Page 136 of King of the Cage

“I think your brother has already taken care of security on this level,” Bran said, walking slowly around. He stopped at a dark-red smear on the marble floor.

“Okay, now I’m sure. This elevator only goes down. There must be another for the upper levels,” Bran pointed out.

“We should take the stairs,” I said heavily. There was no part of me that wanted to do that, but wasting time searching for another elevator wasn’t fun, either. We needed to finish this now, before she got away.

We hit the stairs and started upward.

“She’ll be ready for someone coming,” I worried.

Bran nodded. “If she’s as smart as you say… yes, she’ll be ready for us. Stay behind me.”

Bran stepped in front of me.

“Regina’s of a mind to kill,” I told him grimly. “That bitch injected me with her nasty home-cooked drugs and tried to erase my memory. Not only that, but she’s been cozying up to me all week, no doubt laughing at the fact that I don’t remember her. I found Alice in her apartment.” I quickly filled him in on the rest of the events that went down that day as we climbed the endless stairs.

“Alice?”

“The girl from the wedding, the branded one. I’m starting to think Regina has a whole little army of branded girls she trotsout to do her dirty work. I wouldn’t be surprised if every server we’ve met was branded. Property of The Enclave.”

“How does she make them stay?”

“Fear, intimidation, CCTV of the shit members do behind these walls… maybe the ones who leave end up like that Jane Doe in the park, the one with the brand.”

Bran was quiet for a moment, climbing steadily, while I flagged beside him. Man, you’d think I was the one who’d fought to the death in the basement, not him. He reached out and took my hand. We had made it to the top. Double doors stood before us. The penthouse floor.

“In case I die, selkie, I want you to know… officially, on the record… I never married you because Da told me to. I’ve never done anything because he told me to. I married you because I love you. I was fated to love you, right from the start.”

Bran’s gaze was unwavering. I met it, inch for inch.

“I believe you,” I told him. It was true. I had no doubt.

“You do?” He tipped his head to the side. “Why?”

“Because you returned my skin.”

“And you came back to me,” Bran pressed, stroking a fingertip down my face. “Mam was right, people are born with a fate… and mine… is you.”

I barely had enough time to tuck away that little endearment in my heart before we rounded a bend in the stair and came to a door.

We stopped, breathless.

I looked at Bran, and he looked back at me, then he walked forward and pushed the doors open. I braced myself, imagining an immediate attack.

Silence fell. Nothing happened.

“Hmmm, maybe no one’s home?”

“I highly doubt that,” I muttered and peered around the door and into the hallway outside Regina’s apartment. It was dark. The elevator sat there, undisturbed. Exchanging glances, we stepped into the hall. There was an undisturbed vibe to the place.

“No one’s here, selkie.”

“No, that’s not right. She’ll be here, somewhere, watching.” I glanced up at the corners of the hallway, and a steady red light met my eye. Security cameras, watching us.

“Then we’ll find her. We just need to get into the apartment.” Bran trailed off as the elevator suddenly hummed to life.

We turned to stare at the old-fashioned machine, clanking ominously, lighted numbers above the contraption counting up the floors.

“We’re about to have company.” Bran pushed me behind him and jerked his head toward the apartment behind us. “Can you get in there?”

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