1 Love Is Patient, Kind and Above All True
1.1 Chapter Twenty Five
"Now Jaime, are you comfortable in that chair? I must apologize for Ben and Jake; they don't know how to treat nice girls like you. You're all so dusty from the dirt on the floor." Roscoe circled her like a shark circles its prey.
"Dirt never hurt anyone," she said sarcastically.
He kneeled before her in his clean-cut suit. Even on his knees he was taller than she was, his eyes just meeting hers. Roscoe rested his arms on the ledge of the chair's seat, a little too close for comfort in Jaime's opinion. "I'm so glad you feel that way. I believe you'll be down here a little while longer."
"Do you think I really need to have my feet tied?" she asked sweetly. "I don't think I'll be able to get away, now do you?" She lifted her legs, pleading with her eyes.
He looked like he might consider it when his eyes seemed to darken and realize what she was trying to pull. "I don't think so darling," he said endearingly. "It would just be too much temptation for you. Even if you knew you couldn't get away." Roscoe got up and dusted off his knees. "Besides, I wouldn't want to have to hurt you."
Jaime tried to kick him with her bound legs. Unfortunately it made her lose her balance and Jaime tipped over sideways. Roscoe seemed like he would let her fall to the ground in humiliation, but then opted to pull her up to him so that she was standing.
He's a lot stronger than I remember.
Jaime avoided his eyes, yet felt his hot breath on the top of her head. His hands continued to hold her against him.
"See, didn't I tell you? You'll hurt yourself," he chided, lifting her head to meet his gaze.
She turned her head in defiance, but he had a stronger hold on her chin than she expected. Jaime felt her body beginning to betray her and sent a shiver down her spine.
He smiled at her. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" he smirked.
Jaime looked away from him. "You make me sick," she spat.
Roscoe pushed her down onto the chair. "I'll concede, you do know how to make me angry you witch!"
Jaime struggled against his one hand pushing on her shoulder, keeping her in her seat. With the other hand he untied her feet, but before she had a chance to kick him or do anything to make him release her, he spun her around with her back facing him. "Let me go!"
"I've decided to be nice and take you to somewhere where there's a little more light," he responded pushing her forward.
Jaime felt his grip on her loosen a little, and she saw her chance. She lunged forward towards the flight of stairs. As she commanded her feet to move faster, Jaime found herself at the top of the stairs facing the two large men who had taken her captive.
Her memories came flooding back. She had entered the gate hiding around the corner of the gate, making sure her father's spies couldn't see her. By the time they had left, the announcer had called a last boarding call. Jaime had rushed to catch her plane when these two men seemed to appear out of nowhere. One of them grabbed her from behind making sure no one saw them. The other had placed a white cloth over her face, which she now realized chloroform to knock her out.
Jaime heard the footsteps running up behind her. "Good timing boys!" he sneered. "I've decided Miss Nam here can't possibly be comfortable down here so we're going to take her to one of our wonderful rooms. I mean, just because she's our captive doesn't mean her stay with us can't be pleasant, right Jaime?"
Her stomach bottomed out. She definitely wasn't going to get out of this one very easily.
***
Sonny had called Jason back during the simple meal Elizabeth had prepared. Elizabeth knew it was Sonny because he talked in hushed tones at the dinner table. She began to clean up the plates as Jason left the table to look out the window in the living room.
Elizabeth felt strange cleaning up the table, putting dishes into the dishwasher and wiping up the dining room table. It seemed like an alternate reality. It was almost like playing house. Jason was the husband and Liz the attentive wife. She shook her head. What was she thinking?
As Elizabeth looked over at Jason, she worried over what happened to Jaime. When Jason had said the plane was delayed, she thought nothing of it. Now that she stood in this two-bedroom apartment with Jason, Elizabeth's imagination began to run wild.
What if she got mugged and had amnesia? What if one of Jason's enemies decided to take her hostage? What if…
Elizabeth couldn't think of that anymore. It was starting to get to her. Besides, Elizabeth knew that with Sonny helping, they were sure to find her before the week was out. Hopefully it won't take that long!
~~
Her clothes had been somewhat unpacked during the span of the conversation between Sonny and Jason. Elizabeth knew that they might be on the move, that this place was just a home base for the search for Jaime. She had been uneasy with the idea of sleeping just across the hallway from Jason. Why am I so nervous to be with him? she thought to herself. I've lived with him before? We've slept in the same room.
