Page 48 of Masked Darling

“Calm down,” Jagger soothed, a small grin playing on his lips. “I know where they are.”

He reached into the closet, past the cleaning supplies where a coat was hanging, and pressed a hidden button. With a soft click, the back wall of the closet swung open, revealing a hidden room several times larger than the size of the office.

Kade’s eyes widened as he took in the sight before him: a red-lit room filled with BDSM equipment: a St. Andrew’s Cross, several floggers and whips hung from the wall to the right, sex toys splayed out on a table to the left in an organized display. There was even an aftercare area in the corner by the door with a small fridge, sink, towels and snacks in a basket.

And then there were the two girls curled up on a chaise lounge, wrapped in blankets, sipping from water bottles. Bloody washrags lay on the floor before them–a testament to their recent ordeal.

“What the hell, Jagger?” Kade spun to face his brother, his eyes seeing him in a different light. Maybe they weren’t quite so different. Maybe growing up in the gang life made them crave deviancy in the way normal kids wanted a dog. “You got a sex dungeon back here?”

Jagger ran both hands into his hair as he groaned. “Why does everyone call it that?”

Sadie’s laugh broke the tension and he looked up to find her looking at Jagger with a look on her face that screamed relief and adoration. “That’s what it is, baby.”

Kade strode into the hidden room, Jagger at his heels. Their expressions turned serious as they approached the girls, their faces drawn tight with concern as they looked them over for injuries.

“I’m so sorry you both had to go through that,” Kade whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “I don’t even know what to say. I’m justso sorry.”

Sadie and Madison exchanged weary glances, their eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and lingering trauma. It had been such a terrible night and now that it was over, they struggled to sit upright with the weight of everything that had happened.

“We thought you were dead,” Madison said, her voice cracking as she rubbed at her eyes where her mascara had run. “When you didn’t come back...”

“It’s okay,” Jagger cut in, his voice gentle when he addressed Madison before dropping to his knees to hug Sadie around her waist. She stroked his hair as he breathed her in, his head in her lap and holding her so tightly like she might disappear if he loosened his grip. “We just had to get things cleaned up in case the cops showed up. The girls are on their way to the hospital. Everyone’s safe now. It’s done.”

Madison’s body trembled, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

Did he comfort her? Was he out of line in thinking he could? She looked like she needed to be held and he just couldn’t resist the need to be there for her. She could push him away if she didn’t want him, but in that moment, Kade stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him as he knelt beside Jagger on the floor, neither caring that he was sweaty and covered in blood. She melted against him, clutching his shirt as though he were the only thing keeping her tethered to reality. Maybe he was, because she didn’t push him away. She only tightened her grip on him.

“Madison, you need to go to the hospital too,” Kade murmured into her hair as he stroked her back. His voice was gentle but firm as he rocked her against him.

“No,” she mumbled, shaking her head against his chest. “I can’t be alone.Don’t leave me again.”

Kade’s heart twisted at her words. He never expected someone like Madison to want anything to do with him, andthen she’d given him everything he never thought he deserved–a friend, a lover, a possible future. And he had thrown that back in her face in his desperation to get out of this lifestyle before things got worse–only for them to go so badly he didn’t think he’d ever fully recover from the experience… and he knew the girls felt even stronger about that than he did.

But she still wanted him? Even now? How could she, especially after that had been done to her because of knowing him. He pulled back slightly, looking down at her tear-streaked face. His thumbs gently swiped at them on her cheeks.

“Madison, this just proved everything I was afraid of. How could you still want me near you?” He couldn’t keep the disbelief out of his voice. “After everything that’s happened...”

She met his eyes, they were like green fire as she clasped his face in her hands, the blanket shifting open as she let go of it. Her nudity was exposed to the room as the blanket hung open and Kade saw that her nipples had been cleaned up and were no longer bleeding around the spaces they’d been pierced, but the silver bars were still there.

“Sadie told me everything,” she said, voice steadier now and more in control. “About how Jagger arranged the parties to save the girls. How you joined them so you’d be able to be close to me at the party. It was–I didn’t realize how bad it could be. I guess I just wanted to be with you so much that I didn’t think about this world you’re a part of and I should have taken you seriously. I understand now why you have to leave.”

Kade blinked in surprise, trying to process her words.

“I’m not mad,” she continued. “I’d go through it all again if it meant we could get everyone out.”

Her sincerity hit him like a punch to the gut. He just stared at her because he didn’t know what to say. The guilt he’d been carrying felt a little lighter, but it was still there slithering through his chest.

Jagger cleared his throat from behind them, breaking the moment as he stood up. “We still need to get everyone checked out,” he reminded them, his tone gentle but insistent.

Madison nodded reluctantly, unfolding herself from Kade but keeping hold of his hand. “Just... don’t leave me alone.”

Kade squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I won’t,” he promised.

Jagger led them out of the hidden space and into the main part of the office. The neon lights created familiar shadows on the walls, and they didn’t feel as menacing now. Luckily the girls would be spared of the bar being drenched in crimson and littered with bodies. It was the only thing they were able to shield them from, though.

“We’ll all go together,” Jagger said as they headed for the exit.

Kade glanced at the door, then back at Jagger. “What do we even tell the hospital? They’re going to wonder what happened.”

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