The Cunning

42

"Sounds like there's plenty of people down there tonight," Janine said, chewing her lip at her reflection. She'd picked out a strappy crop top, pairing it with light blue jeans. Madison had opted for a more modest look, one of Jase's black t-shirts, knotted mid-waist, and the black jeans she had on the night she was taken. They were substantially looser than they had been then.

"I don't know how they have the energy," Madison mumbled, checking her reflection. Thanks to the concealer and mascara, she didn't look half as tired as earlier. Unfortunately, neither product contained caffeine, so she still felt like she'd been hit by a freight train.

"Cocaine," Janine replied. "Slap a smile on. Let's get this over and done with."

When she opened her bedroom door, the music blasted them at full volume.

"They're really on one tonight," Janine said, as if Madison needed something else to be nervous about. That meant cocaine, probably lots of it. People went either way with a drug like that. Jase had been nice last time, but she wasn't holding her breath for him to continue that behaviour every time he got a buzz. "Jase can be a little temperamental when he's sniffed up," Janine said, reading Madison's twitchy body language. "Just keep your head down."

"Got it," Madison replied. They helped themselves to drinks from the kitchen and then went into the living room. Janine had advised Madison to stay within the boys' sight because at least then, if something happened, they had a first-hand account of it.

Janine went straight to Sam at the table, instantly in her element on his lap with his arms snaked around her waist. They looked like any regular couple, nobody would guess the real situation by appearances alone.

Jase looked up from dissecting a score on his phone screen, spotting Madison. He jerked his head to the side, inviting her over and pulling out the chair beside him. He was watching her with a new heated intensity. He took his time, letting his eyes roam her body before they met hers.

"You look nice," he said cooly. Madison couldn't refrain from glancing at Janine. The wide eyes and slightly parted lips confirmed she had heard and once again, this was not standard behaviour on Jase's part. It seemed he had forgotten about her interruption earlier.

Madison pressed her lips together, feeling the tackiness of the gloss. She was trying to use it as a distraction from the hiccuping frog in the pit of her stomach. The compliment had thrown her, and she didn't like how her hormones had reacted.

Jase gestured to the phone adorned with thin white lines. The difference between the last time he gave her coke and this time, was not lost on Madison. They were in the open now and she didn't know his angle. Tentatively, she accepted the rolled-up twenty, forcing her shoulders to relax and urging the trepidation to leave her muscles.

"How much have you had?" she asked cautiously. Jase smiled, the corners of his eyes creased. The corners of his eyes didn't crease when he smiled maliciously. He slouched down in his chair and pulled another phone out. The Nokia.

"Quite a bit," he admitted, looking at her through his lashes, "can you tell?" Madison gave an uneasy laugh.

"Yes, I can tell."

"Am I making you nervous?" he questioned. The low tone, the fraction of concern, every meaningless, minuscule component that went into him asking that question made the room feel as though it emptied and shrank. Nothing could prepare Madison for the ill-placed arousal Jase's hot and cold tactics brought out in her. She bit her bottom lip and nodded. Jase looked back down at his phone, fingers moving a million miles an hour. "Don't be. I'm in a good mood," he assured. Madison was still uncertain. "I've made a lot of money today. I'm good."

"From the girls?" she questioned, knowing Janine hadn't worked the afternoon and feeling sorry for the girls that had. If Jase had made a lot of money, it would have meant the girls had plenty of visitors. He shook his head.

"Drugs." She wanted to ask why he didn't just sell drugs instead of women; however, she didn't want to risk shutting down his cheerful demeanour. So, she tightened the tube of money and leaned over the phone. Like last time the rush consumed her.