Abandoned but Not Alone (42 page)

Jumping to
his feet for the umpteenth time, Jason tried to outpace a feeling of dread
threatening to overtake him. Something wasn
’
t right. He knew it, he could feel it, he just didn
’
t know where this feeling of disquiet
came from. Aviva had called him after she had had her hair braided for their
vacation and had told him she was on her way to do some more shopping, courtesy
of his credit card. He had also checked in with Steve who, low and behold had
answered his phone. Steve was fine and dealing with the whole Cox fiasco. All
the people he gave a damn about were accounted for
–
so what was this feeling.

In mid
stride, Jason felt the vibration of his cell phone which was stuffed in the pocket
of his trousers. Reaching inside he grabbed the phone and looked at the
display. Aviva
’
s name
flashed on the screen and he subconsciously blew out a breath of relief at
seeing her name.
“
Hi Angel,
are you on your way back?
”

“
Oh, how precious, Angel is it? Well my
dear Jason, I now have your angel and you are both about to enter hell.
”

“
Who is this? What are you talking about?
Where
’
s Aviva
–
I
’
m warning you if you hurt a single hair on her head
–
you
–
are
–
a
–
dead
–
man!
”
Jason
shouted, fear the likes of which he had never known constricted his gut. As the
first question left his mouth his brothers and father sprung to their feet,
converging around him; silently demanding he put the phone on speaker. With the
touch of a button he complied.

“
So many questions, my dear Jason, um, I
wonder where I should begin. Oh, I know
–
you are in no position to demand or threaten me. I have what
you want ergo; you do as I say, when I say. I hope I
’
ve made myself clear? No need to answer, of course you
understand, no-one could ever call the great Jason King a fool, now could they.
That was just another rhetorical question, my dear Jason, there is no need to
reply.
”

“
Let me speak to Aviva!
”

“
Maybe I was wrong in my estimation of you
and you are a fool. To show you I mean business, please listen carefully
…”

“
Let me talk to her, now!
”

Jason
waited as the caller lapsed into silence following his demand. The silence was
broken by a woman
’
s screams;
Aviva
’
s pain induced cries
filled the room as the men listened helpless.

“
What do you want?
”
Jason asked in a calm, quiet voice, combined with the deadly
look of his cold eye. Eyes so cold they sent shivers of dread along Jackson
’
s spine.

“
Good, very good, I see I finally have
your full attention. I want you to await my next call. Oh, and feel free to
fill in the family, I know they
’
re
listening; I never did much like those Kingdoms, they always thought they were
so much better than us
…
Ah, enough
said for the moment I think.
”
Abruptly
the room was filled with the drone of the disconnected call.

Jackson was
horrified at what he had just heard. Even more disturbing was the change that
visibly seeped into the faces and posture of his sons. Gone were the trappings
of sophistication that ordinarily surrounded these men of wealth. In the blink
of an eye they were transformed into hardened warriors that would not have
looked out of place awaiting opponents in the gladiatorial arena.

Jason broke
the silence, looking down at his phone as he spoke with a deadly whisper as
though the mysterious caller could still hear his words.
“
I told you if you hurt her you were a
dead man, and I always keep my word.
”

The End
…
For
Now

Theresa L Henry

I am a new author who lives in
London, England. I would love to hear from you with any comments you might have
about the book you have just read. Please feel free to drop me a line at:
[email protected]
.

I look forward to hearing from you.