The Cunning (18+)

21

There was singing from the room next to Madison's. Until then, she had heard nothing from the other girls but crying and the occasional grunt from a male visitor. She climbed on top of the unit at the end of the bed, pressing her ear to the wall. It wasn't Janine; her bedroom was next to Annabelle's, in the middle. This was one of the new girls. The song was sweet. Amidst the musical notes were sobs from a second girl. Madison could make out the song was a lullaby in a different language, meant to soothe and comfort. It was doing little of either. A whimpering howl of despair suddenly vibrated through the walls and Madison shuddered. The same sound had escaped her lips on her first night.

She analysed her situation, Janine's warning words close to her thoughts. She had to keep her wits about her and avoid being sucked into one of Jase's games but she feared it might already be too late. Jase hadn't randomly decided to bond with Madison at the party for no reason. He had flirted, meaning her best chance of survival would likely have something to do with seducing him. Her dad's criminal teachings had not covered this particular subject. Madison didn't have the first clue about how to seduce someone.

Still, men were simple creatures, and as Janine had said, the only way to survive in their world was to be like them. If Jase were to initiate flirting, she wouldn't abstain from playing along. Let him busy himself with games, so long as he thought he was in control she could find a way to bend it in her favour.

The usual din of people entering the house stopped the singing. Madison looked at the bedroom door as footsteps approached.

"You can go to the toilet," Jase said as he entered and frowned at her. "Why are you sitting there?"

Madison shrugged. "The girl next door was singing; I was listening to it."

"Don't get used to it," he said, "there's a showing tomorrow night. I doubt they'll want to sing after that."

"Another one?" Madison's face scrunched up as she crawled to the edge of the bed. Was this going to be a regular thing?

"There's one every time we get a new girl," he replied.

"Will Benny be there?"

Jase narrowed his eyes and Madison wound her neck in a little, sensing she had flown a little close to the sun. "Why?"

She sat on the edge of the bed now, her head down, playing coy. "Just wondering. He's intimidating. The girls might be more inclined to be less on edge if he's not around."

"Why do you care?" he asked, folding his arms.

Madison chose her following words carefully. "I don't want anyone else to end up like Annabelle and Benny puts people on edge. If the girls are more relaxed, they're less likely to be hysterical."

Jase didn't totally buy it. "Don't go thinking because Benny isn't here, you can act up. It's not a party, and plenty of people will have their eyes on you after how you've behaved." Madison kept her expression passive, but to have confirmation she was stirring the pot was music to her burning ears. It was much easier to tear apart an establishment when the foundations weren't solid. As for people watching her, they could carry on. Jase could have as many eyes on her as he liked, unless she reached for the door handle, none of them would know what to look for.

"I've learned my lesson. We both know I'm not getting out. I'm not about to make my life harder," she replied. She didn't need him to fully believe her yet. She needed to plant the idea of why her behaviour was changing in his head. That would be enough.

Yes, she cared about the other girls' well-being, but Madison wanted to test her theory. When Benny wasn't around, the boys relaxed too; they were almost normal. Janine could rub shoulders with Sam, Jase didn't seem to care half as much about keeping up appearances. She had yet to see him be the person Janine had described. Not that she wanted to meet him but seeing Jase at his limits would help her gauge the risk and reward ratios of her actions better. Adam was currently the only one she had to watch out for, though it appeared he was more of an attack dog. One look from Jase, and he would back off.

With Benny away and Adam on a leash, Madison psyched herself up to put in some groundwork for her plan.