Because this time he wasn’t getting his hands dirty. Not yet, anyway. ‘All done?’ he asked, his tone telling them in no uncertain terms that things better have gone without a hitch.
The younger of the two men nodded, throwing the car keys back to Jimmy before lighting up a cigarette. A tall and skinny scruffy-looking white kid, he could only have been around eighteen or nineteen, but age had never been a concern for Jimmy. Sometimes, the younger they were the more easily you could mould them.
‘We did everything you said,’ the pale-faced youngster – who was called Jason – murmured, taking a long draw on his cigarette before blowing smoke down at the ground. ‘Followed your instructions to the letter.’
The second man – a taller, more handsome and slightly older black kid who went by the name of Amos – sat down on the battered old sofa next to the vending machine, lounging back on it in an act that Jimmy considered just a touch over-cocky for his liking. They weren’t anywhere near as tough as they thought they were, and without his protection they’d be staring jail square in the face right now, for sure. So they needed to respect him, or they’d be in more trouble than they could even begin to imagine.
‘It was one hell of a fucking trip!’ Amos laughed, swinging his Converse-covered feet up onto the coffee table in front of him. ‘What a blast! We just did for one of Hollywood’s biggest freakin’ stars! Man, how much more of a fucking kick can you get?’
Jason laughed too as they high-fived each other before embarking on some ridiculous handshake, and Jimmy watched them, assessing their future suitability. They may well have carried out this act just as he’d asked them to, but from what he could see here they had the potential to veer way off course, and Jimmy couldn’t risk that. He’d need to keep a very close eye on them.
‘Who did you hit?’ Jimmy asked, raising his voice slightly in order to make sure he was commanding the attention and respect he deserved. He was very much in charge here, and they needed to know that. And remember it.
When he’d sent them out on this job all he’d known was that filming was taking place on the street outside The Amber Palace, meaning there was sure to be more than a healthy selection of potential targets, all linked to Charley, all guaranteed to make her think twice about what she’d done to him in the past. All guaranteed to make her realise that, when Jimmy Cash threatened to do something, those threats were always carried out – always. No matter what the circumstances.
There was no way he could have given them a specific target because he’d had no way of knowing who was going to be around at what time. All he could hope for was that the target they’d hit was one big enough to send a message out to a woman who needed to know that he meant business. A woman he was determined would have her life turned upside down because of what she’d done to him. That was his ultimate aim. Charley Maine needed to know where she belonged. And, as far as Jimmy was concerned, she hadn’t learnt anywhere near enough lessons. She’d gone against him in the past, but she’d never do that again. He’d make sure she got that message, loud and clear.
Amos looked at Jimmy, flicking the baseball cap he was wearing back on his head, revealing dark eyes and a look that he may well have thought was menacing but it came across as rather naive, Jimmy thought. These kids were punching way above their weight here, but he’d let them play on. For a while. They could still prove to be quite useful to him.
‘We got Reece Brogan,’ Amos smirked, issuing Jason with another high-five.
Jimmy looked briefly out of the window, watching as two extremely pretty and incredibly under-dressed young women walked arm-in-arm into the strip club across the street, giggling away like a couple of school girls. He wondered if they’d make it worth his while paying that place a visit later. He could do with some light relief, and they looked as though they could well serve a purpose – especially if they came as a package.
‘I’m assuming – and I better be assuming right, for your sakes – that you left him alive? As I specifically asked you to?’
Whoever