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.”
Surprised that someone was visiting so late at night, Jason raised an eyebrow in enquiry.