Page 16 of Masked Darling
“Hey there, red. You look lost. Why don’t you join us? We’re just getting started.”
Madison hesitated, her eyes darting between the masked figures and Kade, who stood frozen beside her. She could feel the tension coming off him in waves now that she was closer.
“She was just leaving,” Gremlin interjected, positioning himself between Madison and the gang member, his thick arms tattooed with horror movie characters crossed defiantly. “This is a private party, and she wasn’t invited.”
The guy scoffed, unshaken. “Private? Come on, man. There’s always room for another beautiful lady.
Kade clenched his jaw, muscles tensing as he stepped forward, ready to explode.
Guess I’m going to jail tonight.
“Now,” he whispered. “Please.”
Her gaze softened as she searched his face for reassurance, but it was covered by the damn mask. So the only thing he could do was reach out to squeeze her hand before dropping it. It was a quick 2-second gesture, but Madison nodded.
Relief washed over the Rebel men as she reluctantly stepped back and glanced at Gremlin for support as she moved back towards the door. Gremlin stood by the door and watched through the crack as Madison made her way to her vehicle.
“Should’ve stayed for the fun that’s about to happen later,” the man who had opened the door taunted after her, trying to get around Gremlin.
Kade’s fists balled tightly at his sides as silent rage boiled within him like molten lava threatening to spill over and burn these fucks right where they stood.
He glared at the guy and wished he could see him seething under the mask. He didn’t know how old he was since his face was covered, but based on his tan and leather-like skin pairedwith his gruff voice and pot-belly, he had to have been at least over fifty. He could easily take him.
“Shut your mouth,” Kade spat through clenched teeth, taking another step forward before Gremlin blocked him with his large body.
Jagger appeared beside Kade just in time, hands raised in a calming gesture. “Let it go,” he warned. “We can’t afford any trouble tonight.”
Kade shot Jagger a furious look but knew better than to escalate things further while Madison was still on the premises. The gang member merely laughed at Kade’s fury.
“Relax,” the man said dismissively, waving a hand in mock surrender. “It’s all in good fun.”
Jagger shifted slightly closer to Kade, keeping his voice steady and firm. “I saidlet it go.”
Kade forced himself to breathe deeply while glaring at the cocky gang member. “Gremlin, please make sure she gets to her car safely.”
Kade returned to the bar, his heart still racing. He pulled out his phone, fingers trembling slightly as he typed a message to Madison.
Kade:
I’m sorry about what just happened. The people here aren’t good, and I don’t want you in a bad situation. I’ll see you in a few hours.
He hit send and watched the screen, hoping she’d respond quickly. The brief silence felt like an eternity, but he knew she had left the parking lot—thankful for Gremlin and his security—their friend.
Across the room, cheering erupted as members of the gang began ushering women toward the beds and pulling roughly at their clothes.
“Damn it,” Kade muttered under his breath, disgust settling through him.
Jagger sidled up next to him, his eyes darting between the crowds of pairs. There were 17 girls here tonight and 13 men. Kade had counted dozens of times over the last couple of hours. None seemed younger than their late teens, but it was hard to tell with the masks on. The ones that had been forced to remove their masks to partake in some degrading sexual acts looked his age, though, and that brought a twisted sense of relief. No matter what age they were, there was no excuse for it.
“At least they won’t remember tonight,” Jagger whispered grimly.
“What do you mean?” Kade shot back, taking notice of how the now-naked girls were sluggishly slumped on the beds, barely able to sit up.
“Roofies,” Jagger explained, gaze locked on the group gathered around one of the beds. His breath caught in his throat when he watched two of the men shove both their cocks into one girl’s mouth after ripping the mask off her face. They high-fived each other as both fisted hands in her hair, and she appeared dazed, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I put Rohypnol in their drinks earlier while everyone was distracted. The guys were cautious, but they wanted to get the girls drunk so didn’t watch me make theirs. It’s not perfect, but at least we can take one night of memories away from them.”
Kade’s chest tightened at Jagger’s words. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah,” Jagger sighed heavily and glanced sideways at Kade. “We can’t save them tonight. We don’t have enough backup or resources. I thought I could drug the men, but there are far too many of them for it not to be noticeable that we did it since they’re watching us pour, and we need them to trust us until I can figure out how to corner them better.”
