Branded (Fall of Angels #1)(54)

And it’s only gonna get worse from now. I’m sure of it.





Chapter Twenty-Five





Dixie



“Eat your pie, Dixie,” Brandon says, munching away at his.

Frowning, I stare at the plate in front of me. I am hungry, but I don’t wanna admit that in front of him. I don’t want anything that was paid for by him.

Then again, it was kinda sweet.

I shake my head.

I gotta stop thinking about him that way. He’s not fucking sweet, and he’ll never be. Not even when he thinks about me being hungry.

Brandon stops eating for a second. “Well?” His brow rises. “I know you’re hungry.”

Why does that sound like a threat when he says it? It’s almost as if he’s pointing a gun at me.

“Not when I’m under fire,” I reply.

“You’re not.” He tsks. “I won’t shoot you while you’re eating. Relax.”

Gee, that really makes things easier. Not.

“I’m not stopping again for a long time, Dixie, so you better eat while you can.”

Now that definitely is a threat. I’m tempted to chuck the plate at his face and make a run for it, but that wouldn’t do me any good. I’d get nowhere out here since he’s the one with the car keys. And I’m sure he wouldn’t give a shit if I made a scene because that’s just the person he is. Obsessed with me to the bone.

God, he was right. Us meeting was the biggest mistake of both our lives.

“I’m not saying it again, Dixie,” he warns. “Eat.”

Reluctantly, I scoop up a bit of pie with my fork and stuff it in my mouth, smiling like an idiot afterward. “Happy now?”

He keeps looking at me with those sultry eyes that are undecidedly sly. As if he’s unsure whether to reply or keep his mouth shut.

However, the piece of pie immediately makes me forget about his rambling and assholery. It tastes so damn good that it feels as if it lights my body on fire. Like I’m in fucking pie nirvana.

“Good, huh?” he muses, taking another bite.

I won’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing with him. Unfortunately, it’s probably written all over my face. I can tell from the stupid smirk he gives me. Goddammit.

I can’t even concentrate on eating my pie because half of the diner’s guests are still glaring at the shirtless man sitting across from me, whose perfectly chiseled body attracts plenty of attention. I glare back at them in an attempt to stop them from looking at us.

Brandon laughs. “Ignore them.”

“I can’t. I feel watched.”

“They’re not looking at you,” he says smugly.

“I really wanna kill you right now,” I reply, which brings an unwanted smile to his face.

“Like you could,” he responds.

I secretly shoot daggers with my eyes. I contemplate throwing my fork at him, but that probably wouldn’t do much damage. Instead, I pick up a piece of pie and chuck it at him. It lands right on his chest. His nipple, to be exact. And for some reason, the image of licking it off flashes through my head. I instantly will it away.

“Asshole,” I say.

“Dixie …” He wipes the pie off his chest with just one finger and licks it up himself, sucking on his finger as if he’s trying to make me jealous or something. “You’re wasting good food.”

“I don’t care,” I say, and I scoot it toward him. “I’ve had enough.”

“That’s a lie, and you and I both know it,” he says, and he tries to scoot it back. “Now eat your goddamn pie like a good girl.”

Sighing, I take another bite. That’s when Brandon lifts his head and glares at the entrance.

“What?” I ask.

“Shit.”

He immediately gets up and pulls me up by my arm, dragging me out of the booth and away from my pie. “Hey, I wasn’t done yet!”

“Too late,” he says, pulling me to the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” I scoff, jerking free.

When I turn around, I come face to face with the man in the doorway. Matteo.

“Fuck,” I murmur.

He’s actually wearing a fucking splint, but he’s walking all right. We’re lucky he hasn’t seen us … yet. But Brandon sure did because he’s already gone.

How the fuck are we gonna get out of here without starting a gunfight?

I immediately turn around again and tail Brandon, who rushes into the bathroom behind a man in a suit. The door shuts behind me, and Brandon pulls his gun from his pocket and shoves it into the man’s chest.

The man looks bewildered. “Wha—”

“Shh …” Brandon interrupts. “Just do what I ask, and no one needs to get hurt.”

The man nods, shaking in distress. “Please don’t shoot me. I’ll do anything, but please don’t shoot.”

“Give me your coat. And your hat,” Brandon says, looking the guy up and down. The man takes everything off and hands it to Brandon. “On second thought, give me your shirt too.”

The man frowns. “But then I don’t have—”

Brandon shoves his gun farther into the man’s chest. “Just do it!”