Matchbox Twenty woke me. I listened to Adam's husky tones. "Yeah...Croe." He sighed.

"Where is he?" Adam sat on the edge of the bed. "I know he's your brother, but you're gonna have to let me teach him a lesson."

I kept my breathing even.

"It's what you pay me for. Fuck! You wake me at two in the morning to have a bitch." The bed bounced when Adam stood. "I won't hurt him. Just rough him up. He's gotta know you're not his babysitter." He listened some more. "Give me an hour. I'll pick you up."

The phone clattered onto the table. My heart pounded, unsure if I should tell him I was awake. This was the first phone call I could make any sense of, and I didn't like what I heard. A horrible thought rushed through me. Adam was a hitman, paid to beat people. The memory of him grabbing the man named Carson at the train station flashed through my mind. Then there was the night he'd come with a split lip and grazed knuckles. Thinking about Daniel punching him made me feel sick. If he hurt people for a living, he could have killed Daniel.

Adam touched my hip and flipped me on my back. "I know you're awake. I gotta go."

I bit my lip to try and prevent giving him any idea of what ideas ran through my mind.

He must have picked up on something because he climbed onto the bed and ran his hand over my face. "I know that didn't sound good."

"You hurt people?" I whispered.

Adam laughed. "Sometimes, but not as many as I'd like." He ran his hand over my face again. "Please don't read too much into this. He's a prick and has beaten up a girl. I gotta go sort it." He kissed me and then caressed my head some more. "It'll stop soon. I promise." Adam kissed me again. "I love you, Jasmine. Come and put the chain across."

I followed him to the door and clutched his forearm. "What if you get hurt?"

He cupped the side of my face. "I won't. The only thing that'll hurt me is if I lose you." Adam kissed my cheek. "Put the chain on."

I had a hard time falling back to sleep, worrying he might get hurt and asking myself if he hurt innocent people.

When I woke, my head ached. I had a shower and took some paracetamol, then turned the TV on to watch Sunrise while I made breakfast. The presenters discussed the pros and cons of circumcision, and the Duchess of York advised people to chase their dreams. I thought about my writing and vowed to try to get published. The news came on. As the leading story was read out, I had to sit.

A man who was believed to be the brother of one of Melbourne's notorious gang leaders was found beaten outside one of the inner-city nightclubs. Witnesses said two men had approached the victim. An argument had taken place between him and one of the attackers. The victim was then dragged into an alley and beaten. The man suffered multiple fractures but did not wish to lay charges. My headache surged. Did this have anything to do with Adam?

I washed my face with cold water, then finished making my cup of tea before rolling it all through my mind. Adam's boss was one of Melbourne's well-known gang leaders. They hadn't named anyone or the gang.

Adam said it would finish soon, but gangs didn't just let key members walk away with a handshake. Many scenarios ran through my head. Adam could be murdered or be on the run for the rest of his life. Perhaps he'd need to kill someone to get out of what he was involved with. I curled up on my bed because my headache got worse.

The memory of the night he had come to me crying swept me into deeper despair. He had said he sometimes had to do things he didn't like. The recall of the next morning's news flash engulfed me. A man had his fingers cut off with a meat cleaver. What if Adam had done that? What if he were a killer? I had to decide to either trust him, like he'd asked, or get away from him as fast as I could. I hugged my pillow tighter. I had to calm down. My imagination often had a habit of running away with me. Adam had asked me not to read too much into the phone call. Even though I knew he wouldn't answer my questions, I was determined to confront him.

As soon as I got to work, Robert bailed me up in the dressing room. "Okay, we gotta talk, Jasmine. I can't have that shit here."

"I'm sorry, Robert. I didn't know he was going to react like that."

Robert frowned. "So, he is your boyfriend?"

I bit my lip. "Yes, but we had been fighting, and he didn't know I was working nights. I stripped to piss him off. I didn't know he'd react like that. I'm sorry it won't happen again."

Robert put his hands on his hips and shook his head. "It better not. I don't want their kind of shit put on me. I've got enough to handle already."

I frowned at his comment. "What do you mean their shit?"

Robert gave me a strange expression, tapped the side of his neck and raised his eyebrows. "What he's into, kinda shit." He opened the door to leave and then looked back at me. "Jasmine, you're a good worker, a good girl. Maybe we should put you back on days if he doesn't like it. If I get any more aggro, you'll have to find another job, okay."

"Okay," I said. "Days would be good if you could fix it."

"He won't give me any more grief if I change you?"

I shook my head. "It wasn't to do with you, Robert. We'd fought. That's why I changed to nights. I didn't want to see him, but he showed up. I'm sorry. There won't be any more trouble."

"Alright. Give me a week to work the change." He smiled and shook his head. "I don't get a girl like you having a boyfriend like him. Why don't you dump the prick because the customers love you? You could make a lot of money stripping."

I laughed. "Thanks, but no thanks."

When he closed the door, I asked myself what he meant by, Adam's kind of shit?

A wave of anxiety surged through my body. Everybody else seemed to know more about my boyfriend than I did. I questioned my decision to trust him.

The night went pretty much like normal. I danced the intro. Debbie and Annette changed the dance routine to work as a duo rather than a triple. At the end of the night, after we changed into our clothes, Debbie cuddled me. "How did it go the other night? Was he your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry he was rude. We'd had a big fight. When he saw me strip, he went mad."

Debbie sighed. "I wish I had a boyfriend who got the shits with me stripping. At least he's not making you do it and then taking the money. My little boy's father was like that. She grinned. "Hence why I'm single."

Annette looked at her through the mirror where she touched up her makeup. "Yeah, I've had one of those. He'd backhand me if I didn't bring enough money home."

Gosh, yes, everyone else does seem to know more about Adam than Jasmine does.

Do you agree with Debbie?  Is it better that Adam wants Jasmine to quit her job or is it none of his business?

Photo taken from Reddit - Jake Gyllenhaal