The Cunning (18+)

24

Jase woke up when he felt the weight beside him shift. He opened his eyes just enough to see Madison sitting up, yawning. He and Sam had gone to bed after their cigarettes. He'd managed to get in a decent five and a half hours.

"Is the door unlocked?" she asked. He closed his eyes again and hummed a confirmation. A few minutes later, the boiler kicked up as the shower turned on. A low hum rumbled through the house and assured him he was not returning to his dream.

Rolling onto his back, he let his arm drop out from beneath the duvet, blindly patting around for his jeans. He pulled his phone and cigarettes from the pockets and frowned at the message from Benny. Jase was to meet the guy who had paid for Madison later at the club to update him on their conditions.

Benny was technically the boss, he'd been the one with all the original contacts. When Jase first started working for him, he was selling class A's and renting rooms by the hour for the local girls. Then he'd taken the leap into trafficking guns and they needed more help in the house, so Jase had recruited Sam and Adam. Gradually, the business twisted and changed, forming the current model.

Everything in the three years following had been a blur, a constant flow of money, guns, drugs, and girls. Jase was Benny's right-hand man, overseeing everything. He was who Benny trusted most, meaning he got a larger cut of the profit. There was more money in Jase's possession than he let on, most of it cleaned through a friend's car workshop. He wasn't one to flex his disposable income, never wanting to attract the attention of the authorities.

Jase handled everything from the day-to-day running of the house to the negotiations with people like Mitch. He didn't let his temper get ahead of him like Benny, making communication easier for everyone. He messaged back, asking what time.

When Madison returned from the bathroom, Jase was still lying on the bed. She sat with her back to him, pulling underwear on under the towel. She let it drop to clip her bra.

"Is Benny back today?" she asked, shaking out a white t-shirt from the drawer.

"Yes, so no funny business," Jase mumbled, looking over to her once she had dressed her upper half. It was once again a piece of his clothing hanging off her curvy frame.

"I was just trying to help last night," she replied, crawling back onto the bed and looking up at him with doe eyes. They gave her an innocent aura but he wouldn't be so easily deceived. There was something behind them, ready to jump out and slit his throat when she saw fit.

He followed her from the corner of his eyes, allowing them to gloss over her bare legs. They were strong legs, thick and muscular, which made sense considering how fast she could move. His lungs had been close to giving out when he had chased her, and he did twenty minutes of cardio every gym session.

He didn't reply and Madison's attention snapped to the window as birds sang.

"Where does Benny go when he isn't here?" she asked, sounding distracted.

"Home," Jase replied, taking a drag on his second cigarette of the day.

"He doesn't live here?" He shook his head. "Then who does?" she asked.

"Me and Sam." Madison continued to stare at him curiously. What she was curious about he didn't bother asking, nor did he particularly care. He wasn't inviting a conversation. The only thing he cared about today was killing time before his meeting. He didn't need Madison getting in his head beforehand.

After finishing his cigarette, he got dressed and headed to the gym with Sam. The bench press bar came down with a metallic thunk. Jase ducked under it as he sat up, grabbing his water bottle.

"Is she buying it?" Sam asked, switching places with Jase. They were talking about the progress his plan was making with Madison.

"She's figured out if she cooperates, I won't make her situation worse than it is, look at last night." He didn't directly answer the question because truth be told, he wasn't sure.

"You mean about her talking to the new girls?" Sam's voice was strained as he lifted the bar, bringing it down to his chest. "Adam's pissed about that." Jase shrugged, looking around the gym. It was a Friday afternoon, grunts and clanks played as a soundtrack to their workout. The gym was dimly lit with wooden floors and it smelled of stale sweat and protein powder. There were only four other people there, spread out on the equipment. No women, it wasn't the kind of gym women joined.

"Let him get on with it," Jase said.

Sam went on to finish his set before replying. "It's cocaine. He's been railing it day and night."

Jase hummed disapprovingly. He was partial to a bit of sniff, but what Adam had was a problem, and it was causing tension in the house. "Just keep an eye on him," he said, resuming his place on the bench. "I don't want him becoming too much to handle."