The Cunning (18+)

63

Jase sat up in bed, his back against the headboard. Daylight spilled in around the sides of the curtain, slices of sunlight cut across the duvet. Madison was asleep in his lap, releasing a gentle whistle with every breath.

He hadn't slept, Peter was on his mind. The red-faced man with his snot, tears, and final pleas for mercy had only taken a small portion of his thoughts. His main concern was where to go from here.

Sam was in the kitchen. He looked up briefly from the newspaper, just long enough to acknowledge Jase.

"Did you tell her?" he asked before clocking the scratch marks down Jase's back. "Never mind." Sam cleared his throat, folding the paper and leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. "Leaving the Madison topic to cool off, what are we doing about Mitch?"

Jase was making himself a coffee. He looked over his shoulder, he'd practically forgotten Mitch existed.

"It's been a few weeks since we've heard anything. It's making me nervous," Sam pressed on. The silence was suspicious, and it didn't look good that someone had attacked Jase and they hadn't retaliated yet.

"He can't hide forever. He'll get impatient with us doing nothing. Let him stew. He'll come to us." It was a lazy response but Sam wouldn't outright call him on it.

"Do you not think we should act before he does?" he asked, slightly irritated with Jase's blasé attitude towards the situation. If they had targeted Jase directly, they wouldn't think twice about coming after him. Jase sipped his coffee, staring over the rim at his friend.

"If I thought acting was the best idea, I'd have done it, wouldn't I?"

Sam bit his tongue.

"I want things to die down. He'll fuck up before we do," Jase assured, aware their current run of events contradicted that.

"Why don't we just kill him?"

"Can't kill anyone when you don't know where they are. Patience, Sammy."

Sam wasn't happy about it, but as always, Jase's word was law. Though it was unlikely Benny would agree so easily if he was there. Jase remained in the kitchen, messaging out for shots to be dropped and ticks to be collected before he left for town.

When he returned, he went straight upstairs. Madison had been awake for a few hours when he entered the bedroom, dropping a pink sparkling bag at the bottom of the bed.

"Happy Birthday," he said. Madison laughed in bewilderment and reached into the gift bag, pulling out a thick book. She brushed her fingers over the glossy title; Dangerous Lady, a Martina Cole novel.

"You didn't have to get me anything," she said, flipping the book over and reading the blurb. As far as she was concerned, taking care of Peter was more than enough. Jase lay on the bed, letting out a deep huff and rubbing his face. The lack of sleep was taking its toll. He blinked several times, grasping milliseconds of rest to ward off the stinging sensation that came with exhaustion.

"I know, but it saves you from being bored all the time."

Madison leaned down and planted a kiss on his rough cheek, the contact sending a ripple of warmth over her.

"Thank you." He hummed in response, distracted. "Is everything okay?"

Jase ran his tongue over his lips, nodding. Having someone to offload on would be a blessing but he couldn't let that someone be Madison. The lines were blurred enough without letting her in on all the ins and outs of the business.

"Yeah, just a lot going on."

Madison frowned. It was strange, now they'd had sex she felt inclined to value his feelings and wellbeing, and not for her personal gain. She had worried this would be the case and only hoped it was somewhat mutual. If it wasn't, mind, she was willing to make herself useful, even if only for his physical needs. If anyone was going to use her body as a weapon, it was her.