Page 59 of In Prey We Trust

Fitz laughs and slaps his leg dramatically. “Very funny, bro. Now tell us where you’re taking my baby girl. Cross my heart, I won’t shadow you.”

Uh-huh.

“No way, jackass. You’re practically stuck to the Princess with a magnet. I was amazed you didn’t intrude on her date with Chess as it is.”

Aubrey grins and shrugs. “He’s easily distracted with shiny things.”

“Ha! That’s fancy talk for ‘Broody McFrenchKiss got him drunk and we challenged him to a Smash Preds tourney.’ They tricked me,” Fitz whines and pouts a little as he looks at me. “You won’t do that, will you, bro?”

I arch a brow. “No. I’m ordering you to give us some fucking space this time.”

His face falls and though I didn’t put the whole ‘Raj’ thing behind the command, he knows I’m serious. My brother isn’t actually trying to invade Dolly’s dates because he’s jealous; he’s simply so excited about our family that he can’t help himself. He’s always been the most social of the three of us and our exile was hard on him. “Fine. No stalking for Fitzy. Buzz kill.”

Chess scoots over, always ready to soothe his tantrums. “Baby, I’ll keep you busy while our girl and our king have a little alone time. Remember… he’s been alone the longest now that we know those two are bonking.”

Renard snorts and opens his mouth to retort, but he’s cut off when Dolly comes out of her room.

She took my sparse information and ran with it, donning tight black satin jeans and a vivid purple halter. The short lace shrug she has on doesn’t cover her tatts and her belly ring sparkles in the lights overhead. I grin, letting my eyes skate down her legs to her feet, noting the spike-heeled boots that lace up to her knees. Her hair is in wild rainbow waves around her face, accenting the dark smoky look of her makeup. Her friends come bounding in behind her, winking at me before they wave and head for the back door.

Of course the Terror Twins were involved in this badass look our bunny is sporting.

“Who let them in?” I ask, waiting for Dolly to approach.

She rolls her eyes and walks over to me, then does a little twirl. “Don’t be a grouch, Sir. Did we do a good job with the outfit?”

Reaching out, I haul her close and place a light kiss on her forehead. Her honeysuckle and candy scent makes me smile. I murmur low, “You look positively edible, Princess. Are you ready to go?”

Dolly nods, pulling back to note my simply black dress pants and black oxford. “Curious as hell, but definitely ready.”

Giving my twin the middle finger before he can ask, I take her arm and wave to the others. “Don’t wait up.”

“Hey! She has a match tomorrow, dickhead. Don’t you dare—”

Fitz’s voice is cut off when we walk out the back door and head for the parking lot past the Shird. Dolly snickers as she looks up at me, her lightly tanned skin almost glowing in the moonlight. “He’s going to worry about that all night, you know.”

“He let you fight a bunch of magical hooded freaks with him. Fitz is the last person who gets to comment on your safety.” I pause for a moment when she frowns, then add, “Besides, he knows he can track the car and phones. Plus he has a fucking satellite, Princess. He’ll be fine.”

“Oh, I forgot about that. You’re right.” Dolly beams up at me, her concerns gone.

Aubrey owes me a hundred bucks; I knew she realized how closely he tracks her.

Pulling into the dark plaza in my Phantom, I look over at Dolly with a satisfied smirk. Her expression is confused. Last time we were here, we absolutely refused to go into Inky Depths until we did research on its ties to the underworld. This time, I’m bringing her here on purpose.

“I thought you said this place is controlled by Lucille’s family and we couldn’t go in?” Dolly frowns and tilts her head at me. “Now we’re here for a date?”

Chuckling, I take her hand and kiss her knuckles lightly. “Princess, I know the others took you to fancy places, dancing, or quaint picnics. But unlike them, I’ve had a hard time fighting the urge to let you spread your wings and I want that to change. I may be able to issue demands in the dark…” She grins and I can see her flushing. “...but I need to show you that I trust you to be a part of the team.”

“You just said Fitz let—”

“Did a good job of riling you up, didn’t I?” My eyes dance as I nip her fingertip and she squirms in her seat. “I said that to make you huffy and it worked. But we researched this place after we left and what Fitz found was that it’s not what it seems.”

“It’s not a dive bar?” Her expression is disbelieving as she unbuckles her seatbelt. “Cause it really looks like a skeezy dive bar.”

“Not just a dive bar,” I reply as I open my door and hop out. Walking over to her side, I open her door and wait for her to emerge, all shapely curves and legs as she rises to stand in front of me. My cock notices, but I shake my head to clear it. “The bar is a front for the illegal Pred fighting rings downstairs.”

Her eyes widen and she throws her arms around my neck in excitement. “We’re going to an illegal fight? That’s so fucking cool! What kind of fight? Is it bare knuckle or are there weapons or…”

I cut her off before we start for the door, holding one finger up. “Princess, I need you to breathe. I’m not sure what they’ll be running tonight, but I do need you to promise me a few things. Otherwise, I’ll never survive this shit. Got it?”

---