“Yeah, I’ve got something in the works,” he admitted.
Why did I feel like there was something much larger going on here that I wasn’t fully understanding? My gaze moved back to her house as a flash of red disappeared from a window on the third floor. I couldn’t help but smile and chuckle a bit at that. The woman was a terrible spy and pretty fucking adorable, which was a word that I never used. Dahlia was going to drive me absolutely insane, and she’d barely spoken more than a few words to me. I couldn’t imagine how bad it would get if she gave me the goddamn time of day.
I needed to talk to King about this.
The only thing that was allowing me to maintain a small level of sanity was knowing how strongly King felt for her. I could never do that to him. He was the only real family I had, so if I had to suffer in silence and obsess from a distance, I would figure something out. I may have been a piece of shit and a bastard, but loyalty was huge to me. In fact, it was probably the only value that I did have.
“I don’t like the idea of her going to Yates’s house right now—he’s been an ass all summer and won’t let us explain that he needs to chill the fuck out around her,” Lincoln said, his frustration seeping through his words.
King answered my unasked question. “I don’t think you’ve met Yates before, but he’s a good friend. So is Stratton—not that you would be able to fucking tell, but that’s a long story. Yates doesn’t listen to anyone, and if I bring this shit up to him, he is more likely to do the exact opposite just to prove a point.”
Sterling shook his head. “He isn’t doing it to hurt Dahlia, he just has no goddamn patience. If he brings anything up to her tonight and tries to push it, any progress we have made will completely disappear.”
A low rumble of annoyance at the idea of Yates upsetting Dahlia broke from my throat before I could stop myself. What was wrong with me? Kingston offered me a knowing smirk as I flipped him off dismissively before lighting another cigarette. To be fair, he shouldn’t really be all that surprised. I may not have had a bloodlust like King, but my temper was what had landed me here to begin with.
My father had decided that I was too much of a problem and that his brother would be better equipped to handle his ‘troubled’ son. As if that was the real issue. He just didn’t like that I had certain lines that I wasn’t okay with crossing. Luckily, they were the same lines that King and my uncle had. My father was the outlier, and I knew that the family was trying to phase him out as it was… so I didn’t mind cutting connections.
In the twenty something years I’d been on this planet, he’d never made me anything but fucking miserable. I had my inheritance and the side of the family that was worth fighting for, so he could fuck off.
My knuckles were still busted from the night of the event. The night that had caused all of this. It had been worth it, in my mind, but not everyone agreed. One of my father’s business associates, one of the real ones that wasn’t part of the larger system, had brought his son to the event for the Ross & Co. When I had found the little piece of shit trying to sexually assault a very unwilling server halfway through the night, I’d ended that shit pretty quickly. I wasn’t positive why my father found it so difficult to understand my reasoning, but then again, there was a reason my mum had left him.
The man didn’t have a compassionate or understanding bone in his body. I much preferred my uncle anyway, so fuck him. I would miss Ardara, but I was starting to find Wildberry Lane could be better than I expected.Not just because of Dahlia, either… although that was a large draw.
No, I was glad King and I were becoming so much closer. Hopefully he wouldn’t very literally kill me when I told him that I was attracted to the woman he was in love with. It was possible I’d end up six feet under anyway. I wouldn’t lie to him, though—if he asked, I would tell him exactly what I thought of her.
When I’d stormed back into my new place the first time and he’d come after me, he’d not only expressed his frustration for why I was acting like an ‘ass,’ but the bastard had pestered me about what I thought about Dahlia. I had kept my mouth fucking zipped, and the only thing that had gotten me back out there was when he claimed I’d hurt her feelings for just walking away without a word. I was damn positive that had also answered his question, which was annoying.
King looked over to Yates’s house after typing out a message on his phone, my attention being drawn to the property that had a flashy Mercedes sitting in its circular driveway. I wasn’t much of a car guy myself, but I did appreciate a luxury vehicle, and it made me all the more eager for my car to be delivered already. I’d considered leaving it in Ireland, but I knew my father would probably destroy it to spite me, so I’d made arrangements for it to be delivered here.
My Aston Martin DBS Superleggera was fucking beautiful, and that wasn’t me bragging. It was literally gorgeous and probably the only material purchase I’d ever made that I valued. I tilted my head, wondering what type of car Dahlia liked. My eyes trailed towards where her driveway disappeared to a garage in the back. I would have to ask.
I tapped my cigarette on the edge of my boot as Yates, I assume, walked out of his large marble monstrosity that these men were considering a house. I was no stranger to luxury real estate, but these properties seemed extreme, even by my standards. His eyes moved towards Dahlia’s house with interest before scowling and approaching us, looking annoyed that we had bothered him. I didn’t buy it.
I did wonder if King was aware his friends were in love with Dahlia.
I knew my cousin was smart enough to realize it, so either he was purposefully ignoring it or choosing it to handle it this way because of some unknown reason. This past summer, he’d beat the shit out of someone at a pub for making a crude comment about Dahlia when they’d seen a photo of her pop up on his phone… so this surprised me. A lot.
“What?” Yates demanded as he slid his hands into his pockets and fixed us with an annoyed look.
I chuckled at his tone as Kingston sighed. “We need to talk about dinner tonight.”
Yates offered me a small head nod in greeting, clearly having been told who I was, before offering King a smile. “No. I don’t think we need to talk at all about dinner. I’ve been handling shit with the twins all summer, King. We’ve been fine. Just because you’re back doesn’t mean I’m going to change what I’m fucking doing.”
“Damn it, Yates, you know we can’t—”
“Do not treat me like I am oblivious to that woman’s every fucking move,” he hissed, his amused smirk disappearing. “You’re not special just because Dahlia knows how obsessed you are with her.”
Was this a real conversation they were having? Shaking my head, I realized I was the only one that seemed to find this conversation surprising. Yates continued, “Plus, I have a temporary solution to our problem. We need to monitor her to make sure she’s okay, and since we haven’t moved yet—”
“What the f-fuck are you talking about, monitoring her?” Lincoln demanded, his voice rushed and catching slightly. Well, at least I’d been right about one thing today. He did have a slight stutter. It was nice to know I wasn’t completely losing it.
Yates rolled his eyes. “Calm down. My father is just going to offer her a position at the law firm.”
“She won’t take it.” King narrowed his gaze. “She has enough on her plate, and she starts her photography classes soon. She doesn’t need any added stress from some bullshit job just so you can keep an eye on her.”
“You know what’s more harmful than stress? Not. Fucking. Eating,” Yates hissed out, stepping into his space. I honestly was starting to wonder if I was going to need to break them up if this turned into a fight. He continued, “Or getting bullied online until she is fucking sobbing again. I don’t trust that she isn’t still being harrassed—she would never tell us. If she is working in the office, I have eyes on her, and I can keep tabs on her laptop and phone.”
I shook my head, because this… this was fucked up.