Page 34 of King of the Cage

I stood, and Marco cheered.

“Tell me you’re going to go and let that Irishman bend you double?”

I wasn’t about to tell him that I was going to see Bran for something far less interesting than a hookup, so I gave him a wicked grin. “Who says I’m not going to bendhimdouble?”

Marco cackled. “Go get it!”

I glanced at Sol. “You two are okay without me for a bit?”

She sighed and gave me a motherly look. “Go and let your hair down for a minute. We’ll be fine. See — I even get to have your cocktail!”

“Fine, but you owe me one when I get back — if you want all the details, that is…” I gave them a wicked smile and went in search of the locker rooms.

9

GIADA

Iknocked at the locker room door, and it swung open after a second. One of his men stood there. The one from last night.Declan.

“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise,” Declan murmured, his grin wide.

“Your boss has something of mine, and I want it back,” I announced, shoving my foot into the gap in the door to stop him from shutting me out.

“He’s indisposed at the moment.” Declan grinned.

What was he doing? A flash of irrational jealousy hit me. Was he hooking up with the hot ring girl?Why do you care? He’s not your boyfriend.

“That’s fine, better, actually, since you can just get it for me. I’m looking for a knife, a folding blade, with initials down the hilt. Go and be a good little minion and grab it for me…” I waved my fingers at Declan.

He chuckled and pushed the door open the rest of the way.

“I don’t go through the boss’s things… but you can help yourself.”

He stepped out of the locker room and held the door open for me.

“You think I won’t?” I asked, going into the room.

Declan shook his head. “No, I think you will, and that’s what makes you fun, Santori.”

With that, Declan left and pulled the door shut behind him, leaving me in the middle of the silent locker room.

It smelled like I’d have imagined it would. I wrinkled my nose and looked around. Bran was nowhere to be seen. The main room was large, with wooden benches down the center and lockers lining the walls. A door branched off to the left and another to the right.

First, I went to the lockers. One was open. I delved inside, assuming it was Bran’s. There wasn’t much inside. A leather biker jacket, T-shirt, wallet, and cell phone. And a towel. Wait.A towel?

So, was Bran not even in here? I turned around and peered through the archway at the end of the room that seemed to lead to the showers. He wouldn’t be in the shower without a towel, right?

The silence crawled down my spine, urging me to break it.

“Hello?” I called, channeling my inner B-horror movie heroine. “You’ve got something of mine, O’Connor, and I want it back.”

Silence met my call, followed by the lowest, barely audible whicker of a chuckle.

Was he fucking with me? Goosebumps popped up on my arms. There was something about the thought of him there somewhere in the dark, watching me, that sent me hot and cold all over. It was spooky, and that pissed me off. Anger made me hot, fear made me cold, and both warred inside me. Most of all, Bran O’Connor was as infuriating and childish as ever. Lost Boy, indeed. He lived up to his moniker.

I found myself moving toward the archway. He thought he was so smart, stealing my knife and keeping it from me. I had no idea when I’d see the guy again, and I wanted that knife back.He probably doesn’t even have it on him, the voice of wisdom said inside my head, but I’d gone too far along this path now to turn back. It felt like a game of chicken and I wasn’t going to be the one who backed down.

“I said I want my knife back, O’Connor,” I called out.

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