But things had changed between them since then. Lucky had come back and Jason had made known his feelings to her. Elizabeth shook her head at the situations she had gotten herself into. Why hadn't she just told the truth from the beginning? Why did she have to be such a people pleaser?
The thought reminded her of something Jaime had once said, "I know. Sometimes the truth hurts, but in the end, the truth hurts a lot less than the lies or in your case, pretending."
Elizabeth had never seemed to quite get the hang of that idea. She seemed to be able to do it a lot easier when Jason was around, but it got harder when Jason was the one Elizabeth was hiding her feelings from. Yes feelings. I had feelings for Jason.
Her body fell with a soft thump on the firm single bed mattress. How she wished Jaime was here! Elizabeth knew that she would have something to say about it. But what?
The thought that she had about Jason getting over her was hard. Elizabeth never presumed that he would be left pining over Elizabeth for the rest of his life, but she never expected having to deal with Jason's closeness with another woman. "What am I going to do?" she sighed closing her eyes, wishing that she could just let it go.
Jaime was the one person whom she could picture Jason with. But she'd rather picture herself with him, she thought.
Elizabeth rolled onto her stomach, grabbing a pillow that was beside her and hid her face in it. Could she really picture herself with him? Elizabeth knew the answer to that question. Of course she…
Jason's voice interrupted her self-admission. "Elizabeth?"
She turned around to see Jason leaning against the doorframe to her room. "Yeah. Did you hear anything from Sonny?"
Jason nodded his head. "We're going to meet with Mr. Nam tomorrow morning. Well, actually I am," he corrected himself.
"What do you mean, you are? I am going to!" she exclaimed. Elizabeth wanted to find her friend just as much as Jason did. Or maybe not as much as he did. The thought disturbed Elizabeth.
Did he want to find her more?
"Elizabeth, I can't argue with you about this," he sighed. "I have to go alone. Mr. Nam just agreed to see me."
"Well, phone him and tell him that Jaime's friend Elizabeth is coming too," she instructed.
Jason shook his head and rubbed his left eye. "Elizabeth please…"
"No Jason! You please…" she said indignantly. "I am the reason she's gone!"
Jason's eyes studied her. "What do you mean you're the reason she's gone?"
Elizabeth sat up on the bed cross-legged. "I'm the reason she's gone. I am the reason she came to Italy. Jaime was showing me around. If I hadn't agreed to come, then she wouldn't have flown to Rome and she wouldn't be missing now."
Elizabeth thought about what she had just said. Yeah. It is my fault. Her heart sank. Maybe she unconsciously wished that Jaime would leave Jason alone. Now the wish had come true. Elizabeth heard footsteps approach her bed. Jason sat down on the edge of the bed in front of her.
"Elizabeth, this isn't your fault."
"If she wasn't in Italy, Jaime would not be missing right now, right?" she pointed out.
Jason reluctantly nodded his head. "But Elizabeth, you can't blame yourself for this?"
Elizabeth looked Jason in the eye. "Why not?" she asked.
"Elizabeth," he sighed, "Jaime wasn't forced to come here. Besides, whose idea was it?"
"Jaime's," she admitted.
"Well then?" he looked at her. "And if Jaime was abducted or something, you weren't the one who planned it, right?"
Elizabeth nodded her head. "I suppose. But Jason…Jason I wished that we had some time together and now we do," her voice trailed off. Her eyes lowered, unable to meet his questioning gaze.
"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.
"I mean, I wanted to spend some time with you. You guys seemed to pick up where you left off," she paused to consider her words, " Not that I know where that is, but I felt like I… I had lost you," she stammered.
Elizabeth looked up at Jason. He seemed quite stunned by the revelation. She tried to quickly ease the situation, "I mean, I realize now that it was silly to feel that way…"
Jason put his hand on top of hers. "Elizabeth…I…I'm glad you know that you would never lose me."
Elizabeth felt her face flush and became flustered. She slid off the bed and turned to look at Jason. "Yeah, sure!" she shrugged dismissively. "I mean, it was…silly to think that."
Jason smiled. "Yeah."
Elizabeth seriously wanted out of this conversation. So she took what she learned from all her time spent with Jason, she changed the subject. "So I'm going with you, right?"
Jason rolled his eyes. "No you aren't," he stated.
Now it was Elizabeth's turn to roll her eyes. "Jason, you do know that I'm stubborn right?"
He laughed, "Yeah, I know that. I know it well."
"Well then, you know there's no point in fighting me on this right?" she asked, giving him a big grin.
