Jake watched as Eddie won yet another hand. That was five in a row. Anyone else would stop now; the fear would be creeping in that their winning streak was about to come to a halt. But not Eddie. He was a winner. He’d bet a hundred quid on the roulette table and was up five hundred. Jake had never seen anything like it.
‘Bloody hell, Eddie. This is the best streak I’ve ever seen,’ Jake said.
‘I don’t play often. I know when to stop. My uncle was an addict; I always had it drummed into me that money wasn’t a game. But I do like the odd bet here and there.’
‘I’d have stopped long before you,’ Jake said, sucking air through his teeth like a tradesman giving the verdict on a heavily priced job.
‘Fuck!’
Jake and Eddie turned in the direction of Cole’s voice. He was standing by a slot machine, pulling on the handle like a madman.
‘What the fuck’s up with him?’ Eddie asked.
Jake shook his head. ‘Looks like he’s losing.’
Eddie raised a brow. ‘Aye, looks like it.’
Cole turned his back on the machine and slid his wallet into his back pocket before he walked towards Jake and Eddie, his expression twisted.
‘You lost then?’ Eddie asked.
‘I’ll win it back. I always win it back, one way or another. In fact, I’ll double my money, just you watch.’
Cole ordered a beer from the bar next to the roulette table and when it arrived, he drank half of it in just two gulps. Jake looked on, wondering what was going on inside his head.
‘Sounds to me like it’s time to stop, mate.’ Eddie said.
Cole slammed the bottle down on the counter. ‘What did you just say? Who the fuck are you to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do?’
Eddie blew out a mouthful of air before laughing. ‘Calm it, I wasn’t telling you what to do. I was only making an observation. I couldn’t give a fuck what you do with your money. If you want to go ahead and try to make it all back twice over then on you go.’
Jake watched Cole, expecting him to blow up at Eddie as he’d seen happen before when they were working together down in London just three years previously. He didn’t take too kindly to people speaking their mind about him. He remembered one night in the pub, the night before the job. Cole had skelped someone for bumping into the back of his chair. Jake had to break up a fight that the other guy would lose. It was then that Jake realised Cole was an off-the-scale nutter, but it hadn’t occurred to him that he’d ever be on the receiving end of his wrath. To Jake’s surprise, Cole didn’t say a thing. Instead, he turned away and finished his beer before turning back and smiling widely.
‘So, what do you do for a living?’
Eddie frowned and Jake wondered where the question was headed.
‘I own a van hire company. What do you do?’
Jake saw the confusion on Eddie’s face.
Cole licked his lips. ‘Bit of everything, you know how it is. So, a van hire company. You must make a shit ton from that?’
Eddie frowned again. ‘We do all right.’
Jake watched as Cole’s eyes fell upon him. He knew then why Cole was asking. He wanted to know if Eddie was going to be of use to Cole’s new venture. And judging by the answer that Eddie had given him, it would seem that Cole thought he would be.
‘You don’t sound so convinced?’ Cole pressed.
‘To be honest, before I took over the business from my dad, I lived a bit of a wild life. I was a dirt biker for a while. Took drugs, drank a lot. Went from girl to girl. But now, life’s a bit… well, let’s just say it’s more boring than it used to be.’
Jake noted how Cole began to charm Eddie, and how Eddie seemed to relax a little more while being in his company. This was exactly what Cole had wanted. Someone just like Eddie, who was looking for a little bit more from life. Someone who was looking for a buzz. Eddie sounded like he was in need of that buzz, and Cole had managed to sniff him out very quickly. Like he always did with people like Eddie. People who were attracted to the darker side of life were his prey.
Cole put his arm around Eddie.
‘Why don’t we go somewhere a little quieter? Jake’s place, perhaps? I want to put something to you, Eddie. Something I think you’ll be very interested in.’
Eddie got up, collected his winnings and followed Cole out of the main casino room, down the stairs past the club below and out to the street. Jake followed behind and Eddie didn’t look back to see if he was still there. Which possibly meant that Eddie was entirely interested in what Cole had to say.
Once outside, Cole turned to Jake and smiled. ‘Your place?’
Jake gritted his teeth. He didn’t want Cole at his house. Not when Roxanne would be there later in the night for Cole to leer over. But how could he say no? Having Eddie on their team could mean easier distribution possibilities.
Jake thought about how Eddie could get himself into real trouble working with Cole. But then, who was Jake to care? He didn’t know Eddie, didn’t owe him anything. Eddie was a grown man who could make his own choices. It had nothing to do with Jake either way.
Before he could answer, Cole said, ‘Right then. Let’s go.’