The Formidable

41

The floorboard creaked outside Mia's room. Jase heard her shuffle around and winced when she called for him.

"Daddy?" Her door was open ajar and she could undoubtedly see his shadow. For a second, he didn't move, and then she called him again. Jase crumbled and walked in, smiling tiredly at the bedhead and sleepy child. He was shattered but seeing her now, hearing her call for him, he realised he had missed her.

"Hey baby," he greeted, lifting her out. "You want to come sleep in mummy and daddy's bed?" he asked, already leaving the room with her in his arms.

Mia sighed as Jase laid her next to Madison, who was asleep, whilst he got undressed. She climbed onto him when he laid down, her hand clenching and unclenching on his chest. Jase reached over to Madison, brushing her cheek softly with his knuckle. He was too tired to think of all the mess. He wanted to revel in a family he'd never had and forget everything else. In that bedroom, it was just him and his girls.

"Where did you go?" Madison asked, her eyes still closed.

"To the club. Then to talk to your dad again," he replied. At this, Madison's eyes pinged open, flickering briefly to Mia and then back to Jase.

"Why? About what?" She curled her toes in irritation. What could her dad possibly want with Jase now?

"He had his men come and find me. He told me about my dad himself." Jase shrugged. "Asked why I cut you slack in the house, then told me they were looking more into Greg because he gave your boss a fake surname. We think it's because we'd know his real name. He said he'd contact us if they found anything," he replied. Madison didn't say anything for a moment.

"What was he like?" she finally asked. Jase thought for a moment, thinking back to Mickey's body language and his wording. Mickey hadn't really patronised him or threatened him. If anything, he was less intimidating without Madison around. Thet obviously put each other on edge. He smiled to himself in the darkness. Like father, like daughter. The similarities between them undoubtedly butted heads.

"I think we have a mutual respect," he said. Mia moved, now laying completely on top of Jase's torso. Madison scooted closer to them, Jase's body heat radiating over her as she cuddled up to him, his fingers twirling the ends of her hair. "He's..." Jase couldn't think of the words.

"Robotic? Emotionally unavailable? Difficult?" Madison offered. He chuckled.

"Yes, but that wasn't what I was going to say. I was going to say a lot different to what I expected him to be." Madison's brows met in the middle.

"In what sense?" 

Jase shrugged, adjusting Mia so he could breathe better.

"I'm not sure how to put it. I expected him to be more cutthroat, more imposing." He felt her cheek rise when she smiled against his bare chest.

"He's getting old. He doesn't feel the need to scare the new generation. He does what he has to do now, not just what he wants." She yawned the last part and closed her eyes again. 

Jase lay awake for a short time, thinking about everything he'd heard about Madison's dad. All the stories that rose around him. The same guy that told him to look after his daughter, who didn't need looking after half as much as he seemed to think she did, also had his stepson shot and it didn't look as though he had much weighing down his conscience. Jase wondered if he would be the same when he got older or if eventually, all of his wrong doings would catch up to him some how. He couldn't get over how small the world was. What were the chances of holding captive the daughter of the man who killed his dad?

It wasn't worth the sleepless nights to dwell on for too long, and the two bodies he had wrapped in his arms kept him grounded, refusing to let him spiral into a whirlpool of guilt and trepidation. Madison and Mia gave him purpose. He wasn't sure how he'd made it this far without them.

*

Jase, Sam, Kieran and Tommy sat in the kitchen. With no real work going on, they were bored. The phone Mickey had given them was pushed to the edge of the table, against the wall. It hadn't made a sound since the call Jase took before the meeting in the carpark.

"So, are you going to fill us in on what the meeting was about?" Tommy asked.

"Or the fact that Madison's dad is Mickey Kimber?" Sam asked, annoyance in his tone. Jase glared at him incredulously. He hadn't planned on telling Tommy or Kieran. He had only told Sam that morning, knowing he would need to keep at least one of the boys in the loop should things go south, regardless of what Mickey said.

"You what?" Kieran blurted, his eyes bulging. Jase pursed his lips, considering what he was going to tell them and what he was going to keep to himself.

"Madison's dad is Mickey Kimber. I went to talk to him last night," he said.

"And?" Tommy pushed but Jase shook his head.

"There's nothing to talk about. He knows I got rid of Greg, he doesn't know who Caspar is either." He contemplated telling them that they didn't think Caspar was his real name, but decided against it. He wanted to start weaning them off of information now. He wouldn't usually listen to anyone else about who he could trust when it came to his boys but he had a strange respect for Mickey. Only Sam would be given information and even then, on a need to know basis. The smaller the circle, the less chance they had of being stabbed in the back should someone decide a piece of information was particularly juicy and would wield a hefty price if it were sold.

"So we still know nothing?" Tommy asked. Jase shook his head.

"Not really. Mickey's a lot more connected than I am, though. It's only a matter of time before he hears something." He looked at the phone, wondering how true his statement was. For now, it was more waiting.

"Should we trust him?" Sam asked. Jase chewed the inside of his cheek. Trust was such a weighty asset in their world. It could make or break a situation. Did he trust Mickey? He didn't want to. However, they had no other choice, and if anyone could look out for Madison and Mia's lives, it was Mickey.

"I think so. I don't reckon he'd do anything to put Madison in danger. He wanted her as far away from this as possible and she never even wanted me to meet him," he replied.

"Why?" Tommy asked. Jase frowned.

"Not a clue," he said, casually omitting the fact that Mickey had killed his dad. He wondered how many people were already aware of that fact. How many people had looked him in the eye and said nothing. Had his mum known? The thought faded when his phone buzzed. Madison was asking him to get some more milk on his way home. The contrasts of his two worlds was enough to give most people whiplash.