Taking care of Kyle is easy as pie, though Madison is close to a heart attack the whole way through.

Kyle walks out in front of her, looking furious.

He jabs a finger at her, clutches at her arm tightly. Madison tenses, terror rippling through her skin as she forces herself to still, to pull back in defence. She's fine, she's safe, she repeats to herself, though her fingers shake briefly. It's going to be just fine.

"You stupid whore—,"

"And you're a stupid idiot," Madison breathes hotly. "I can't think how I ever let you slip under my radar, but—a drug dealer, Kyle?"

"What are you talking about?" Kyle snaps, but he's starting to shift uncomfortably. "You—tried to arrest me—,"

"Ash told us everything," Madison says, her heart hammering in her chest. "You sell what, Type A stuff?"

Kyle snaps at her, "You think I'd sell anything to you, after you tried to put me in prison?"

"So, you do sell drugs?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Kyle's brows furrow in confusion.

"Nothing. Just a confirmation."

She waits just a second to watch Kyle's face crease in confusion, before she's pulling back, and her father's officers are swarming them quickly. Madison lets the smug smirk push at the corner of her lips, a sensation of blinding relief smoothing out the clenching of her stomach, and she can finally breathe properly now. Her father's taking care of it all and it's strange, depending on someone else but here she is.

When she leans back, she leans to watch her father at work, as he instructs his officers to take Kyle away. They'd only just discovered, by sheer luck, that Kyle was the beginnings of a drug racket brewing in Redwood, of all places. Her dad's hoping to crack the case wide open and though Madison had tried to snoop, he'd only assured her that it would all be taken care of and she had nothing to worry about.

It's hard to stamp out her old habits of snooping and taking everyone's problems on her shoulders, but her father's words had worked.

"You alright?" Nick is asking her, looking worried, the light in his eyes soft.

He'd insisted on coming along with her, though his mother had tried to argue against it. They'd ended up bringing everyone along, much to her father's chagrin. Madison feels like she can breathe every time he's around her. It's the strangest thing, she thinks to herself. The way she just slides into a comfortable ease that Nick's presence can bring to her, how the tension fades away from her shoulders and the tight ball slowly unwinds in her stomach.

"Not really," Madison admits quietly, the clear honesty spilling from her mouth easily. She raises her fingers which are still shaking. "He, uh, - he really scared me."

Nick stares at her, giving her a soft smile, and when she proffers her hands, he takes them. He squeezes comfortingly and Madison lets herself breathe out properly. She didn't realise she couldn't breathe until Nick was beside her.

"That was really brave of you," he tells her, and the warm flicker of pride blooms across her chest as her cheeks grow red with pleasure.

"Here's hoping Mitchell goes down, just as easy," Madison mutters.

*

Mitchell does not go down as easily.

In fact, Madison sees the gun first. Nick is talking to Mitchell, his face slightly hopeful in that way that Madison knows means that he thinks he's getting through to Mitchell, but Madison sees Mitchell shift a little. His jacket lifts and she sees the unmistakable shape, her heartrate climbing as it pounds relentlessly against her caged chest.

"Dad—," Madison blurts out, grabbing for her father's arm desperately. Her voice is high with alarm and fear. "Dad, he's got a gun—,"

"Madison, stay here," he tells her strictly.

Her father is already moving, having seen the gun at the same time, as the police come running. Madison presses her hands to her mouth tightly, breathing hard. She wasn't supposed to be here, though she and Nick had argued that they were both legal adults now. Her father hadn't wanted to use either of them as bait, but she and Nick knew better. Mitchell and Kyle had wanted them, but now Madison thinks she bit off more than she could chew again.

Nick could die, she thinks, breathing hard, as the police swarm in. There's a shout and a scuffle, but Madison can't tell what's happening until the gunshot rings out. It echoes and lingers thickly in the air and Madison feels her heart stop in her chest.

She's screaming before she realises it, and then Nick's arms are around her, his voice breathless in her ear. He's stopping her from running forwards, as Madison tries not to drop to her knees, shaking frantically.

"It's okay, he didn't—it's alright, Madison—," Nick breathes towards her, his eyes wide. "Your dad's okay, I swear it—nobody got hurt—,"

"Never again," Madison tells him breathlessly, clutching a handful of his shirt desperately. "Never—,"

And because it's Nick who is good to her, who would never remind her that she brought herself into this mess in the first place and that it's all her fault, he only swallows hard and nods. He takes her into his chest, embracing her tight, as Madison tries to hold back her terrified, relieved sobs.

This is what it means to meddle into things darker than herself and she's never doing it ever again.