Page 66 of Cage of Thorns and Blood

Of course, that might scare her off but tough shit. Renata is about to learn her place because she’s not leaving with that asshole. She’s not leaving alone, either. She is leaving with me, whether she wants to or not. I can’t trust her useless parents to keep her safe, and while I’m livid at her for this stunt, I’m kind of impressed that she had the balls to play me. Plus, I can’t punish her for this if she’s dead.

Lock it down. I text back. Get everyone to hunker down in the safe houses, until we have chance to meet and decide how to move forward.

“We need to move,” I say to Clifford.

“What do you mean?”

“We need to lock shit down. Another one of our men has been found dead.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

“In one minute. I need to retrieve something that’s mine first,” I say as I look at the stage.

Clifford looks at the stage and then to me.

“Oh, boy. This is going to be fun.”

“Wait here, and tell the security to meet us out front.”

He doesn't argue, thank God. I don't want to punch him in the face in front of everyone here. I storm through the crowd, and my energy must proceed me because Renata stops pawing at the man she's kissing and turns to face me.

It's beautiful to see the emotions race across her face like clouds over the mountains on a windy day. First there's the triumph, then it's replaced with confusion as I barrel down on them, and finally, gloriously, the fear takes its place.

Oh, she better be scared. I climb onto the stage aware of the shocked gasps and whispers from those in their seats at the tables as I storm over to her and rip her out of the fucker’s arms.

“What are you doing?” she demands.

“You're coming with me,” I grind out.

“Oh no, I'm not.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“You can't make her,” the idiot with the slick hair says.

“Are you left or right-handed?” I ask him.

“Right-handed, why?”

“You'll find out.”

He stares at me, confused, and I see the moment he realizes he does not want this fight. Too late; he's already got it. He got it the moment he laid hands on what is mine. In a way I feel sorry for him because he's just a pawn in her game, but I can't let anybody think they can get away with this kind of behavior again. This man, whoever he is, is going to learn a very painful lesson in the coming days. If it wasn't for the fact that there was immediate danger, and I need to get out of here with Renata right now, I’d beat him to a pulp and not give a toss about the people in the cheap seats watching.

I throw Renata over my shoulder, and she squeals in indignation.

“Shut up,” I snarl as I bring my hand down harshly on her ass.

Loud gasps from the audience echoes around the room, but I don’t give a fuck. As I walk toward my cousin, I turn to one table of gulping fools. I pause, with Renata wriggling in my arms like a gold covered worm, and simply hold their gazes. One by one, they all look down at their plates.

“Smart,” I say, then I continue toward Clifford.

As I reach him, he shakes his head and chuckles. “You know this is going to be in the papers, right? I mean, if you wanted to keep her a secret and keep her safe, this isn't the way to go about it.”

“She doesn't need to be kept a secret to be safe,” I reply.

“How come?” he asks. He's completely ignoring her protests as she squirms and kicks her feet, as am I.

“Because she won't be leaving our house. The place is going to be like a fortress so no one can get to her.”

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