“You don’t have to worry about this thing with Jimmy. I’ll work it out – it’ll be over soon, I promise.”
She nodded into the pillow. The pain had driven out all thoughts of Jimmy and the whole sordid mess, but now that the pain was receding, the worry seeped back in again. Once all this was over, she would ask him more about what had happened to bring things to a head like this, but first they had to get through the next two days.
“How’s your back?” he asked, interrupting her thought process.
“Much better.”
“Good.”
He smiled, one of those rare, sweet smiles that lit up his eyes from within and made her forget where she was and what she was doing. They would get through today, and tomorrow night the money would be in Jimmy’s hands and all this would be over.
Jack stared at Ally’s empty bed. Beneath it, a pile of cash was crammed into a canvas sports bag, hidden from prying eyes. He felt like he was in a dream world.
Callum had been in touch with Mrs. Watson, his Dad’s neighbour, and she had reported that nothing had seemed out of place in the neighborhood, which should have set his mind at ease. Instead though, it had the opposite effect. He was paranoid that they were there in the shadows, watching their every move. He refused to leave Ally’s side.
He felt like a stranger who was doing more harm than good. The catalogue of things he felt he should know about her was mounting. Nightmares, pain medication, exercise, massage – and he was the reason for all of it. He needed to calm down, but the very last thing he felt right now was calm, especially with the rendezvous rapidly approaching.
“Look, you need to relax,” Callum said from behind him. “Keep it together – it’s nearly over.”
The sentiment was so similar to what Ben had told him the day his father died, he cringed.
“You messed up – big deal. It’s just temporary, we can deal with temporary.”
“We?”
“It’s like Ally said – you’re not on your own anymore, you don’t have to deal with any of this shit alone.”
Jack threw him a quick look over his shoulder. “Thanks.”
“Come on, let’s go over the plan again.”
“I’ll take the money over to the house. You stay with Ally. I’ll call you when they’re gone.”
“See? Sounds simple doesn’t it?” Callum insisted. “The only thing I’m not over the moon about is the fact that you’re going over there alone.”
“I don’t have any choice – I’m hardly in any position to make demands.”
“I know, but you’ve got no back-up. What happens if it all goes south somehow?”
“It won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know Ben,” Jack insisted, with slightly more confidence than he felt. “He’s a businessman – that’s what this is about, Jimmy said as much. I stepped all over his street cred when I took off, so he wants his money so he can tell everyone I didn’t get away with it. It’s business, that’s all.”
“You sound pretty sure.”
“I am.”
“Then relax. If it’s as straightforward as you say it is, it’ll be fine. Come on, we’ve still got a few hours before you need to head over. Let’s get something to eat.”
Pulling up outside his house, Jack felt the tension coiled inside of him, searching for an outlet. He wanted this over, and quickly. He glanced at his watch. He was ten minutes early. As he made his way up the front path, his gaze swept the front of the house and up the street on both sides. Nothing was out of the ordinary but it didn’t help to dispel the knot of apprehension that sat in his stomach.
He unlocked the door and walked into the hall, closing it behind him. Switching on the hall light, he walked into the living room with the bag of money and stopped dead.
Jimmy and his gorilla were standing in the eerie half-light, watching him. Jimmy glanced down at the bag he was holding, and Jack immediately put it down on the floor, stepping away from it. He fidgeted with the keys in his hand, prepared to use them as a weapon if the need arose, but Jimmy just smirked at them pointedly.
“How did you get in here?” Jack demanded, with more bravado than he felt.
“Irrelevant,” Jimmy said, indicating the bag at Jack’s feet.
“It’s all there.” Jack shoved the bag towards them with his foot, his heart racing. The gorilla picked it up and unzipped it, showing the contents to Jimmy.
“You don’t need to count it,” Jack said, eager to get them out of the house.
“I won’t. If it’s not all there, we’ll be back. I’m sure you knew that.”
They eyeballed each other in silence.
“So that’s it then? We’re done here?” Jack prodded.
Jimmy smiled, and Jack’s blood ran cold. “Not quite.”
CHAPTER 23
“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope… I have loved none but you.”
- Jane Austen
Callum checked his watch again, tapping his foot nervously. He should have heard from Jack by now. He got up and peered through a crack in the curtains, scanning the street in front of Ally’s house.