1.1 Chapter Twenty Five
"Now Jaime, are you comfortable in that chair? I must apologize for Ben and Jake; they don't know how to treat nice girls like you. You're all so dusty from the dirt on the floor." Roscoe circled her like a shark circles its prey.
"Dirt never hurt anyone," she said sarcastically.
He kneeled before her in his clean-cut suit. Even on his knees he was taller than she was, his eyes just meeting hers. Roscoe rested his arms on the ledge of the chair's seat, a little too close for comfort in Jaime's opinion. "I'm so glad you feel that way. I believe you'll be down here a little while longer."
"Do you think I really need to have my feet tied?" she asked sweetly. "I don't think I'll be able to get away, now do you?" She lifted her legs, pleading with her eyes.
He looked like he might consider it when his eyes seemed to darken and realize what she was trying to pull. "I don't think so darling," he said endearingly. "It would just be too much temptation for you. Even if you knew you couldn't get away." Roscoe got up and dusted off his knees. "Besides, I wouldn't want to have to hurt you."
Jaime tried to kick him with her bound legs. Unfortunately it made her lose her balance and Jaime tipped over sideways. Roscoe seemed like he would let her fall to the ground in humiliation, but then opted to pull her up to him so that she was standing.
He's a lot stronger than I remember.
Jaime avoided his eyes, yet felt his hot breath on the top of her head. His hands continued to hold her against him.
"See, didn't I tell you? You'll hurt yourself," he chided, lifting her head to meet his gaze.
She turned her head in defiance, but he had a stronger hold on her chin than she expected. Jaime felt her body beginning to betray her and sent a shiver down her spine.
He smiled at her. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" he smirked.
Jaime looked away from him. "You make me sick," she spat.
Roscoe pushed her down onto the chair. "I'll concede, you do know how to make me angry you witch!"
Jaime struggled against his one hand pushing on her shoulder, keeping her in her seat. With the other hand he untied her feet, but before she had a chance to kick him or do anything to make him release her, he spun her around with her back facing him. "Let me go!"
"I've decided to be nice and take you to somewhere where there's a little more light," he responded pushing her forward.
Jaime felt his grip on her loosen a little, and she saw her chance. She lunged forward towards the flight of stairs. As she commanded her feet to move faster, Jaime found herself at the top of the stairs facing the two large men who had taken her captive.
Her memories came flooding back. She had entered the gate hiding around the corner of the gate, making sure her father's spies couldn't see her. By the time they had left, the announcer had called a last boarding call. Jaime had rushed to catch her plane when these two men seemed to appear out of nowhere. One of them grabbed her from behind making sure no one saw them. The other had placed a white cloth over her face, which she now realized chloroform to knock her out.
Jaime heard the footsteps running up behind her. "Good timing boys!" he sneered. "I've decided Miss Nam here can't possibly be comfortable down here so we're going to take her to one of our wonderful rooms. I mean, just because she's our captive doesn't mean her stay with us can't be pleasant, right Jaime?"
Her stomach bottomed out. She definitely wasn't going to get out of this one very easily.
***
Sonny had called Jason back during the simple meal Elizabeth had prepared. Elizabeth knew it was Sonny because he talked in hushed tones at the dinner table. She began to clean up the plates as Jason left the table to look out the window in the living room.
Elizabeth felt strange cleaning up the table, putting dishes into the dishwasher and wiping up the dining room table. It seemed like an alternate reality. It was almost like playing house. Jason was the husband and Liz the attentive wife. She shook her head. What was she thinking?
As Elizabeth looked over at Jason, she worried over what happened to Jaime. When Jason had said the plane was delayed, she thought nothing of it. Now that she stood in this two-bedroom apartment with Jason, Elizabeth's imagination began to run wild.
What if she got mugged and had amnesia? What if one of Jason's enemies decided to take her hostage? What if…
Elizabeth couldn't think of that anymore. It was starting to get to her. Besides, Elizabeth knew that with Sonny helping, they were sure to find her before the week was out. Hopefully it won't take that long!
~~
Her clothes had been somewhat unpacked during the span of the conversation between Sonny and Jason. Elizabeth knew that they might be on the move, that this place was just a home base for the search for Jaime. She had been uneasy with the idea of sleeping just across the hallway from Jason. Why am I so nervous to be with him? she thought to herself. I've lived with him before? We've slept in the same room.
