𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 ━━ SARAH CAMERON

22

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Sarah's eyes widened as she quickly took a step back from Kaden whose face still held the same look of indifference.

"It's not what it looks like," the blonde muttered, her eyes looking at anywhere but Kaden.

"You two were about to kiss," Rafe pointed out, his brows furrowing as he tried to make sense of the situation, "are you cheating on Topper?"

"There was something in my eye," Kaden rolled his eyes as he calmly lied, "she was simply blowing into it." He spared Sarah a glance, "weren't you?"

"Yeah," she quickly nodded, "yes. That's what I was—"

"No," Rafe shook his head, frowning, "no, you two were about to—"

"Shut up," Kaden shot him a look, "as far as you're concerned, you saw nothing."

"But—"

"Nobody's cheating on anyone," Kaden cut him off, pining him on the spot with a stare, "understood?"

"Right," Rafe nodded, he didn't want to get on his bad side again. He'd already messed up once and he couldn't care less about Topper at that point. "Okay, yeah. I won't say anything."

"What do you mean?" Kaden faked a look of confusion, "there is nothing to say."

"Of course," Rafe swallowed nervously, nodding, "there's not. My bad, sorry." He directed his gaze to Sarah, "I just came here to tell you that dad's asking for you."

"I'll be down in fifteen," Sarah said earning a nod from Rafe who quickly turned around and walked away, closing the door behind him after a few seconds of mental debate.

"Why'd he listen to you so fast?" The blonde questioned the moment they could no longer hear her brother's retreating footsteps.

"Cocaine," was all what Kaden gave her, walking towards the door as well. He opened it and made sure nobody else were there. Then he turned around, "alright, let's go."

As they walked down the dimly lit hallway, Sarah's heart pounded in her chest. The walls seemed to close in on her, creating an atmosphere of suspense and anticipation. Kaden was the one leading the way with cautious steps, his eyes darting around for any signs of trouble although he knew everyone were at the party. He could never be too careful. Sarah followed closely behind, her palms moist with nervousness.

As they approached her father's office, Sarah noticed that the door was slightly ajar. "Wait," she whispered, grasping Kaden's arm to stop him from going any further. "Someone's in there."

"It's JJ," Kaden informed earning a confused look from her. "What?" He ignored her question and didn't bother explaining anything as he pushed the door open gently, revealing Ward's familiar office. Sarah couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, having spent countless hours in this very office with her father during her childhood.

JJ, with a mischievous glint in his eyes, leaned against the desk, a frown playing on his lips. "I thought you were gonna text me the passcode. What's she doing here?"

"She wanted to tag along," Kaden responded, his eyes flickering to Sarah, "it was her condition."

"Okay then," JJ clicked his tongue, nodding towards the safe, "open it for us."

Kaden simply went to lean against the desk beside his friend and watched as Sarah neared the safe. The numbers on the dial blurred before her eyes, her fingers fumbling for the right combination. She couldn't help but wonder what her father would think if he found out. Surely, he'd know that a watch was missing and she knew she was the only one beside him to know the passcode. Automatically, he'd suspect her.

Her fingers halted on the dial. Kaden frowned, his eyes studying her face closely. "What is it?"

"I—" Sarah paused, "is the watch really yours? Or are you actually robbing my dad?"

"For fuck's sake," Kaden groaned at the same time as JJ scoffed, "really?"

Kaden pushed himself off the desk and approached her. "The watch is mine, I swear it."

"But what is your watch doing in my father's safe?" Sarah questioned although she believed him. She couldn't help but wonder.

After a moment of silence, Kaden muttered, "you won't believe me if I tell you."

"I will—" she was interrupted when he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. They were running out of time. "Open the safe before someone comes."

"Fine." She turned back to the safe, letting out a shaky exhale. As the last digit fell into place, the safe clicked open, revealing a collection of things Ward didn't want anyone to get their hands on neatly arranged inside.

There, among all the expensive things, laid Kaden's grandfather, Eric's watch. It meant the world to him, and he wanted to possess it more than anything. It seemed only fitting that he was the one to have it, and not his murderer. The watch itself was over seventy million dollars. But Kaden didn't want it for the money.

Kaden reached out to it, aware of the two pairs of eyes on him. He ignored them. JJ knew they'd come to steal a watch, he didn't know that it would be something that expensive.

"Bro," his blonde friend couldn't help himself, "we could sell this and make a shit ton of money."

Kaden clenched his jaw. He wasn't mad at JJ for offering such an idea, he knew how he was. He figured he would suggest something of sorts so he slowly shook his head. "No," Kaden slid the watch in his pocket, "we are not selling shit."

"We—" Sarah cleared her throat as she closed the safe again, "we should get back."

"Right," JJ rolled his tongue across his bottom lip before sighing. "I'm going outside. My job here is done." Nothing was said as JJ walked out.

Shortly after, Kaden and Sarah retreated from the office, their steps quickening as they made their way outside as well, no words exchanged between them.