Page 29 of Masked Darling

“My father was a mess back then. The Rebels were a joke and it was all about drugs and stealing. Counterfeit money, even. But my mom...” Kade cleared his throat and Madison heard the screech of a desk move as he braced himself against it in her peripheral. “My mom was kind and beautiful and I think that’s why Jagger is so much better than me. Because he got more years than I did with her.”

“Kade–”

“Let me finish,” he interrupted her sharply. “I’ve never talked to anyone about this and if I hear even an ounce of pity from you then I won’t be able to get this out.”

“Okay,” she breathed and her hands tightened in her dress again, scared to move and distract him from what he was about to tell her.

“My mom didn’t work after she had us, but I think she was a nurse at some point or something. She used to heal the guys when gang stuff used to go south. She’d stitch them up in our cozy yellow kitchen. I watched her pull bullets out of a guy’s back once with salad tongs. Sometimes, she’d let me help her and I’d get to put her long black hair in a ponytail so I could see what she was doing. There wasn’t much I could do at that age, but that little job made me feel important. Jagger would boil water and bring rags for her, though. And then one night she...” He trailed off, the memories hitting him like a punch to the stomach. But he had to keep going, he couldn’t keep it in forever.

Madison held her breath and waited for him to continue.

“She couldn’t get ahold of my dad when someone showed up at our house asking for help. She didn’t recognize them, so she wanted to check with Warren to see if she should let him in. And I remember this fucker crying outside the door. ‘Please help me, they promised you could help me,’ he kept saying and my mom couldn’t take it anymore. She put me and Jagger in the kitchen pantry just in case and let the guy in. He was covered in blood and stumbled while she tried to lead him to a chair by the kitchen table to see where he was hurt.

‘Where are you hurt? Where is the blood coming from?’ I heard her ask him and Jagger kept pulling me away from the slats in the door that I was looking through. And then he said, “It’s not my blood.”

A gasp left Madison’s mouth and she lifted her hands to cover it, already sensing where the story was going.

“Jagger understood that mom was in danger right away because he wrapped his arms around me and clamped a hand over my mouth before she even started screaming. He followed a Rebel who was coming to my mom for help and stabbed him to death right outside before rubbing the blood on himself and guilt-tripping his way into our home. At least that’s what dad told us later.”

Kade pushed away from the desk and started stomping around the room as the words continued to pour from him like the memory was fresh.

“My mom was too good for the life my father had her caught up in. Jagger saved me that day because he kept us hidden, but he also changed because of the guilt he had for not being able to save her and choosing to protect me. Warren came home about two minutes too late and he lost his mind. Killed the man with his bare hands even though the guy tore at him with his knife. Like it wasnothingbecause he was feelingeverythingin that moment. Andthat’swhy I want to leave. I’m scared to get close to anyone because it just takes one crazy fuck and they could be takenlike that.” Madison jumped as she heard Kade’s fist slam into the wall beside her. She chanced a look at him as he went back to stalking around the room. “Warren has been trying to use the gang to take down cartels, drug rings that were selling to kids, he’s taken the heat for dismantling a lot of bad groups. But that only paints a bigger target on his back. And Jagger has always had a bleeding heart. Fuck me,he was basically out. I was doing the odd job so he could focus on the bar and his book and his girl. And now he’s getting involved in his own shit and I can’t be the reason you get hurt.”

His footsteps stopped somewhere behind her and she could feel him looking at her.

“I mean, really hurt–killed even. And it wouldn’t be by me but it would bebecauseof me.”

“Kade,” she whispered, not turning around. She knew if she did he would see the tears in her eyes. He would see the pity she couldn’t quite keep from them because he was a boy who experienced too much. And that left him being a man with a lot of unresolved trauma. But now she knew where he was coming from. And she still wanted to be with him.

“If you were to ask me—justask,I would run with you.”

Without thinking, Kade immediately reached out a hand to stop her as she started walking. But it was too late; she had already left and closed the door behind her, leaving him wrapped in the lingering scent of her strawberry shampoo and something he hadn’t let himself feel much of since he saw his mother on the kitchen floor…hope.

CHAPTER NINE

“Fucking door,” Kade muttered as he struggled to shoulder the box of final edition school papers. His mind was still reeling from the conversation he had with Madison the night before, and to say he was irritated with the world was putting it lightly. As he walked through the Administration building on campus, he noticed a girl at the front desk who was trying to flirt with him. She batted her eyelashes and smiled as he approached.

“I’m happy to take those off your hands,” the slender brunette purred and reached her hands out, pressing her breasts together so they perked up in the neckline of her shirt.

But Kade wasn’t in the mood.

All he could think about was Madison and how she had offered to run away with him. The thought filled him with so many emotions that he wasn’t ready to deal with yet. He hadn’t let anyone close to him like this before and yet he wanted nothing more than to take her up on her offer, to escape this life and start fresh with her by his side. But he also knew that itwas too risky, too dangerous. Too stupid to bring someone good along for a joyride that could end in violence one day.

He forced a smile onto his face and shook his head politely. “Thanks, but I got it,” he said firmly, hoping that would put an end to the conversation.

The girl pouted but didn’t press the issue any further. Kade breathed a sigh of relief as he continued on his way, carrying the box of copies under one arm and clutching an extra copy in his other hand. He made sure to grab one to read later since it was their last paper, after all.

As he walked down the hallway towards the main office, the sound of his phone ringing had him pausing his stride.

Jagger.

Kade hesitated for a moment before answering, knowing that Jagger was likely calling to ask him about the party this weekend.

Kade stepped down one of the hallways that was empty and answered.

“Hey, you good?” Jagger’s voice crackled through the phone.

“Yeah, just dealing with some shit,” Kade said, leaning against the wall. “What’s up?”

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