But things had changed between them since then. Lucky had come back and Jason had made known his feelings to her. Elizabeth shook her head at the situations she had gotten herself into. Why hadn't she just told the truth from the beginning? Why did she have to be such a people pleaser?
The thought reminded her of something Jaime had once said, "I know. Sometimes the truth hurts, but in the end, the truth hurts a lot less than the lies or in your case, pretending."
Elizabeth had never seemed to quite get the hang of that idea. She seemed to be able to do it a lot easier when Jason was around, but it got harder when Jason was the one Elizabeth was hiding her feelings from. Yes feelings. I had feelings for Jason.
Her body fell with a soft thump on the firm single bed mattress. How she wished Jaime was here! Elizabeth knew that she would have something to say about it. But what?
The thought that she had about Jason getting over her was hard. Elizabeth never presumed that he would be left pining over Elizabeth for the rest of his life, but she never expected having to deal with Jason's closeness with another woman. "What am I going to do?" she sighed closing her eyes, wishing that she could just let it go.
Jaime was the one person whom she could picture Jason with. But she'd rather picture herself with him, she thought.
Elizabeth rolled onto her stomach, grabbing a pillow that was beside her and hid her face in it. Could she really picture herself with him? Elizabeth knew the answer to that question. Of course she…
Jason's voice interrupted her self-admission. "Elizabeth?"
She turned around to see Jason leaning against the doorframe to her room. "Yeah. Did you hear anything from Sonny?"
Jason nodded his head. "We're going to meet with Mr. Nam tomorrow morning. Well, actually I am," he corrected himself.
"What do you mean, you are? I am going to!" she exclaimed. Elizabeth wanted to find her friend just as much as Jason did. Or maybe not as much as he did. The thought disturbed Elizabeth.
Did he want to find her more?
"Elizabeth, I can't argue with you about this," he sighed. "I have to go alone. Mr. Nam just agreed to see me."
"Well, phone him and tell him that Jaime's friend Elizabeth is coming too," she instructed.
Jason shook his head and rubbed his left eye. "Elizabeth please…"
"No Jason! You please…" she said indignantly. "I am the reason she's gone!"
Jason's eyes studied her. "What do you mean you're the reason she's gone?"
Elizabeth sat up on the bed cross-legged. "I'm the reason she's gone. I am the reason she came to Italy. Jaime was showing me around. If I hadn't agreed to come, then she wouldn't have flown to Rome and she wouldn't be missing now."
Elizabeth thought about what she had just said. Yeah. It is my fault. Her heart sank. Maybe she unconsciously wished that Jaime would leave Jason alone. Now the wish had come true. Elizabeth heard footsteps approach her bed. Jason sat down on the edge of the bed in front of her.
"Elizabeth, this isn't your fault."
"If she wasn't in Italy, Jaime would not be missing right now, right?" she pointed out.
Jason reluctantly nodded his head. "But Elizabeth, you can't blame yourself for this?"
Elizabeth looked Jason in the eye. "Why not?" she asked.
"Elizabeth," he sighed, "Jaime wasn't forced to come here. Besides, whose idea was it?"
"Jaime's," she admitted.
"Well then?" he looked at her. "And if Jaime was abducted or something, you weren't the one who planned it, right?"
Elizabeth nodded her head. "I suppose. But Jason…Jason I wished that we had some time together and now we do," her voice trailed off. Her eyes lowered, unable to meet his questioning gaze.
"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.
"I mean, I wanted to spend some time with you. You guys seemed to pick up where you left off," she paused to consider her words, " Not that I know where that is, but I felt like I… I had lost you," she stammered.
Elizabeth looked up at Jason. He seemed quite stunned by the revelation. She tried to quickly ease the situation, "I mean, I realize now that it was silly to feel that way…"
Jason put his hand on top of hers. "Elizabeth…I…I'm glad you know that you would never lose me."
Elizabeth felt her face flush and became flustered. She slid off the bed and turned to look at Jason. "Yeah, sure!" she shrugged dismissively. "I mean, it was…silly to think that."
Jason smiled. "Yeah."
Elizabeth seriously wanted out of this conversation. So she took what she learned from all her time spent with Jason, she changed the subject. "So I'm going with you, right?"
Jason rolled his eyes. "No you aren't," he stated.
Now it was Elizabeth's turn to roll her eyes. "Jason, you do know that I'm stubborn right?"
He laughed, "Yeah, I know that. I know it well."
"Well then, you know there's no point in fighting me on this right?" she asked, giving him a big grin.