The Cunning (18+)

66

Madison's injuries were worse the following morning. It felt as though she had been dragged down the road attached to someone's tow bar. The appearance of the girl in the mirror reflected the extent of her pain in the dappled complexion of her swollen face.

Her eyelids were purple, puffing out and forcing them half closed. Handprints muddied her arms and wrists. Cigarette burns embroidered her flesh, leading down to the red bracelets the zip-tie had torn into her skin. The left side of her jaw had a golf-ball-sized protrusion and the split on her lip had started to weep again.

Wincing with every movement, Madison scraped her hair back to inspect the damage. Her scalp still ached from Adam yanking her around by her hair when he finally lost it with her laughing, slamming his bony fist into her repeatedly. One had busted her nose, the other had torn the inside of her cheek against her teeth. Once her face was numb, he'd picked up the cigarettes. Nothing had been funny after that.

There was a fleeting memory of Kieran trying to step in at one point but Madison couldn't blame him for quickly backing down when Adam locked eyes with him. He was an animal in the middle of a frenzy and anyone that got in his way would suffer. The only way he would have stopped was if someone stronger physically stopped him or he exhausted himself.

She would have told Jase. If she knew, she would have told him herself. There was no way she'd have let Mitch have that power.

Sam and Jase were at the kitchen table, the picture laid in front of them. Jase looked up from it, seeing Madison in the doorway. He didn't say anything about the marks but she felt him absorb every inch of her body. His jaw muscles popped out, his chest rising as he took a deep breath through his nose.

She pulled the sleeves of his hoodie over her hands, taking a seat next to Sam, who wasn't so subtle with his reaction to her beaten appearance. His eyes widened, brows stretching up to his hairline.

Jase slid the picture over. Madison had almost asked Adam where he had got it from but only one person would have held onto it after all this time. That's when the laughter had started. She knew who had given Adam the photo and it was embarrassingly obvious Adam thought it was worth his weight in gold.

The revelation told Madison a few things; Adam had gone behind Jase's back to acquire the image and was likely working with Mitch, which meant he wouldn't be a threat for much longer. It also told her Mitch hadn't been entirely honest with Adam either. Because if he had told Adam who her dad was and what happened to the other boy, he wouldn't have stuck around to stir the pot.

Mitch wouldn't expose Madison's paternal lineage for the same reasons she hadn't done so already- they didn't know where it left them. Adam was nothing more than a pawn on Mitch's chessboard. Jase's voice brought her back into the room.

"It's obvious you know Mitch, but how do you know him, and who's the other boy?"

Madison recalled the day the photo was taken. Her mum had gathered them, always trying to insert Madison into the boys' friendship. She lifted her finger, pointing at the anonymous teen.

"That's my brother, Dylan." The words croaked out, raspy and dry. The name felt strange on her tongue, fictional. Jase got up to get her a glass of water. Even swallowing was painful and there was a quiver to her hands.

"I'm going to ask you this once and only once. Are you friends with Mitch?" Jase questioned. She shook her head absently.

"No. He was Dylan's best friend."

"What can you tell us about him?" Sam asked. The thought of opening that can of worms without revealing too much exhausted her before she could even begin.