Dahlia had a soft heart and was consistently considering those in Camellia as an extension of our family. They weren’t, but I had never wanted to burst that bubble. She had also saved several lives that she wasn’t even aware of when she’d forgiven them for stupid or mean shit they’d said. They should be fucking thankful for her. Praising her. Worshipping her… nevermind, that was our job.
“Bad enough it was put on the FBI’s radar.” I pressed a kiss to her shoulder as she nodded, seeming to understand what I was implying. If she knew just how bad it was—the money being tossed around and the amount of people that had overdosed in this past summer alone—she would have been shocked.
“Wow,” she murmured, looking distraught. “This is just so insane.”
I squeezed her hand. “I know you are easing into talking about it, Dahlia, but there is a very real chance that Abby’s bullying is connected. With the power our families hold in this town, its possible that she was told to target you in order to cause a distraction for all of us so they could do whatever the fuck it is they have been doing.”
Like expanding an ever-growing problem. Fucking ridiculous. It wasn’t like a drug epidemic needed help spreading… unfortunately, it did so successfully on its own.
Her eyes darkened as she spoke, her voice low and sad. “I don’t have proof it was her. It’s just a gut feeling.”
“It was her,” Yates chimed in. “I don’t need proof to tell you it was her.”
Dahlia looked back at him and shook her head. “It feels wrong to accuse her of something I don’t have evidence of.”
Yates blinked at her and then ran a hand over his face. “You are way too sweet, Dahlia. That woman is a goddamn monster.”
“She’s not great,” Dahlia admitted and then winced. “Honestly, my head still hurts from what she did at the club Saturday.”
Everything inside of me froze as I processed what she was saying, and Yates stood and offered her a confused look. I was glad he could ask questions, because I was working at keeping my anger in check in preparation of whatever the hell she was about to tell me.
I’d always had a temper. Well, ‘temper’ makes it sound normal, and it was anything but. It was fairly rare that something pushed me to the point of being legitimately furious, but when it did, I had what was easiest described as black-out rages. I’d been close to one this previous Saturday with Greg but had managed to maintain some level of sanity by shutting down those emotions after beating the shit out of him.
There were times, though, when nothing I did helped, and this summer that exact thing had happened when one of the men that my father had led for years decided to attempt to sell us out to the police. Which was ridiculous and showed his inexperience, since in the town of Ardara we had all of the police on payroll. But it had been enough that I’d lost it, furious he would not only betray us but also put my family in danger.
I’d snapped out of it hours later, covered in blood, seeing fear in most of the other men’s eyes. Considering I’d brutalized the man in question, it was understandable. I’d nearly killed him, but Dermot had pulled me back. I don’t know what happened to the man, but if I saw him again, I would probably follow through and end his life.
Yates’s voice was demanding. “Why does your head hurt?”
Dahlia seemed to realize her mistake, her eyes going wide as she looked between us. “We just had a bit of an altercation.”
I was going to lose it. Sweet christ. I put my head down, my knuckles turning white on the desk as I considered how anyone in their fucking right mind thought they could put a hand on Dahlia in any way, shape, or form, let alone in a violent manner. I had managed to keep my black-out rages under wraps around her, but the idea of anyone hurting Dahlia sent me absolutely reeling.
“What did she do?” Yates demanded.
“She pulled my hair.” Dahlia waved him off and refocused back on me, her flushed cheeks betraying her nervousness.
I stood up and began to pace again, needing to keep myself moving so I didn’t go and seek retribution for what happened. I wasn’t one to ever enact violence on a woman, but I would find a way to make Abby Brooks pay for hurting Dahlia, and not just for the physical attack. I would find a way to absolutely destroy her until she was suffering more than she could have ever conceived.
Dahlia had no idea how close I was to losing it. I always knew when I was at that point because my grip on reality became tentative at best, and my skin got cold like it was now.
I let out a slow exhale and figured I would move to a different topic, especially since Yates had immediately begun tapping on his laptop, presumably checking the cameras at the club for that day. We would know exactly what happened soon enough.
“When Max confronted you at the courts…” I cleared my throat, shaking myself so I could continue my question. “When Max confronted you at the courts, what did he say, exactly?”
“He said that you were all hiding stuff from me,” she explained softly, the hurt in her voice slaughtering me and rendering me useless for a moment, extinguishing my temper. The idea of hurting her in any way left me feeling like absolute dirt. It was why I needed to come clean about everything, including my family.
I moved forward and cupped her jaw. “I only kept it from you because I didn’t want you to get involved with the FBI.”
Examining my expression for truth, she nodded. “Can I be helpful though, King? Now that I know, there has to be something I can do.”
I grunted, knowing that Callum would absolutely love to hear more about her interactions with Abby, especially now that it had gained so much media attention.
“Unfortunately, now that it has gotten so large, there is probably no avoiding it. They are going to want to talk to you.”
“Good, then we can do this together.” Her eyes were filled with a determination that I found far too sexy.
Then again, this was Dahlia. Everything the woman did turned me on.