The Cunning (18+)

65

The Jameson's Whiskey released a satisfying crack when Mitch twisted the cap off and poured two drinks. On cue, there were three heavy knocks at his front door. Adam's head was swollen through the spyhole.

"How'd it go?" Mitch asked, letting him in.

Adam flashed him a wicked grin. "Hook, line, and sinker. He backed her all the way, like I said." He followed Mitch into the kitchen, accepting the drink.

"And there were witnesses?" Mitch arched a brow in question. Adam polished off the whiskey in one and proceeded to pour another as he replied.

"There are always witnesses. He couldn't give a shit anymore. I told you, she's made him soft."

Adam held a deep-seated animosity towards Madison, which was only one of the reasons Mitch had targeted him.

"And Madison, what did she say?"

Adam puffed his cheeks and shook his head, topping Mitch's glass up. "Nothing important, nothing useful. The girl can take a slap, I'll give her that," he replied, omitting the fact that she hadn't said anything because he hadn't given her the chance.

Madison being able to hold her own didn't surprise Mitch. She had had an unconventional childhood, for lack of a better description.

Her dad raised her on drills, talking her through police interview procedures, making her watch violent movies, and take notes on what was fake and what was realistic. They had play-fought often and Mitch had seen with his own eyes that Madison's dad didn't cut her any slack because of her age or gender. Her dad roughhoused the shit out of her and it was her idea of fun. He had primed her to survive these exact ordeals so Adam failing to draw out anything substantial had been expected. Still, he enjoyed the thought of Adam inflicting pain on her.

"What was her reaction when you showed her the picture?" Mitch asked.

Adam swirled the amber liquid in his glass, the ice cubes clinking against the sides. "She laughed," he replied, still perplexed by her behaviour.

He had done several lines of Columbia's finest before going into the house earlier and was hoping the alcohol would mellow him out. He waited down the road for Jase and Sam to leave, unfazed by Kieran and Tommy's presence. Neither of them had the gall to get in his way effectively.

At first, when Adam had wrenched her off the bed, Madison fought ferociously, clawing at him, kicking and slapping until he shoved her onto the sofa.

"What the fuck is going on?" she'd demanded, looking to Kieran and Tommy for answers.

The pair stood there, like deer in headlights, lips parted but no words coming out. They had been torn between defending Madison on Jase's behalf and respecting Adam's position in the hierarchy.

"Adam, whatever's happened, maybe you should wait for Jase-" Adam had silenced Kieran with a murderous glare.

"Wait for Jase to what? Do fuck all again?" he'd seethed before turning back to Madison. "You haven't been totally honest with us, have you, sweetheart?"

Madison had rolled her eyes. "Best you get to the point," she replied. "Jase will be back soon and we all know you're shit scared of him, sweetheart." Her comment had earned her the first slap of many. He yanked her wrists towards him whilst she was dazed, securing them with a zip-tie. He intended on dragging this out.

"Don't get lippy, you stupid little bitch. I doubt he'll be running to your rescue when he sees this."

Madison blinked, attempting to focus on the rectangular piece of paper in his hands. It took a second to recognise the image. Adam smiled smugly, feeling as if he had single-handedly destroyed everything she had been working towards.

Her laugh had started as an amused giggle, quickly escalating to a full-on belly laugh.

Adam couldn't remember the sequence of events that ensued. It was a blur. In the moment, at the insistence of the cocaine in his system, he was convinced she was laughing at him. Now the buzz had died down, standing in Mitch's kitchen, he wasn't so sure.

She'd laughed directly at the photo. It didn't make sense. It was supposed to make her panic and overshare. The picture was meant to put a spanner in the works and a wedge between her and Jase. It was going to be the key tool in getting Jase to turn on her when it came to light she had grown up with the person who put a price on his head. It had failed to do any of these things. As for the cause of Madison's laughter, Adam was never going to do the maths.

He wasn't sharp enough to comprehend the only one he had fed to the wolves was himself.

"She's always been a bit tapped in the fucking head," Mitch mumbled, taking a pouch of tobacco from the utensils drawer.

"Well, Jase treats her like she's fragile," Adam replied.

Mitch chuckled, shaking his head as he licked the rolling paper and folded it over. "Madison is anything but fragile. From the sounds of things, she's just as clever and manipulative as she's always been. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree with that one."

Adam didn't look into the last part of Mitch's comment, his intentions still gunning for Jase's downfall.

"So what now?" he asked, taking the pouch and rolling his own cigarette.

"We wait. Mads is doing the hard part for us. The softer he looks, the weaker he looks. Let him destroy himself. Jase has a lot of enemies and once his support system falls apart, the streets will take care of him," Mitch replied. Adam's brows furrowed, it seemed a bit anticlimactic to let someone else finish him off.

"What about Madison?"

"She's collateral damage."

*

Adam rolled over in bed. Mitch sat naked on the edge, his phone in his hands.

"Who told you about Madison being in the house anyway?" Adam asked, reaching for the cigarettes on the nightstand and lighting one. It was against house rules to discuss business outside so he guessed he wasn't the only one that had turned his back on Jase.

"Harvey," Mitch replied. "That Chelsea grin taught him fuck all. She should have let Jase kill him. He was a waste of fucking oxygen."

"Was?" Adam questioned, though even he could work out that Harvey was no more.

Mitch looked over his shoulder, giving a menacing smile. "I wasn't going to make the same mistake and let the cunt go free, telling everyone that would listen about what we do. He's at the bottom of the Thames."

Adam blew smoke up to the ceiling. "What about me? I went against them and told you things I shouldn't have."

Mitch softened, leaning over and taking the cigarette from Adam, speaking inches from his face.

"The difference is, I wasn't fucking Harvey."