Chapter Thirteen
Adam
Isat on my bed with the laptop open in front of me. I’d had it on for most of the night, but this morning, I hadn’t taken my eyes off the screen. It wasn’t just our CCTV that we were hooked up to, Tyler had managed to hack into Olivia’s too, and right now, I had a ringside seat to view her back garden and the game of football she was currently playing with her two little brothers.
Her face was glowing, it always did when she didn’t wear make-up. And she was wearing grey joggers and a tight white top that turned me on even more than the little dresses she wore. The three of them were laughing as they kicked the ball around and Olivia tried and failed spectacularly to tackle them both to get the ball off them. One of the boys scored a goal and the other ran and jumped up into Olivia’s arms and she hugged him. I loved watching her in these moments. She was always at her happiest and most relaxed when she was with her brothers.
The weight of holding him up made her stumble and fall backwards, and they both laughed. The other brother saw what was happening and abandoned his goal scoring victory dance to join in and pile on top of the two of them. I watched, frozen in place as the three of them rolled around on the grass, with Olivia tickling them. I had the biggest smile on my face, and it made me flinch. What the fuck was that all about? I didn’t smile. Ever.
The door behind me swung open, and I knew it’d be Colton. Fucker never knocked. I didn’t bother to pull my gaze from the screen to greet him, I just snapped, “What do you want?”
“I thought I’d come and see how it went yesterday? You know, with the love of your life. I saw you both leaving last night, and then I got… distracted… by a very persuasive and bendy red head in the communal room. I didn’t see you come home. Was the whole stabby through the hand thing a real turn on for her? Did she let you stop the night at her house?” Colton sat down on the bed, and I moved the laptop out of the way.
“Still haven’t gotten enough of her, huh?” he said, pointing to the screen.
I wasn’t about to explain myself to him, or anyone else for that matter. What happened between Olivia and I was no one else’s business. So, I ignored him and carried on watching, hoping my silence would send him packing. It didn’t.
“I have a theory. Want to hear it?” he whisper-yelled, trying to act dramatic as he leant his head towards me.
Again, I didn’t respond, but that didn’t deter him.
“If you want to get to her. I mean really get an in with her… they’re your key.”
I turned to face him now, intrigued by where he was going with this.
“Those two boys,” he said, elaborating further. “They’re the key to her heart. I haven’t seen anyone else play with them like she does.”
Instantly, my back went up.
“Have you been watching her?” I asked, feeling ready to explode and tear him and everything else in this room apart.
“Chill your boots, big man,” he replied. “I did routine maintenance on the connection the other week, and I saw her teaching them how to shoot hoops right over there.” He pointed at the screen to where a basketball net was attached to an outhouse nearby. “Seriously though, I wouldn’t do that to you. I know how much you like this girl.” He was sincere, but I still felt pissed off.
“Next time you need to do routine maintenance, I want to be there,” I hissed, recoiling at the thought of anyone else watching her like I did.
“Noted,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Well, as fun as it must be to sit and watch her play pile-on with her brothers all day in this stuffy room of yours, I have something else which might pull you out of your sour mood.”
“What?” I was going to argue that I wasn’t in a mood, but I’d be lying. Just him being here was setting me off. That, and the fact that he’d seen glimpses of Olivia’s life that I hadn’t.
“We have the number for the mobile phone Karl Cheslin uses in prison. I didn’t want to send the first text without running it past you first,” Colton said.
Hearing that did pique my interest, and I turned to give Colton my full attention.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s get it sent out and start this.”
Colton pulled the soldiers’ mobile from his pocket, the one we used for our game of consequences, and he started to read out what he’d composed for the first message but hadn’t sent yet.
“So far, I’ve got… ‘Welcome to your game of consequences, Mr Cheslin. We are the Soldiers of Anarchy, and we are here to make you pay for being a low-life rapist scumbag who doesn’t deserve to see the light of day. Your time for payback is finally here. Let me tell you how your game is going to work. We are going to set you some tasks. You can choose whether to carry out those tasks or not, but like the game says, there are consequences. If you comply, you live to see another day. If you don’t, you will regret it.’ And that’s as far as I got.” He moaned and his hand that was holding the phone fell limply into his lap. “I didn’t know if we were going to record a video or not. I didn’t even know what we were threatening him with if he doesn’t comply, because let’s face it, he’s a heartless fucker who doesn’t care about anyone.”
“But himself,” I added.
“I’m shit at this side of things,” Colton whined. “That’s why you’re here. You do it so much better than the rest of us.”
“We need a hook,” I informed him, wracking my brains to think of what it could be. “We need something to bait him. Has he got any family? Did you find anything when you were doing your background checks?” I usually did all the background checks myself, but since Olivia, my focus had waivered somewhat.
“He’s got three brothers. His dad is dead, and his mum moved away years ago to get away from him. But I don’t think any of those will persuade him to be a complete prick for our benefit.”
“What about money?” I asked. “Businesses? Anything shady there we can use?”
“There is talk on the street that he’s been linked to some trafficking shit, but we haven’t been able to confirm it yet,” Colton said, wringing his hands in his lap.
“Do you think it’s a lead? What does your gut tell you?” I was starting to regret not looking into this more myself. I’d have known one way or the other if it was an avenue we could pursue.
“My gut tells me he’s got more shade than Ray-bans and he’s knee deep in that shit.” Colton’s response was enough for me.
“Well, there’s your answer. Always go with your gut. We’ll use the threat of exposing the trafficking. He won’t want to lose his shot at probation. He’s a coward and he’ll do whatever he can to save himself.”
I knew enough about men like him to know he’d sell his own mother to get a free pass out of jail and back to his filthy dealings. I guess that’s why she’d disowned him and moved away. She’d already seen the inevitable and she was clever enough to save herself.
Colton started fiddling about with the phone and grimacing to himself.
“Do you want me to write it?” I asked, and his face lit up.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He threw the phone into my lap, and I picked it up and started to compose our first contact.
Welcome to your game of consequences, Mr Cheslin. We are the Soldiers of Anarchy, and we are here to make you pay forbeing a low-life rapist scumbag who doesn’t deserve to see the light of day.
It is time for payback.