“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?”