Page 69 of King of the Cage

She just shrugged. “That’s family for you, for better or worse.”

Before leaving, Aoife patted my hand warmly and gave me a real smile. “When you walked in here, I wasn’t sure if I could see you together. You and Bran, you looked like gasoline and a match. But now… I see it. Take care of my boy. He’s not like the rest of them,” she said, staring over my shoulder.

I turned to follow her gaze. Bran was still behind the bar, chatting with the made men of the family, pulling pints and listening to those who needed to talk, all while keeping a careful eye on my table.

“He’s not mine to take care of,” I murmured.

The old cook had clearly gotten the wrong idea about us arriving together.

Aoife smiled. “Isn’t he? See you tomorrow, Giada.”

I watched her leave.

“Aoife’s worked here since my ma used to run the place. She’s the beating heart of it,” Bran sighed, settling into the booth beside me.

He was so damn big, he took up all the space, and his side pressed against mine. He felt solid as a rock. I went to slide around the table a little to give him space, but his arm went around the back of the booth, and his hand cupped my shoulder, keeping me in place.

“She approved of you, that doesn’t happen often,” he said.

“Brought some pretty flings in here and she’s hurt their feelings, has she?” I meant to tease, but it didn’t come out that way. The thought of Bran bringing any of his adoring fans in here to his family pissed me off. I needed my head examined.

“How are you feeling now?”

I thought about it for a long moment. “I feel angry,” I admitted. Sure, fear was there, and I was shaken, too, but anger was the predominant emotion.

“How can they get away with treating people like they do? Because they’re rich and powerful, they can play sick games with girls, right here, in our city.”

Bran nodded. “But not for long,” he added. “Because we’re going to stop them.”

“We are?”

Bran nodded and hugged me close.

Heat flushed through me. “What are you doing?”

Bran flashed his eyes to the window beside me. “Putting on a show.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve been followed since the second we left the hotel. Right now, they’re watching us.”

I stiffened, fear coating my mouth and turning it dry. “What do we do?”

“Play along. They think I’m trying to become a member. We need to let them think it. They also think that we’re engaged. We need to let them believe that, too.”

“Why?”

Bran sighed. “The way I see it, we take some boys, bust into the hotel, and kill everyone we find. Whether we find out who’s in charge, or who The Sentinel is… we might, or might not, but we deal them a blow.”

“No, we need to find the head of the snake… that’s the only way it all stops.”

Bran nodded. “Agreed, wee one, and for that to happen… I need you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, a warm flush flooding through me. “You need me?”

He nodded. “I can’t keep you out of it. You can run rings around my boys.”

His lips lifted in an admiring smirk. No one had ever talked about me outsmarting them with such respect.

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