Elise Richardson has been head over heels for Kade Dawson since she first laid eyes on him. Twelve years later and Elise is still too timid to act on her adoration towards a guy who barely notices her.
Parker Reynolds will do anything for her best f...
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Before Nick can see me, I quickly dart behind Longbeard, who is too busy cheering on the Pugilist to pay attention. However, Barry notices and arches a brow. I beckon Barry towards me with my pointer finger. Despite my irrational fear of Barry, my completely rational fear of my ex trumps everything else.
"I need you to hide me," I shout when Barry is close enough to hear me.
He crosses his arms over his chest. "The Pugilist will kill me if I let his precious princess out of his sight."
"Please," I beg, causing Barry's irritation to morph into curiosity. I look left and right hurriedly to make sure I haven't been spotted before turning back to Barry. "He can't see me."
"Who can't see you?" He tilts his head to the side.
I swallow and weigh my options. I have no other choice than to trust Barry, hoping that he will adhere to Kade's demands to keep me safe.
"My ex," I admit.
Barry must see the sheer horror splayed across my face because he doesn't bother to give me any shit or protest against my demands. Instead, he smacks the back of Longbeard's head to pull his attention towards me. Longbeard winces and rubs the back of his head, scowling.
"We have to keep Reynolds out of sight from the circle."
Longbeard's brown eyes widen. "We can't! Pugey will murder us!"
"He won't," I say confidently. "Ka–the Pugilist would want you to hide me if he knew what was going on."
"What is going on?" Longbeard inquires, his expression hardening.
Barry answers before I can. "Her ex."
Longbeard merely rolls his eyes and waves me off. "I have my fair share of exes, Parks. Don't let this one get in the way of you watchin' your man."
"He abused her," Barry snaps, his fingers flexing at his sides.
"How did you know?" I ask acusingly, my stomach twisting at the thought of Kade sharing my deepest darkest secret with his gang buddies.
"You just confirmed it," he replies, his beady eyes filling with anger. Relief floods my chest, but is quickly followed by guilt. I can't believe I just doubted Kade after everything we've been through.
"Who is it?" Longbeard demands angrily, his eyes furiously scanning the crowd.
"I can't point him out to you two numbskulls," I hiss. "He'll see me."
"Right," Longbeard mutters. Barry smacks the back of his head again and Longbeard moves forward to do the same to Barry.
"You're supposed to be hiding me, not drawing more attention to us," I scold, still looking around in paranoia.
