Page 101 of King of the Cage

“Drugs? I don’t know what you mean,” Regina said, confused.

“Zombie Juice… you ever heard of it?”

She shook her head slowly. “What is it?”

I ignored her question. She didn’t know anything, which meant she wasn’t of any use to me.

“I have to get my husband to the hospital, if you’ll excuse me,” I said harshly, scanning the room for Bran.

He was gone.

“Oh, don’t worry, the doctor has already taken him. We have medical transport. It’s waiting for you at the front. I really am very sorry.”

I walked away without answering her. I didn’t have it in me right now to be nice.

I left the building, ignoring the chatter of the women leaving the ceremony room, talking about how stoic Bran had been, how strong he was, and how hot it had been.

They knew I could hear them. Maybe it was a usual thing in The Enclave to swap husbands at parties. The ladies chattering excitedly certainly seemed to know who they’d be trying to get, after today.

Over my dead body would they touch my husband.

I finally made it to the darkly carpeted lobby and stalked past the empty reception desk. On the wall above vacant key cubbies hung black-and-white photographs. I glanced closer at one. There were hundreds of men in suits, looking sharp and smiling up at the camera. There was a label printed beneath.

Investors, The Enclave, 1973.

The photos marched across the wall. There had to have been over a hundred of them.

I pushed through the double doors and outside onto the street and took the first deep breath I’d taken in over an hour. My head pounded, and I felt like I could vomit. Instead, I staggered toward the medical transport car sitting at the curb. The driver talked on his phone, seeming worried.

He hung up when I reached him.

“What’s wrong? Where is the man you have to transport?” Bran was nowhere to be seen.

The driver rubbed his neck, agitated. “The strangest thing happened. I was loading him into the car, when a black SUV pulled up… and these guys… they took him. Pushed him into the car and took off.”

My heart dropped. “What? Who were they?”

The driver shook his head. “I don’t know, but they wore suits, and they seemed… connected, you know? The leader had the weirdest pale eyes.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I knew exactly who he was talking about.

My brother had taken Bran.

28

BRAN

Somewhere between being thrown into a car onto my back and being kicked in the head for asking questions, I passed out.

Honestly, it was a relief. My back hurt like a motherfucker.

When I woke up, the pain was a million times worse. Being strung up to a metal hook wasn’t helping.

Water hit me in the face, freezing cold and shocking. I coughed, trying to clear my nose and eyes. Everything was blurry, but I had a good idea of where I was.

The kidnapping was slick and professional. There was currently only one man out there gunning for my head who was capable of such smooth elegance, and that was Elio Santori.

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