Page 26 of Masked Darling
Kade sighed, leaning heavily against the counter. “Yeah. She doesn’t get it.”
“Doesn’t get what?”
“Any of this,” he replied, gesturing vaguely around them. “The risks, the reasons. I can’t keep living like this. Jagger was right—” Kade held his hand up and pointed at Sadie. “Don’t you ever tell him I said that. But, I gotta get out. Or at least try.Fuck. I mean, look at you guys, you’re still caught up in this shit, too, and that’s why I have to get as far away from here as possible if I’m going to make a life for myself.”
“And she’s not part of that plan?”
“I never said that. I care about her. A lot. I just can’t ask her to join me in moving across the country, though. Her life is here.”
“You guys are graduating college. Your life can be wherever you want it to be.”
Sighing, Kade downed the rest of his beer. What was that, now? His fifth?
“I think she’s mad at me.”
Sadie paused in her writing and looked at him with sympathy. “Can’t say I blame her.”
Kade’s shoulders slumped further. “Neither can I.”
The silence stretched between them once more, filled only by the distant hum of traffic outside and the sound of footsteps as Jagger moved around upstairs.
Finally, Sadie spoke again as she set down her pen and pushed her papers aside. “Come with me,” she said, standing up and moving around the bar.
Kade raised an eyebrow but followed her as she led the way to the office door. He rarely ventured into this part of the bar; Jagger typically kept it locked. Sadie produced a key from her pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open.
“Why are you showing me the office?” Kade asked, glancing around at the shelves lined with liquor bottles and random bar equipment.
Sadie moved to the desk in the corner, opened a drawer, and retrieved another key.
“There’s something I want you to know about before this weekend,” she explained, walking towards a door behind the desk. She unlocked it and pushed it open, revealing a small closet space with some bookshelves and cleaning supplies. Kade frowned, confused. “The storage room? Where’d it go? I remember it being much bigger than this.”
“We made it into a safe space,” Sadie said, stepping inside and gesturing to the makeshift closet. “If we ever need to hide, this is where we go.” She pointed to a mop bucket in the corner. “There’s also a gun hidden in there if things get really bad.”
Kade’s eyes widened as he took in the setup. “Seriously?”
Sadie nodded, her expression serious. “It’s better than nothing. And it deters anyone from seeing what’s behind it.”
“What’s behind it?” Kade asked, curiosity piqued.
Sadie hesitated, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” she answered with a laugh.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Kade sat in the corner of the lecture hall, his eyes fixed on Madison as she sat a few rows ahead of him. It was their Creative Writing class, the only class they shared this semester, and he couldn’t focus on a single word the professor was saying. All he could think about washerand the fact that she was still ignoring him.
He watched as she scribbled notes in her impeccably neat handwriting, her red hair falling over her face as she wrote, even though she kept brushing it back over her shoulder. She was wearing this adorable green sundress that tied on the curves of her shoulders, making her look like a strawberry. Sweet and perfect.
She hadn’t responded to any of his texts that morning, and he felt a twinge of frustration mixed with a whole lot of sadness because he’d royally fucked up. He was still leaving, but at the same time, he still wanted to be with her. He was being a selfish prick, and she’d texted him that yesterday when he reached out during his morning drinking session.
Finally, unable to take her ignoring him any longer, Kade ripped a page out of his notebook and began to write.
Please talk to me.
He folded the note carefully and passed it up the row, student by student until it reached Madison. She froze when she saw his name on the paper, her cheeks flushing almost the same shade as her hair. That could be a good sign. Perhaps she wanted to keep going, too.
Kade held his breath as she read the note, waiting for her reaction. She turned back to glare at him, her green eyes flashing, and then tore the paper in half.
Wasn’t a blush, then, he thought bitterly, folding his bare arms across his chest.Just red with anger. Still beautiful, though.
