As he pulled it open, he was confronted by Aviva and MacKenzie making their way down the hallway. “Are you okay, Aviva?”
Before either of the women had time to respond, Jason brushed past his younger brother as he rushed towards his wife. The next moment, despite her protests, Aviva was swept up in Jason's arms, and he was heading up the stairs.
Jake watched MacKenzie without comment as one brother disappeared up the stairs and the other down the hallway.
Joining her, Jake whispered something in her ear and waited. At her nod, he placed a hand in the small of her back and escorted her towards one of the more formal reception rooms in the house.
Since his last conversation with Curtis; Diana had been thrown into the mix, and was more than likely responsible for all their ill fortune. They all knew what Diana was capable of, and he for one was in no doubt that she was behind all their troubles. Her underhanded machinations had already impacted on all their lives, and Jake was ready to take action.
Jake knew that once Diana realized they were on to her, all hell would break loose unless they permanently neutralized her. He didn’t know how they were going to accomplish that goal, but it was going to happen.
Once inside the room, he seated MacKenzie before pulling up a chair. Placing it directly in front of her, he took a seat and observed her as she looked around the space.
Jake had never particularly liked the room, but it served a purpose when they had business guests. He didn’t much care for the decor, but he knew it was what visitors expected when they visited the Kingdom home. To Jake, every chair in the room looked as though it would break if he sat on it the wrong way. With more pressing matters to deal with, he pushed the mundane thought from his mind and focused on the matter at hand.
“I just spoke with Curtis and from what he said, coupled with his earlier insinuation, we now believe we know who’s behind everything.” That was all Jake needed to say to have her full attention.
“Who is it?”
“Diana... our mother,” Jake replied, finding it difficult to give the title of mother to Diana.
“You have got to be kidding me. Your mother, why would she do this?”
The look of incredulity on MacKenzie’s face made Jake uncomfortable. He saw how she interacted with her daughter, how does one then describe the type of mother Diana was?
“It’s a long story, MacKenzie. One that I don’t really want to go into at the moment. You just need to trust me that Diana is more than capable of this and much more.”
“I’m sorry, Jake,” MacKenzie said, leaning forward to rub a hand over his thigh.
Even as her touch sent a sharp jolt of awareness through him, Jake mentally pulled away. “The men of this family are the last people who need your pity!” His words had come out harder than he had intended, and Jake immediately felt regret when MacKenzie sat back, and removed her hand. This had been the first time she had voluntarily touched him, and he’d blown it.
“I know, and that wasn’t what I was doing.” Not giving him a chance to say anything else, MacKenzie kept on speaking. “What did you want to say to me that’s so important it couldn’t wait until morning?”
“I’m sorry, that came out wrong.” Jake wasn’t surprised when she ignored his apology.
“Why are we here, Jake?”
Taking a deep breath, he began to roll scenarios around in his mind. They needed a solution to what was going on. The longer the uncertainty hung over their heads, the longer it would take for him to move his relationship with MacKenzie forward.
As the beginning of a thought entered his mind, Jake began to build on it. Sure that it would work, he took a deep breath. Maybe what he was about to do was wrong, but through fair means or foul, he was going to get his way.
“Tomorrow you and I are going to visit those pariah lodged outside the gate. We are going to refute everything that the Ernestos’ have said. We are going to be so convincing that there will be no room left for doubt. Therefore, I need you to tell me everything. I need to know who those men in the report are, and what they mean to you. I don’t want you to leave anything out, no matter how insignificant you may think it.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m not giving an interview to those people!”
The look of horror on her face made Jake smile, as he realized there was something MacKenzie was afraid of. “Don’t worry, lovely, I’ll hold your hand.”
Unfazed by her tut and eye roll, Jake prompted her to begin. Moments of hesitation followed before she began to speak. MacKenzie told Jake about the bum she had dated twice, and about the friend that had stayed at her house and their relationship.