Page 17 of Masked Darling
As they stood together, Kade felt dirty and useless, guilt clawing at him as he watched women being coaxed into doing unspeakable things under bright lights and the loud music.
“It’s sickening,” Kade said quietly. Gremlin and Scales were practically vibrating with the want to attack. The feeling was palpable through all the Rebels, actually. They were good men who did bad things. These men—These were bad men who did deplorable things.
“I know,” Jagger replied sharply. “But now that we know they’re in town and amenable to this place? We’ll get a better plan together next time. And we have it being recorded in case anything is traced back to us.” He paused to glance at the hidden camera on the ceiling for a moment before adding, “Tonight isn’t about us being heroes; it’s about gathering intel at this point. Any of it is important. And I don’t think their main guy is here tonight, anyway. I’m trying to listen in on some conversations but hopefully the drunker they get, the more I’ll know by the end of the night.”
Kade clenched his fists against the bar and tried to look anywhere but at the audacious fucking in front of him. There were a lot of things he did because his dad made him for the sake of brotherhood and the Rebels. But this–This was too much.
Jagger’s eyes softened behind the mask as he placed a hand on Kade’s shoulder. “You’ve helped more than enough tonight. Why don’t you head to that party, and we’ll clean up.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Madison could barely contain how on edge she was as she and Alison walked into the boys’ apartment on Saturday night, especially after the weird encounter with Kade earlier that night at the bar. She just wanted to see him because she was proud of the outfit she made for their ‘Anything But Clothes’ theme–choosing to get creative with a vinyl twister board.
It took hours, but she’d constructed it into a strapless mini-dress and paired it with bright yellow stilettos she had bought some years back because they reminded her of patent leather sunshine. Alison was a sultry vision next to her, creating a quick halter top and mini skirt out of blue-colored Saran Wrap. She wanted to be completely naked underneath, but Madison begged her to at least wear panties since the clear plastic (although wrapped around her body many times) was still see-through.
Alison leaned against the wall separating the kitchen from the foyer, crossing her arms as she scrutinized Madison’s nervous expression.
“You’ve been acting weird since we got here,” she said, eyebrows raised.
Madison tugged at the hem of her makeshift dress, heat creeping up her cheeks.
“I went to visit Kade at The Serpent Pit,” she admitted while she busied herself, hanging her jacket up in the closet beside them.
Alison’s expression became guarded as she took in her friend’s nervous demeanor. “And? What happened?”
“I wasn’t allowed in,” Madison replied, her voice dropping to a whisper as the disappointment tinged her words.
A heavy sigh escaped Alison’s bright pink lips. “Honestly? That’s probably for the best.” She straightened, pushing off the wall. “Jagger and Kade have family roots with the Renegade Rebels gang. They get dragged into some heavy shit because of their father.”
Madison rolled her eyes at her friend and raised an eyebrow of her own.
“Jagger has worked hard to move past it all,” Alison continued, shaking her head slightly and looking at her blue nails. “He cleaned up The Serpent Pit and tried to make it a safe space for people in town, especially now. But Kade? He’s still very much in it because Jagger isn’t.”
The weight of Alison’s words settled heavily on Madison’s shoulders. She had always admired Kade’s intensity and passion but didn’t know it stretched into something so dangerous. She’d known he was part of a gang but thought maybe it was just for show–that he had moved past whatever his ties were to it. He wore his jacket and had his bike, but he never talked about anything related to it. They only talked about classes and books and... did things.
“Be careful with him,” Alison warned, eyes narrowing slightly as she met Madison’s gaze. “It might seem like it’s not important right now, but you don’t want to get caught up in whatever he’stangled in if he’s being strange. I like him because he’s one of Christian’s friends, but I love you.”
“I know,” Madison replied softly, determination creeping back into her voice. “But I just wanted to have fun with him tonight.”
“Fun is one thing,” Alison said, stepping closer and lowering her voice. “Just remember that not all fun is safe.”
Madison nodded and stared off at their friends in the apartment’s main room—laughing, dancing, and drinking. The costumes were outrageous, and she couldn’t decide which one was better than the other. The caution tape dress that Sabrina was wearing was a close first, though.
Alison nudged Madison playfully, breaking the tension momentarily. “Okay! Enough brooding! Let’s be young and stupid for a while. I’m so over these classes that I’m about to lose my fucking mind.”
Roughly an hour later, Madison was hovering over Alison and spilling her lukewarm beer over the brunette’s blue Prada pumps.
“Go find your lover boy, Mads. I’m a big girl; I’ll be alright here for a minute,” Alison teased as she saw Madison’s auburn ponytail swung back and forth, looking for Kade.
“Oh, stop, Alison. I’m not looking for him,” Madison said, looking back at Alison, who shrugged in response as her lip tucked up into a grin. “Okay, fine. I’m looking for him,” she admitted with a huff.
“Looking for who?” A deep voice said from behind her before strong arms wrapped around her waist.
Madison shivered, her body tingling as the warmth of Kade’s body pressed against her.
“You,” she breathed and turned in his arms to face him.
Alison took one look at them and knew she wouldn’t be missed. With a big smile, she turned her attention to the crowd of partygoers and went to find Christian.
