Dahlia Aldridge
I was so screwed.
When Yates finished watching whatever part of the video was on his screen, his eyes flicked up to mine and held my gaze for a moment, a swirl of dark emotions there that I didn’t want to consider. I made a worried noise in the back of my throat as I tried to escape Stratton’s grasp to go find refuge in the office with King. He wouldn’t be happy either, but I knew for a fact Yates was going to be upset that I hadn’t told him.
Especially after what he had said to me last night about being important to him.
Then I had made the active choice to not tell him the full story earlier, forcing him to find the video himself, an action I was currently regretting tenfold. Stratton grunted as I slipped from his arms and ran almost right into Dermot, his hands wrapping around my shoulders as I heard Yates stand up. Dermot’s gaze moved behind me, then he arched a brow and offered me a questioning look. I kept my mouth shut, knowing that saying anything right now would no doubt make it worse.
“Dahlia.” Yates’s voice was smooth and dangerously soft as he appeared way too close to me, causing me to jump as I offered him a look that seemed to make him even more frustrated.
“What is going on?” Stratton asked, sounding concerned.
“Hallway, now,” Yates ordered, his tone brooking no disagreement.
Too bad I was very much not wanting to be alone with Yates right now. Who knew what the man would say or do? I mean, I wasn’t afraid of him, but now that he knew I was attracted to him? He wieldedwaytoo much power.
Instantly my body tightened, thinking about all the fun ways he could punish me instead.
“I would rather not,” I pointed out, attempting a sweet smile.
King walked out of the office, talking to Sterling, as Yates looked over at him and then back at me.
“We can have this conversation here then.”
That was indisputably a horrible idea.
“I really don’t think we need to talk about it,” I debated as Lincoln walked back in, his furrowed brow instantly deepening as he caught onto the tension between Yates and me. Which of course drew everyone else’s attention.
“One last chance,” he warned.
I felt my temper flare, and I narrowed my eyes.
“No.”
I wasn’t doing this with him.
“Fine.” He shrugged, looking nonplussed as he walked over to his laptop. I tried to move forward, but Dermot kept me secured. Sorry, not secured. Trapped. I scowled up at him as he kept his gaze on Yates, his lip twitching up into a smirk that had me knowing he sensed my displeasure.
“What is going on?” Sterling asked, looking concerned.
“I just got the video from the club’s security team the day Abby assaulted Dahlia,” Yates explained, leaning against the table, his laptop next to him.
“She did what?” Lincoln demanded.
“What was on the video?” King demanded softly. Dermot’s hands tightened on me as he went completely still, causing me to want to turn around and examine his expression fully. Unfortunately, and not so much because I loved it, he had me locked to him completely, not allowing me to turn.
“Not a good idea, Yates,” Dermot warned as Yates went to answer. “I would suggest showing and telling him later.”
I could feel everyone else getting more tense by the moment, and I knew this was making it so much worse.
I narrowed my eyes in consideration. “They have cameras in the washrooms at the club?”
I didn’t like that at all.
“By the sinks and focused on the door, absolutely. We have way too many high-profile and scummy people that come in and out of our club; we need to know what’s going on,” Yates answered evenly, almost as a secondary thought before he spoke again. “I’ll show you later, King. It’s for the better.”
“No.” King shook his head. “Show it to me.”