The Cunning (18+)

53

Jase was half cut when the girls entered the living room later in the evening. He was slowing down on his consumption, swapping the brandy for beers. He intended on keeping his word to make sure that no one touched Madison, and he needed to be almost sober for that. But the cocaine was still being served. He had a line ready for her.

"Do you want to sit down?" Kieran asked, already half standing up from the chair next to Jase. She tried to suppress her giggle at his politeness, it didn't belong there.

"She's alright," Jase answered for her, "she can sit with me." He pulled Madison onto his lap, lacing an arm around her waist and handing her the rolled-up note.

"Do you ever run out of this stuff?" She laughed, rather merry herself after sharing half a bottle of vodka with Janine whilst they were getting ready.

Jase smiled, "I'm a drug dealer, remember? I have copious amounts of cocaine. As much as your little heart could desire." She rolled her eyes, taking the note. Jase held her hair back whilst she inhaled the little line he had delicately arranged on his phone screen. She winced at the chemical burn in her sinuses. "I like this," Jase said, running his hand up her side and plucking the shoulder of the one-piece she had on. Madison smiled shyly, trying not to appear too conscious of the exposed cleavage the deep neckline bared.

"It's Janine's. Cute, right?" she replied, tilting her head forward again and shivering. Jase watched her, an upwards quirk at one corner of his mouth.

"Very cute," he replied, taking a mouthful of beer. She leaned over him to pick up the empty tumbler glass he'd been using, half-filling it with the brandy. A short time later, Ricardo approached the table, sniffing profusely, his pupils the size of pinheads.

"Jase, you got any gear?" he asked, interrupting Jase's conversation with Sam and Kieran. Jase tapped Madison's thigh to get her attention.

"Under that armchair, there's a box, not the green one, the grey one, can you grab it for me?" he asked.

Happy to help, Madison pushed through the people that were dancing, crouching by Jase's armchair. She made a mental note of the boxes under the furniture. The green one under Benny's chair was the lockbox they'd taken out the night Annabelle was given an overdose. She could safely assume the grey one contained drugs for distribution, which left the green one under Jase's chair. The one that had been on the coffee table when Harvey was there. She was willing to bet her life that was the one that held weapons. The lock was just a key. Sliding it back under, she returned to Jase with the grey container.

"What's in there?" she asked, feeling the need to overcompensate her naivety. The downside of cocaine was the paranoia that came with it, the worry that Jase could read her mind. If he could, he didn't show it, giving her a half-smile as he pulled her back onto his chair.

"Drugs." Madison watched in mild fascination as he opened the box, revealing its contents. There were at least fifty button bags full of folded card squares. He took one out, handing it to Ricardo in exchange for four twenty-pound notes.

"Did he just pay eighty quid for that one bag?" Madison asked. Jase laughed at her innocence, bobbing his head.

"Drugs are expensive." He tossed the money into the box and locked it.

"Why do people do them then?" she questioned. Jase pulled her closer to him, slouching further in the dining chair, keeping his arm around her waist.

"Why do you do them?" he asked, tucking a rebellious blond strand behind her ear. Madison contemplated his question. She could hardly admit that it was a drawn out form of manipulation. That the drug created opportunities for them to bond or that it gave her an insight into how his brain functioned whilst under the influence of illegal substances.