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Isla smiled at him and said “Hi” when she got into his car in a hurry.
“Hi, pretty girl,” Kade said back with a smile that showed off his dimples. He leaned over her seat to buckle her in, which was something he had gotten used to doing since he started driving her to work.
He kissed her softly on the lips and then sat back down. He smiled at the blonde as she bit her lip and looked away.
“Don’t tell me you’re getting shy again,” Kade said as he started the car.
Isla laughed and said, “I’m not…” She turned her head back to look at him and put her hand on top of his bigger hand, which was resting on the stick shift.
As he drove, she said, “I like your rings.” Her fingers, which were much thinner than his, ran over the thick silver rings on his fingers, and she could see the design’s grooves and carvings.
“Ya?” he asked, turning his head for a moment to look at her before turning back to the road. “Thanks, baby.”
The pet names made Isla feel more than they used to. When he called her sweet things, her chest felt bubbly and warm, and she wanted to be with him like she wanted air.
Isla didn’t want to frown when she saw the bakery she knew. The car ride was over way too soon.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up after your shift.”Kade reminded her after he parked the car.
Isla nodded and opened the door to the car, but someone pulled her back.
“You’re not remembering something.”
The blonde knew right away what he was talking about because he did this every time she left, even when she remembered.
Isla smiled at him and put her hands on his cheeks to lean in and kiss him. Kade playfully growled when she kissed him more deeply, and he responded by sucking on her tongue.
“You can go now,” he said with a smirk after pulling away from her.
Isla got out of the car, out of breath, and with her hair all messed up. Kade winked at her before driving away, probably to go to work. What does he do? All Isla knows is that he runs a successful business. She tried to get him to talk about his work life, but he never seemed interested.
When she walked into the bakery, there were a lot of people there.
She pushed through the busy bodies to get to the back room, where she immediately got to work. The sudden surge of customers kept her busy in the back, where she was always mixing, baking correspondent, and refilling sweet and savoury goods.
When she finally looked at the clock on the wall, she was surprised to see that her shift was almost over. She let out a tired breath and quickly cleaned up the prep room before putting on her coat.
She yelled goodbye to Brynn and then sat down on the steps outside the store to wait for Kade. It wasn’t too cold outside; in fact, she liked the cool fall air. The bakery always smelt great, but it was nice to breathe in and not taste something sweet all the time.
As she waited, Isla played on her phone and looked up every now and then to see the familiar car.
Twenty minutes later, she frowned and sent Kade another text, adding to the three others that asked when he would be there. The cold air was no longer refreshing; it was now uncomfortable as she shivered into her coat. Brynn had just locked up a few minutes ago, so there was no point in going inside the warm bakery.
Isla started to worry about Kade’s absence after another twenty minutes. He always remembered to pick her up after work, but this time he didn’t.
She didn’t want to, but she stood up from the steps and put her hands in her pockets as she started to walk home. It was late now, much later than she liked to be walking. The sky was obsidian black, and Isla tried to hide in its shadows as she walked along the sidewalk.
Ten minutes into her walk, she heard loud laughter on the other sidewalk. She was startled and started to walk faster to get away from the loud group, but the men noticed her blonde hair and she was no longer hidden.
As they got closer, the laughter got louder, and soon, they had Isla backed up against a brick wall.
“What’s going on here?” one man asked. He had silver Johnny lining his teeth and tattoos on his forehead. “Did the little girl get lost on the way home?”
The same guy teased Isla by pushing one of her strands behind her ear, which made her flinch.
“Hey, we need to get to 22nd Street by 9,” another guy said. He had black radiators over his eyes, even though it was daytime.
“Don’t worry about that; this will be quick,” Johnny said again, this time pushing his body against Isla’s small frame.
Isla was frozen in place and shaking with fear the whole time. When the tall man pushed his body against hers, she finally opened her mouth to scream.
She really didn’t like how the man touched her skin.
Why did bad things always happen to her?
She cried while they laughed, and she wished more than anything that Kade was there. Kade was supposed to be there.
“Kade!”Isla called through her tears. It was a sad plea that was lost in the night, but it was also an angry one. Kade was supposed to be here.
“Shut up, bitch,” Johnny said angrily. But he jumped back when he heard the name she said.
“Kade? Kade Kendall? You know who Kade Kendall is?”
Isla nodded quickly and slid down the rough wall that was holding her up. She curled up into a ball as tears of fat rolled down her red skin.
The group was talking to each other at the same time.
One person said, “Dude…You really f****d up if she knows Boss.”
“Don’t you think I f*****g know that?”The offender hissed.
“I thought she was just a random woman walking down the street. A simple lay. “I’m not getting involved in whatever business she was in.”
“With whom? Me?”
Kade stood behind the group, his voice strong and sharp. He wore a clean navy-blue suit with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows so that his rings and tattoo sleeves could be seen. The top buttons of his dress shirt were undone, showing off the black swirls and intricate designs that were on his chest and crawled up the side of his neck.
He didn’t seem happy.
“Hey, boss, what are you doing here? We were just checking on this girl because we saw her crying and…
Kade took a matte black pistol out of his back pocket and put his finger on the trigger. He didn’t say anything, but he pressed down on the structure, which let the bullet break free from its chamber and hit the man in the right eye.
There was no more sound coming from his mouth, and blood shot out of the wound.
A kill right away.
Isla screamed in fear at the loud noise and covered her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see the horrible scene.
What was Kade doing with a gun?