His careless demeanor vanished at the look in her eyes, because he was just as determined to keep Lotte safe - it was one of the many things he and Erik had in common. They were both willing to do even the unspeakable to protect their women. James didn't have to worry about Meg, because she was just a minor irritation protected by her mother, nor did she need to worry about Christine. Raoul, if one ever showed up, was the only one who really needed to be careful.
Bran had a very distinct feeling that she didn't know about the plan to keep Erik and Christine together, just as he felt she probably wouldn't like it. "I need to keep him away from people, and Christine is the only one who can convince him to stay in one place. If she's not with him, then he'll go looking for her, and that's when people will get hurt."