Page 31 of Diamond in the Rough

Maddox cracked his knuckles. “Deal.”

Chapter 6

Carl strolled into the flat, then pointed to the lock. “I need to get that fixed.”

Jake punched his arms into his coat, then shrugged. “I’ve got nothing worth stealing anyway.”

“You,” Carl said. “You’re worth stealing.”

“If that came out of Maddox’s mouth, I’d like it, but from yours, it’s weird.” Jake noticed Carl was looking more wide-eyed and unsettled than usual. “What is it?”

Carl glanced around the flat, staring too long at each of the corners. “We’ll talk in the car.”

Jake followed him out, then jumped into the passenger seat. Carl checked around, then started the engine.

“What’s wrong with my flat?” Jake asked.

“Precaution in case it’s bugged.”

“Bugged?”

“The Boss got in contact with me last night.”

Jake was hit by a pang of jealousy. Maddox had contacted Carl, not him.

“First things first, he misses you.”

“He said that?”

Carl grinned. “Yeah, he did, and he also said not to keep you out of the loop, so I won’t.”

Jake bobbed his head. “Good.”

“He was pressurised into confessing. Someone knows who and what you are to the Boss. They threatened you, directly.”

Jake scrunched his brow. “No one’s threatened me.”

“You didn’t realize you were being threatened.”

“I think I’d have noticed—”

“A guy came into Stationery Corner, 15:00 on Monday. Do you remember?”

Jake shook his head. “Lots of guys came into the shop that day.”

“But at that time?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Neither do I. That’s the problem, he made such a fleeting impression that neither of us took any notice.”

“Sam has CCTV.”

“Yeah, I’m hoping it captured our man.”

“Then what?”

“I’ll send the information to Tom and Amber.”

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