Page 59 of King of the Cage

There was no way. The gap was too small.

He stared at me a beat and then shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, just get down. Declan will take you home.”

“Bran—” I started but never got further.

The door to the room burst inward, and then there were men with flashlights, wearing those security outfits from the front. Their blank white masks turned in my direction.

The gong sounded through the hotel.

“The Hunt is ended. All potential acolytes must present their prizes.”

“I don’t have one,” Bran said, completely ignoring the fact that he was gripping a taut line of bedsheet, and I was clearly visible, standing on the outside window ledge.

One of the men stepped forward and raised a stick toward Bran.

“Don’t make this difficult, acolyte.”

Electricity sparked from the end of the stick. A cattle prod. Lovely.

“Maybe I like difficult,” Bran was saying, a shit-eating grin on his handsome face.

That crazy motherfucker was going to fight a roomful of security guards over bringing me back inside and completing the ritual.

I couldn’t let him do that. I had no idea why exactly, except for the knowledge that this guy had come here for me. I’d been in trouble, scared, alone… and he’d shown up.

The head security guy stared at Bran, his mask tilted sideways. “Who the fuck are you? You weren’t on the list tonight. You have an invitation?”

Bran sighed. “I guess mine got lost in the mail,” he started.

The cattle prod crackled.

“I’ve got it,” I blurted quickly, scrambling back through the window.

I nearly fell flat on my face as soon as I got in, but Bran reached out and steadied me.

I felt in my pocket for Sol’s invite. I’d taken them both earlier, hoping to make sure Sol wouldn’t be able to come to this nightmare, even if she’d changed her mind. I hadn’t counted on the fact that Aldo would escort her personally. I’d underestimated him and was paying the price.

I handed the spare invite to the guy with the cattle prod. He stared at it and then nodded.

“Okay, acolyte, bring your prize downstairs. It’s time for the Offering.”

“Oh, goodie, there I was, worried I’d missed it,” Bran murmured against my temple.

We walked out of the room, the security guards in a ring around us. The chance to run was gone. Now, there was no escaping whatever these psychos had in mind.

But at least I wasn’t alone. Bran was with me. It was more comforting than I’d have expected.

16

BRAN

I’d been halfway back from Hade Harbor when Declan called me. I’d been in Maine a few days, cleaning up the dregs of the motherfuckers who had introduced Z Juice to a small town. The only thing left of them was the blood under my fingernails and a letter of recommendation with a seal that the man who’d bargained his life for it had assured me was priceless. I’d killed him just after. I wasn’t a man of my word when it came to men like him.

In return, I’d found out more about the processes of the secret society operating right in the heart of the city than I’d ever wanted to know. The most sobering thing was how far-reaching the tendrils of the society went, considering it was even causing trouble in a small community like Hade Harbor.

When Declan called, I answered through my helmet, shooting down the I-95 on my motorcycle. He wouldn’t call for just any reason. It had to be important.

“What is it?” I snapped down the line urgently.

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