68

68

"Pick a route that avoids the toll-roads," Ray asked. "I hate the toll-roads."

"Right," Kai muttered as he fiddled with the satellite navigation on his phone.

A blur of vehicles whizzed past as he struggled to get a 4G connection strong enough to modify the route. The roads were fairly busy for a Tuesday evening—almost rush hour levels of traffic.

"Driving around Birmingham is horrible enough as it is," Ray said with a heavy sigh. All he’d done since being lumbered with the job was moan about the ring-roads and round abouts, as if slagging them off was going to make them any less of a pain.

"I'll do my best," Kai said, biting the nail of his thumb with his healthy, non-painful teeth. His brother's nerves were becoming infectious.

It wasn't just the terrible road system playing on his mind, but the ten thousand pounds worth of cocaine stored under the paint cans. Riley had passed them the goods and the address—one they had never delivered to previously—and told them it had to be there by nine pm.

Delivering to a new location made Ray nervous, hence why he'd begged Kai to tag along. He'd agreed, only on the condition he could choose the music for the journey. Listening to rap music for hours on end wasn't exactly on his bucket list.

He chose a metal playlist, flashing his friend an evil glare when he let out a disappointed groan.

They were only ten miles into the journey when Kai heard the sound that made his heart sink in his chest. Then the blue flashing lights appeared in his peripherals, cementing the terror.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," the brothers chanted in unison.

"What do we do?" Ray asked him.

Kai threw up his hands in anger. "Why are you asking me? Like I have any more idea than you do."

"Fuck it, we have to pull over. We can't outrun a beamer in this shit heap of a van," Ray mumbled. "What the hell do they want? They can't know... surely to God..."

"Just pull over and let me do the talking," Kai said. He pulled out his phone and texted Damien—"SOS - COPS!"

Ray idled until a grass verge was available before pulling the van to a stop. The brothers listened in silence as the police car doors opened and closed.

He tapped his hand against his leg in a frantic rhythm, staring at his phone and mentally pleading with Damien to reply. 'Please, please, please.'

When he did receive a text from Damien, the relief was short-lived.

"How is this going to help?" he muttered to himself, reading Damien's solution.

He jumped as an officer appeared outside Ray's window and tapped. "Step outside of the van. We have a warrant to search this vehicle."

At these words, Kai knew it was pointless saying anything or putting up any form of resistance. He flashed Ray a look, telling him to stay quiet and comply.

His trainers crunched on the frosty grass as he followed the officer to their car.

"Place your hands on the vehicle," he ordered. Kai did so without complaint, sneaking sly glances over his shoulder at the other officer, who was now rummaging through everything.

Considering there were only a few paint cans and a large stash of cocaine, it felt like the search was taking too long. Far too long.

Ray and Kai exchanged confused glances as the second officer walked around the van to check the front. They searched for a full fifteen minutes before walking off to have a discussion.

"What the hell?" Ray whispered. "I know men aren't known for their ability to locate stuff, but this is ridiculous."

"Shush," Kai urged. "Just try to act innocent and let me do all the talking."

"Where are you off to, lads?" the police officer asked. He was a tall and stocky gentleman with a round face. Most of the officers Kai had dealings with were arrogant and condescending, but this guy's tone and body language were different. He seemed like he might be a nice, reasonable guy.

"Just going to look at a dog." Kai shrugged, following Damien's instructions. "Our dog died last week."

"And where is it you're going to look at the dog?" the other guy asked. He was shorter and seemed like he might be a problem. He just had one of those faces—beady eyes and a crooked mouth.

"It's the other side of Birmingham. I've got the address if you want it?" Kai offered. He pulled out his phone and read out the address Jamie had given him.

"So if we contact this seller, they'll confirm you were on the way to look at a dog?" the shorter officer asked.

"I'd guess so." Kai shrugged and frowned as if it was a stupid question. "What were you looking for?"

"We had reason to believe you were transporting illegal substances," the tall officer told them.

"No, just going to look at a dog," Kai said.

The officers left them to whisper among themselves for a moment before returning once again. Kai watched the mist of their breaths dance on the night air as they spoke, disappearing up into the clouds.

"You understand, we have to follow up on all reports." The short officer rubbed his hands together, turned away and strode back to his car.

"Sorry to have wasted your time and thank you for your cooperation." The tall officer smiled. "Erm, and sorry to hear about your dog."

Kai nodded and smiled as he joined the other officer. He could overhear them discussing where to get coffee and which shop had the best cakes as the door opened, the failed bust already forgotten.

It was freezing, but the brothers decided it was best to wait until the police were long gone before getting back inside the van. For one thing, Ray was pretty shaken up, and they wanted to make certain they wouldn't pass the police car on the way home. That, and Kai needed a cigarette to calm his nerves.

"So... where are the drugs?" Ray asked as he also lit up. The bright orange tip glowed in the darkness as he puffed away for dear life "I'm glad we aren't being arrested right now... but where has 10k worth of drugs disappeared to?"

Kai nodded and chuckled to himself as he took out his phone and rang Damien.

"Just go home. I'll meet you there," Damien said before he could spit out a single word. "We shouldn't discuss this on the phone."

Then the rude prick hung up without saying goodbye, not that Kai could be mad at him. The guy had just saved his ass.

He still couldn't quite figure out why Damien was helping him, and if he was genuine. Trusting him was the only option, but Kai was well aware that Damien could double-cross him on a whim. People like Damien were wild cards. They changed their minds as often as the weather.

This was why Kai liked to depend only on himself. He was usually the one with the solutions and he preferred it that way. When people turned to him for help it made him feel not only powerful... but secure. Being the safety net meant you never needed one.

Now he had to depend on Damien, and not only that, but he also had to trust him with his life.

The more he thought about Jamie, the more he dreaded paying him back for all this help. Kai wasn't gay, bisexual, pansexual or anything similar. The thought of having to do anything sexual with a guy against his will... it made him feel ill.

'Yet you did it to Jenna,' his mind piped up, thinking about the time he had pulled down her panties and spanked her across his knee. Why his own brain took a side against him was a mystery but the more he thought about it, the more he understood how messed up his behaviour had been. He had forced another person to accept a punishment just for his own pleasure. A person he'd felt strong chemistry with, but still, it wasn't right. For the first time, he felt like he should apologise to Jenna.

'If I get out of this free and in one piece.'