Jason asked without even the slightest guilt.

“She seems to be heading in the direction of your home. My colleague is following her.”

“Good, if she makes a deviation, I want to know about it.” That said, Jason was again in motion, heading for his car and an inevitable confrontation.

**********

The private detective stood to one side and watched the powerful man stride away. Over the years, his clients had varied. As his reputation had grown he had come into contact with many powerful men. But there was something about this man that made him wary.

He had spent nearly his whole life studying people. That was what made him so adept at his job. This man, this, Jason King was dangerous. He knew instinctively the moment he had met him that if he was crossed, matters could turn deadly in an instant.

He also knew from their first conversation that the woman his company had been hired to follow and protect was probably, Jason King’s one vulnerability.

**********

 “Aviva!” Jason called as soon as he stepped into their house. His reply was silence. Pissed with everything that had transpired that day, he was suddenly glad they were leaving this house.

Aviva was right, it was too damned big. When he and Steve had shared the house, somehow it had met their needs. Now the perpetual quietness, its vast size, and his lack of ability to tell where his woman was at any given time was wearing thin. The sooner they left the better he would feel.

Jason’s impatience grew with each step he took, and he came to a decision. Her running off and disappearing acts were at an end.

Throwing open their bedroom door, Jason only just managed to dodge the missile that flew with deadly accuracy at his head. Bending his body in what Aviva would probably call a Kingdorian move, the object kept going through the open door and shattered against the wall behind him. Who knew, his angel had a deadly pitching arm?

Swinging his head in her direction, Jason caught the remnant of a look of surprise still visible on her face. In his mind the look could mean two things: the first being shock that she had come so close to making contact with his head; the second, she was stunned by the way he had moved. Either way, he wasn’t putting up with her tantrum.

He hadn’t seen it coming. The sneaky little woman had a series of missiles lined up, and they just kept sailing towards his head. No doubt about it, she was good, but he was better. In this battle of wills, he was determined that not one of the objects would find their mark.

Each dodge, each sidestep, bend and twirl, brought him closer to where she was standing, rapidly running out of things to throw. Even though Jason knew he would draw her ire, he laughed out loud. He was actually enjoying himself.

As far as he was concerned there was never a dull moment when Aviva was in full flow. She was the type of woman who grabbed a man’s attention and held it.

“So you did hear me calling you.”

“Yeah, I heard you, so what?”

“Next time I won’t give you the opportunity to gather your arsenal.”

“Whatever, Jason. I had them ready before you even called my name. In fact, when you called out I was reading a magazine. Waiting for your arse to get up here.”

Jason laughed out loud at her bare-faced lie. He knew he had only been minutes behind her arrival home. She must have been scurrying around the room like a wound up toy to have everything ready to throw at him.

Moving with speed, Jason had her up and against him before she was half way through sticking her nose in the air.

“If you know what’s good for you, you would put me down, right now!”

He knew she was pissed at him, but he didn’t much care. “What’s the problem? You asked me not to hurt him, so I didn’t hurt him.”

“Nixon, you think this is about Nixon?”

Jason was confused. If her display of anger wasn’t about her worthless father, then he was at a loss as to what was going on. “If this isn’t about Nixon then what the hell is going on here?” Jason could feel her attempts to get away from him and tightened his arms.

“Put me down, Jason.”

“No.”

“I’m not playing with you. Put me down... now!”

“Not until you answer me. If this isn’t about Nixon then what the hell is it about?”

“As if you don’t know!”

This was the thing Jason had always hated about women. They all thought a man should be able to read their minds. In the past when he had been confronted by
as if you don’t know
, he would have shook his head and walked away. But this was Aviva, and walking away wasn’t an option. It would never be an option.

“What did I do wrong, Angel?” Jason could see the real hurt on her face and was immediately contrite. He didn’t like to see her this way, but he honestly had no idea of what he had done wrong.

“How did you know where I was?”

Jason nearly dropped her, taken completely off guard by her question. But he answered with complete honesty. Her safety was of paramount importance to him, plus she had asked him an honest question, and he would give her an honest answer.

“I employed an agency to follow you. I wasn’t prepared for anything else to happen to you. I knew that I couldn’t be with you all the time, so the agency was the next best thing.”

“It’s not okay, Jason!”