‘Oi,’ Jake shouted, catching up to Cole as he walked along the main road in Maryhill. ‘I want a word.’
‘You can have two. Fuck off. I’ve got things to get on with,’ Cole laughed, only half turning in response to Jake.
‘Nah,’ Jake replied, grabbing hold of Cole’s sleeve and pulling him round to face him. ‘I said I want a word and I want it now.’
Cole shrugged Jake off and stopped walking. He had a mischievous look on his face, a glint in his stare. ‘Go on then.’
‘Where do you get off, speaking to me like that in front of Eddie? You think I’m just going to put up with it?’ Jake said, not allowing his nerves to get the better of him.
‘I know you’ll put up with it, Jake. Are you forgetting what I did for you? Are you forgetting that the reason you’re still walking around, free as a fucking bird, is because of me? You could have been banged up just like your missus, for longer than you could have ever imagined because of what you did. I stopped that from happening. Do you really want me to start talking? Tell people that Jakey boy likes a bit of BDSM and during a wild sex game down in London when your missus was in the nick, you got a bit carried away and done someone in? Nah, I didn’t think so. You owe me, you owe me big bollocks and if you think I’ll ever forget that then there’s something seriously wrong with that nut of yours.’ Cole jabbed his finger into Jake’s temple.
Jake stepped back, pulling away from Cole. ‘You think I’ve forgotten that you helped me out? I know I owe you, that’s why I agreed to this fucking job. You think I’d be doing this if I didn’t have to?’
Cole spat out a laugh. ‘You think one job is going to pay off what I did for you? No chance. I own you now, Jakey boy, and I will own you for the rest of your sorry little fucking life. You think you’re a gangster? You think you and Roxanne are the ones people will be scared to walk past in the street? You two haven’t got a fucking patch on me, Jake. And I’ll make sure everyone fucking well knows it. I’ll be sure to tell that big stunner of yours about your little sex fetish gone wrong.’
Jake breathed through his nose, gritted his teeth. Woods really was so sure of himself, wasn’t he? He may well be a dodgy guy, someone people would be wary of, but he was no Glasgow boy. He was a Londoner, and he had no idea what the streets of Glasgow would do to him if Jake or Roxanne gave the word. Jake still knew some lads from back in his scheme days. He could ask around, have Cole sorted without question. But it was still a risk. If Roxanne ever found out about his infidelity, it would kill her. It would kill both of them.
‘Fuck up, Cole. I’m not scared of you.’
Cole stepped forward. ‘Well, you fucking well should be.’
‘You know what, Cole,’ Jake started. ‘You go ahead and tell her. Tell the whole world if you want to. She won’t believe you. No one will. You think people will believe you? A gangster who’s hooked on his own coke, a gambling addict? Someone who would sell their own fucking granny to get what they want?’
He tried to hide it, but Jake could see the shock written all over Cole’s face. He wasn’t expecting Jake to say that.
‘I aint no addict. But I’ll tell you what I am. I’m someone who never forgets to take out an insurance policy. I’ve already lost enough in my life because I didn’t have all the facts to hand. I will never make that mistake again.’
Jake shook his head in confusion. Whatever that meant, it was something from before Jake’s time. Cole took his phone out, tapped on the screen and turned it so that Jake had nowhere else to look but at it. He watched the video footage play out, just how he remembered it. It was consensual, they’d both wanted it. A game of asphyxiation gone wrong. He watched himself, heard his own laboured breaths as he fell to his knees, muttering that it was an accident. He hadn’t meant it. Hadn’t planned it. Jake had been pushed to his limit. It was only ever meant to be a bit of fun. Just sex. It had turned into something tragic that he could never change. The fact that Jake played the scene over and over in his head every day since it’d happened was bad enough, but to know that Cole had footage… The guy was sick in the head.
Grabbing for the phone, Jake almost fell forward as Cole pulled it from his reach. ‘Ah, ah, ah,’ he wagged his finger. ‘You can’t have what isn’t yours, Jakey boy.’
‘You’re a fucking bastard, Woods. I’ll have you for this.’
‘Ha, I don’t think so.’ Cole laughed menacingly. ‘I’m not as thick as you might think, Jake. Far from it. You see, I set up cameras for all the staff I have working for me on a job. None of them know about it, but it’s necessary. It means that if someone fucks me over, or if something goes wrong with someone, I have leverage on them. But you’re the first person that I’ve ever caught getting up to something he shouldn’t have. I have this video footage backed up on as many devices as you can imagine. USB sticks, memory cards, hard drives. You name it, it’s on there. This is my lifeline to make sure you stick to your end of the deal. You need to make sure that you secure that base for my drugs. You need to make sure your dealers will sell as much as physically possible, like you said they would. I don’t want your excuses. If you step out of line, do or say anything that could jeopardise me or the job then I’m going to make sure your entire life comes crashing down around your ears and I will make sure I am there for episode two.’ Cole waved the phone in front of Jake’s face. ‘Then I’ll make sure that the police know exactly where to find your victim’s remains. You’ve got to remember, Jake, I’m a hardened criminal. I’m clever and resourceful. I’ve never been caught, hence why I don’t have a record. It’s your DNA and prints all over that body. Your semen inside them. That, along with the video evidence… well, you’re a prosecutor’s dream, aren’t you?’
Jake’s heart thundered inside his chest and his breath shortened. Cole had him exactly where he wanted him. There really was no other way. He had to do what Cole said. If he didn’t, he’d lose everything. Cole wasn’t stupid, he’d have backed up the back up of the incriminating footage on Jake. Even if Jake did choose to take Cole out like he’d already thought about, he suspected Cole would have a way of getting the footage to the police even from the grave. Someone would be paid to do it, in the event of Cole’s death.