The Formidable

31

After another hour of waiting to see if anyone called, Jase gave Sam instructions to ring him if they got anything, regardless of the time, before going back to Madison.

She was sitting on the floor with Mia in the living room, piecing together a cartoon jigsaw when he walked in. He took his suit jacket off and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, sitting on the sofa. Mia went straight over, handing him a puzzle piece. He leaned forward, pressing it in to finish the picture.

"Everything okay?" Madison asked, picking up on his body language and stress on his face.

"Yeah. I didn't hire anyone," he replied.

"How come?"

"I thought about what you said and figured it wasn't worth it." He debated not telling her about the phone, not until he'd found out who it was from, but had second thoughts. This was an advancement in their situation, she had the right to know. "I did get a package though." Madison got up to sit on the sofa, leaving Mia to pull the puzzle apart and attempt it by herself.

"What was it?"

"A phone," Jase replied, slouching down, running a hand through his hair before crossing his arms. Madison's eyes flickered briefly to the white shirt that tightened over his biceps then back at his face. He was tired, his eyes heavy from a lack of sleep and another day of unanswered questions.

"Who from?" Madison narrowed her eyes. On one hand, it could be Caspar, which was a good thing. On the other, it could be someone else. An entirely different problem.

He shrugged, stifling a yawn. "Don't know but they'll reach out to us soon. I had Kieran look over it to check for bugs, it's clean." Though, cautious as ever, he didn't want to bring it back to his apartment in case Kieran had missed something.

They played with Mia for a while before she went down for a nap in the afternoon. Madison sighed when she returned from settling her, sitting back on the sofa, clearly struggling to stay awake.

"Why don't you go for a lie-down, too?" Jase suggested, changing the channel from Mia's programmes to some traffic cops programme. Madison hummed, hugging herself as she curled up.

"I might. Just keep an ear out for her," she mumbled. He didn't reply and she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Jase checked his phone several times to see if Sam had anything to report but it was dry. He hated waiting. If he just knew who had dropped off the phone he would be able to settle but the amount of questions in his head that continued to go unanswered distracted him from anything he tried to focus on. Watching television was useless and due to never being in his apartment, he didn't have much else there. He turned to look at Madison as she slept and wondered how the hell they ended up in another mess together.

He couldn't help but feel a bittersweet happiness in regards to being in one another's lives again. Both because of Mia and because he wouldn't want Madison to be dealing with everything on her own.

"Daddy," Mia's muffled voice called from the spare room. She hadn't been down for very long and he was grateful to have something to do. She was stood up in the cot, rubbing at her eyes. Her curls sticking out haphazardly in all directions.

"Hey little one," he greeted, lifting her out and feeling the stress dissipate as she cuddled into him, her little arms wrapped around his neck.

"Milk pees," she said in a groggy voice. Jase found one of her bottles on the draining board and filled it. "Thank you."

"You're so polite," Jase smiled. Not that she cared what he thought.

He followed her into the living room where she examined Madison for a moment then climbed up on the sofa. Jase sat beside her and she laid her head in his lap, sighing. Jase looked at both girls. It struck him that for the first time in his life, he had a family. And not a family of drug dealers and boys that rolled around with flick-knives and Glocks. He had a child and- he wasn't entirely sure what he and Madison were to each other. The definition of their relationship was the last of his concerns. She was asleep on his sofa and she had carried his child, that's all that mattered.

He was just glad the pair of them were there where he could keep them safe.

Madison stirred an hour later, looking around and smiling when she saw Mia on the floor, pointing at a dog in her picture book.

"Woof," she said, looking at her parents expecting praise.

"Clever girl," Madison said sleepily, yawning. She sat up, turning to Jase. "Has she eaten?" He shook his head.

"No, she had some milk. I can make something if you're hungry?" Madison thought about it for a second and shrugged.

"Go for it. It's been a while since you cooked for me."

He smiled. "I'll do better than toast or chicken nuggets. I will have to go shopping though, is there anything specific she likes or you want?"

Madison shook her head. "She eats most things. Not peas or sweetcorn but pretty much everything else."

Jase changed out of his suit, kissed Mia goodbye, and left.

He was at the tills when Sam called, skipping the pleasantries.

"The phone rang," Sam said the second Jase answered.

"And?"

"We didn't answer, figured you'd want to be here." Jase looked at the cashier paying no attention to his conversation as she slid the groceries across the scanner. He tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder, trying to keep up with the packing.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes."

When he got home, he placed the shopping on the island in the kitchen. He wasn't frantic but Madison could read him like a book. She followed him into the kitchen.

"Mads, I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll give you some money to order food or something-"

"What's happened?" she asked, helping unpack. He didn't see the point in stressing her out by telling her the phone had rang so he didn't give her a straight answer.

"Nothing's happened. I just have to go to the house-"

"The phone rang, didn't it?" He didn't know what he was thinking by avoiding her question. As if the math wasn't basic. He nodded. "Who was it?" She seemed uncharacteristically nervous, placing things in the fridge without looking, her eyes remaining on Jase.

"Sam didn't answer. I'm going to go over and see if it rings again," Jase replied. Madison's eyes drifted down as Mia walked in, her teddy dragging along the floor behind her. She reached up, wanting to be carried. With a quick shake of her head, as if trying to rid a thought, Madison obliged, lifting the toddler.

"Okay, well go then. I'll put this away. Keep me updated." He dropped the minced meat, kissed both their heads, and started towards the door. "Jase," Madison called, stopping him. He turned, still walking backward. "I mean it, keep me updated. And be careful." He smirked,

"Remember who you're talking to." Madison smiled but it wasn't real. She knew who she was talking to, she was more concerned about who he might be going to talk to.

"I love you," she said. At this, his brows furrowed and he slowed down.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She avoided his eyes and he stepped back to her, hooking a knuckle under her chin and tilting her head back. "What's up?"

"Nothing I just... I don't want to ever be in a position where that's not the last thing I said to you. Not again." It wasn't a complete lie. Jase pulled her and Mia into him.

"Whoever it is, be it Caspar or someone else, I'm a big boy and I can handle myself. I've been doing it long enough," he reassured. He found her worrying too endearing to read further into it, to assume it wasn't as simple as she had said. After all he had no real reason to disbelieve her. Madison hugged him back, tightly and he kissed her forehead. He took his wallet out, handing her £20 to order food. "I'll be back before you know it," he told her.

She watched him leave, the whole truth on the tip of her tongue.