The Cunning (18+)

67

Janine crept into Madison's room on Jase's orders to keep her company. They were throwing a party in an attempt to carry on as normal, which didn't sit well with her. Tensions were too high.

"How're you doing?" Janine asked, perching on the corner of the bed. Sam had told her what Adam had done. Even with the swelling gone, the traces of his temper remained.

"Every day's a blessing," Madison mumbled.

"Jase is going to look out for you." Janine reached out, brushing Madison's arm.

"Yep, I think everyone is aware of that," Madison huffed with a bit too much of an edge. She took Jase's cigarettes from the bedside drawer, passing one to Janine.

"Surely that's a good thing?" she replied. Madison didn't comment. Not straight away. She took a few puffs first.

"If it weren't for him looking after me, this whole thing wouldn't be a problem."

Janine's brows furrowed. "Would you rather he was a dick?"

Madison stared at her for a moment, not bothering to answer her question, asking her own instead. "Do they think it's a good idea? Having a party with everything that's going on?"

"The boys don't act in fear. It's a sign of weakness. If you look weak, you look easy," Janine replied. Sometimes, Madison decided, Janine could say something so bland and obvious and yet trigger a very important thought process. The cogs started, rusty and slow but turning nonetheless. Madison hummed her reply, busy in her brain.

They finished their cigarettes in silence. Madison covered the bruises to the best of her ability with concealer. Janine's words on loop like a broken record.

She was making Jase look weak. Mitch was using her as a weapon against her dad, and he was trying to do the same thing with Jase. That's why he'd sent the picture. That's why Adam had tortured her; to get a reaction out of Jase. Mitch wanted to see how far he would go to protect her and Jase had walked straight into the trap.

And he would continue to bite the bait unless she did something.

*

The house was packed, busier than it had been at any of their other parties, putting Jase on edge. It had started an hour ago and Madison still wasn't downstairs. She was in front of the mirror again when he went up to the bedroom.

"You coming down?" he asked, taking in what she was wearing; his white t-shirt and a pair of joggers. That alone answered his question, though he wasn't about to get on at her about looking nice. This was about their appearance, not hers. Madison rolled her shoulders, unsure she wanted to be a part of it. "It'll take your mind off things." Her eyes flickered over to him, that absent look on her face, careless whether she was around or not. Jase tilted his head, waiting until she edged off the bed with a sigh, walking past him. "You don't have to stay down for long," he assured, placing his hand on the small of her back, and guiding her to the table in the lounge. She sat next to him, pulling her knees up to her chest—looking every bit as miserable and uncomfortable as she felt.

Everyone was chewing their jaw, sweating against one another as they dipped into bags of white powder and talked incessantly. Through the controlled chaos, Madison picked out one person in particular.

Charlie watched her from across the room, taking sips of his beer. She had completely forgotten about him, too preoccupied with everything else going on since their encounter in her first days of captivity. Now, his presence was loud, blotting out all other possible dangers surrounding her.

Jase was dealing out of the tin box. People came over, swapping money for cocaine and a few pills here and there. But Madison couldn't take her eyes off Charlie for long. He was unmoving, not even making a half-assed attempt to conceal his disturbing observation. Jase nudged her.