The Cunning (18+)

16

"Has Benny gone out?" Janine asked, rolling onto her front on the bed and tilting her head at Sam. He nodded, closing her door quietly behind him and puffing out a sigh. "What's the matter? You look more tense than usual." Sam grunted, sitting on the edge of the bed. "You want to talk about it?" she asked, sitting up.

She hated when he was stressed, it meant what little time they had together was suffocated by external problems. This wouldn't usually be a problem, under different circumstances, but Sam was Janine's only source of affection in the house. It was the only thing that kept her going.

"It's Madison," he huffed. Janine recalled last night when Benny had summoned all the girls downstairs.

"What was that all about last night?" she asked, though, she could take a good guess.

"She tried to get out," Sam responded, rubbing his eyes with the balls of his hands. Janine pressed her lips together, unsure how to react. She had heard the smash and Benny had not been happy with Madison, but she never would have guessed that she nearly got away. It just didn't happen.

Sam nodded as he continued, "Yep, and you know what Jase did?" She shook her head, holding her breath and dreading to think. Knowing Jase, he probably let Adam go to town on her. Jase was no shit-taker. Getting rid of a body was a workout for him. "Stopped Benny from cutting her," he finished.

"What?" The word tumbled out before she could stop it. She checked herself before adding, "that's very unlike Jase." Not so dissimilar to Madison, she got things easier in the house. The difference was, Janine had earned her place and done her time.

An ugly wave of irritation crashed over her. She'd watched countless girls come and go over the years, and not once had Jase made any move to prevent them from being harmed. Sam looked over his shoulder at her.

"That's what everyone else is saying. It's only a matter of time before people start thinking he's gone soft."

Janine scoffed. "Jase? Soft? You've got a better chance of getting a lap dance from a nun. This is the same guy that killed every girl in this house, other than me, all because drugs went missing. And that was only because you spoke up. Then, when he found out who did take all the product, he blowtorched their lips together. What was it he said?"

Sam frowned at the memory. The smell of burning flesh tinged his nostrils as he recalled the gruesome scene.

"If he wasn't going to take the opportunity to talk when he was asked, he wouldn't have the privilege ever again." The sensory overload that accompanied his words left a bad taste in his mouth. It was one of the more horrific forms of torture Jase had carried out over the years followed by a slow and painful death.

The guy had stolen £20,000 worth of cocaine from them. He'd paid with his life.

Janine took the cigarettes from her nightstand, sliding two out, handing one to Sam.

"There's more to it than this; there has to be. Jase isn't the kind of guy that lets people off the hook. How does Benny feel about this?"

Sam shook his head, blowing out a plume of smoke. "He's not happy."

"And they've always been agreeable," she mumbled, pondering to herself more than adding to the conversation. Sam didn't have much of a reply. Instead, he shrugged, sucking his cigarette and staring at the floor.

She was right. Jase was the last person to let things go. He was not forgiving, yet with Madison it seemed she could do nothing bad enough to warrant his wrath. The question had been ping-ponging around in Sam's mind, he had been trying not to confront it. But now Janine started connecting the dots. Why was Jase so determined to get Madison to surrender peacefully? Whatever Jase was playing at, Sam insisted to himself that there was a good reason.