The Cunning (18+)

61

It took Sam a few minutes to open Janine's bedroom door. He rubbed his eyes as they adjusted to the light, his brows knitted together in confusion at Jase standing there, fully clothed.

"You good?" Sam asked, stifling a yawn.

"Get dressed. I need your help with something." Jase didn't waste time explaining. "I'll meet you in the car."

The car blew out hot air when Sam slipped into the passenger seat, his eyes watering from the cold October winds. Jase remained silent until he had pulled off the drive, palming the steering wheel and straightening up in the road.

"Are you going to tell me why you dragged me out of bed or are you going to keep up this mysterious, brooding thing you've got going on?" Sam questioned.

"In a minute. We're going for a quick drive first," Jase replied, his mind elsewhere. He needed more time to go over his plan and iron out the kinks. It was last minute, so there were a few.

Sam waited patiently, knowing Jase would come out with it in his own time. They glided through the pitch-black back streets of London, eventually pulling into a small parking lot behind a block of flats. The heavens opened shortly after they'd left and the window wipers interrupted the downpour every two seconds with an obnoxious rubbery squeak.

"It's Madison's birthday today," Jase said as nonchalantly as possible, his eyes fixed ahead on nothing in particular.

Sam nodded slowly. "So she goes to Peter today?" he questioned. Jase looked at him with a blank expression. He pulled a cigarette out, holding it between his teeth and offering one to Sam. The men rolled down the windows an inch, droplets of rain splattered the door panel.

"She's been crying all day," Jase said, his face illuminated by the orange flame of his lighter. "I don't like seeing her like that."

"You won't have to after today," Sam replied, though he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

He'd watched Jase with Madison from the moment she'd arrived. He'd been different from the beginning. He'd never offered any other girls a glass of water and they'd only untied them when they got to the bedroom. At first, he'd put it down to her being requested, but now he was unsure. What he couldn't put his finger on was why? What was it about Madison that had hooked Jase so intensely that he was genuinely about to have this conversation?

"I've been doing a lot of thinking," Jase said.

Sam was already shaking his head. "Jase-"

"I know," Jase interjected, determined to get it out before he started having second thoughts about his second thoughts. "Believe me, I fucking know. We have a job to do and it's been more complicated than normal. And I know one day, she'll have to start working, but I don't think she's ready."

"You mean you're not ready," Sam said daringly. Jase chewed the skin on the inside of his lip, running his hand over the rough stubble on his jawline. He tipped his head back and took a deep breath. There was no one present he had to deny it for.

"I guess I'm not." He closed his eyes, and as expected, Madison was there. She'd haunt him for the rest of his life.

"What are you saying?" Sam asked. Jase opened his eyes, and Madison disappeared. He let the silence sit between them before replying.

"I'm saying I think my plan, and her plan, may have worked a little too well."

"Jesus Christ," Sam sighed, but he knew to take him seriously. They'd known each other for longer than half their lives, and this wasn't a side of Jase he'd seen before. And he was hardly in much of a position to criticise. "What about Peter?"

"That's what we're dealing with tonight." He flicked the cigarette butt out the window just as his Nokia vibrated with a text from Peter. Jase had messaged him under the guise that they were taking him to Madison tonight. He wanted to put the plan into action before anyone could talk him out of it. Namely himself or Sam.

"That's him," he said.

Sam's eyes widened. "What the fuck are we doing Jase?"

Jase closed the windows and put the car in reverse. "I'm going to give him his money back and tell him to keep his mouth shut."

Now Sam was looking at Jase as if he'd grown a second head. "Really?"

Jase rolled his eyes. "No, not really. I'm going to fucking kill him." He flexed his fingers, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as they stopped at traffic lights. A red glow lit up the inside of the car, painting Jase in a devilish crimson.

"Doesn't he have a family?" Sam asked.

"No one he's in contact with." Just like with Ramon, Jase had done his research. "His store is open 24/7, there are eight members of staff, not including Madison, three of them have keys. He's been sending money in increments to off-shore accounts and has a hefty reputation with several escort services. He won't be missed and we won't be on the radar for his disappearance."

"And you're sure about this?"

Surer by the second, Jase nodded. "I can't give her to him, man. I can't."

Sam figured the best thing he could say was nothing. Jase had already made his mind up. And Sam would have his back until the day he died.

They picked Peter up around the corner from the train station. Jase had told him not to bring his car because if anything happened and he was seen, it would make him a suspect. As expected, Peter was too much of a blubbering idiot to ask questions. He had been jittery on the phone, still sweating from his last encounter with Jase. He got in the back of the car, his weight testing the Mercedes' suspension. The grin on his face turned Jase's stomach, and that was saying something.

"Evening Jase. Sam, nice to see you," Peter greeted cheerily. Sam nodded at him, but Jase said nothing. "I thought this day would never come," Peter continued, unperturbed by the ominous air in the car. "Does she know I'm coming? She'll probably be a little more relaxed if she sees it's me, someone she knows. Then she'll at least know I'll be gentle with her. You always have to be gentle with them, the virgins. You know what I'm on about, don't you boys?"

Sam dared a sideways glance at Jase. Even in the dark, he could make out the shadow of his clenched jaw, those tell-tale muscles always the first sign that he was trying to keep a handle on his temper. Sam silently willed Peter to shut the fuck up before Jase decided he was going to drag the night out by removing his fingernails one by one.

Peter continued to ramble, desperate to fill the quiet. He was nervous. Mind, anyone that got into a car with Sam and Jase usually was.

They drove for twenty minutes, arriving at a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It was originally a truck workshop but when the business went under it became the ideal hotspot for dodgy doings.

"What are we doing here?" Peter asked.

"We've moved Madison here so you can visit her whenever you want rather than having to come to the house. If we get raided, it'll save you from being tied to anything." The lie rolled off Jase's tongue with ease.

Moving a girl to a second location for the same services wasn't even something they'd consider doing. Peter knew no better, but he was still hesitant to climb out of the car. He sensed something was off, however, he lacked the balls to voice his concerns. Peter lacked a lot of things. So, he got out.

Sam pushed on the semi-caved-in door at the back of the building, opening it, and allowing Peter to go ahead. He stepped in, following the directions Sam was reciting.

"Just in there," Sam instructed, gesturing to a green metal door.

Peter opened the door into a small room, looking around, confused. Instead of Madison, as he'd foolishly expected, there was a computer desk in the corner, and sheets of paper muddied by footprints all over the floor. The whole place smelled of blood, like mincemeat left on the kitchen side for a few hours too long, with an earthy undertone. Rats scuttled around in the walls surrounding them.

"Where's Madison?" Peter asked, turning to face Jase as Jase drew his gun from his waistband. Peter's eyes flared. Jase pulled the slide back on the gun with a satisfying chink as he spoke, lifting the nozzle.

"She's not coming."