The Cunning (18+)

14

Madison woke early, her eyes pinging open. The same sinking feeling she'd experienced for the past seven days smothered her. Every morning was the same- except this one wasn't. There was a warm body in the usually empty space beside her. She braved a look over her shoulder. Jase sensed her watching him and woke instantly.

He was lying on top of the covers, hands laced on his stomach. His top half was bare. Madison faced the wall again.

"You don't have to share a bed with me. I'm not going to try and get out again. I've learned my lesson," she said, already deflated by the day ahead. She'd spent the better part of the night trying not to picture Annabelle becoming a lifeless rag doll. It had been useless.

Jase reached over to his nightstand, took a cigarette from the box and lit it. He'd been sleeping on the sofa since Madison had arrived but the living room still smelled of puke and vinegar.

"I'm not here to keep tabs on you. This is my room," he said.

Madison looked around the room. It bore the same resemblance as a middle-class hotel. Bare walls, clean surfaces, plain white sheets. Besides the contents of the wardrobe and a few items of clothing in some of the drawers, there were no signs that anyone used the bedroom regularly. There were no characteristics that gave insight into Jase other than the lack of personal effects indicated he was ready to leave at a moments notice.

She rolled over to face him. "How long have you lived here?"

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, exhaling smoke and contemplating whether to answer. As irritating as he found all her questions, he now had a role to fulfil as part of the plan he'd come up with during all his tossing and turning through the night.

"Four years."

Her brows furrowed, creating an indent between them. Four years and not a single artefact that told her anything about him.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"Twenty-two."

She studied the stubble lining his jaw and the tattoos that demanded attention be drawn to his abs. "You look older." He didn't respond, placing an arm behind his head. After another minute or so of silence, Madison got up.

"Why didn't you tell Benny the truth last night? The whole truth, about the alleyway as well?" Jase asked, unable to contain his curiosity any further. Something wasn't sitting right.

Madison pursed her lips, perching on the corner of the bed, she looked over her shoulder at him.

"I told you, the same reason you didn't-" Jase shook his head, unsatisfied. After he'd left the club, he'd parked up to smoke a joint and unwind. He had gone over the night's events and was repeatedly brought back to the microscopic twitch of Madison's lips when he'd stopped Benny from scarring her.

"You knew I didn't tell them. You knew Benny would be pissed at me if he found out. He was ready to cut you and you still didn't throw me under the bus. Why?"

Madison shrugged. "I owed you for not telling him first."

Jase narrowed his eyes. "You expect me to believe you were willing to get cut because you owed me?" he asked, disbelief dripping from every word.

"It was the only risk worth taking where I came out alive."

Jase considered what she was really saying- that she expected him to jump to her rescue and he had, like a loyal dog. He watched her, trying to figure out if he was irritated that she'd played him. Benny definitely would have killed her if he found out everything at once, last night was not the time nor place for Madison to spill secrets.

He studied her for a beat before stubbing his cigarette out and swinging his legs off the bed. He spoke as he left the room.

"Get in the shower. Bring your washing downstairs when you're done."

It wasn't friendly, but Madison felt there were foundations beneath them. She'd put her neck on the line this time, now they were level. Even if she had moulded the truth slightly. Not telling Benny wasn't so much a leap of faith as it was testing Jase's behavioural patterns. A strategic move that paid off and another lesson from daddy dearest on her part; know your enemy. Except this time, it was mostly luck that had gotten her through.

At this point, she was in deep enough to understand that Jase might receive a little more than a slap on the wrist if Benny did find out about him letting her go. He didn't need to come out and say it. If the repercussions were so insignificant Jase would have come clean already but as he said, he'd made a mistake that night.

Men were killed for making mistakes. Women were killed for being women. Neither of them was any good dead. Madison needed him to keep his mouth shut as much as he needed her to do the same.