Page 120 of Arran's Obsession

I’d switched sides.

Against the tide, Arran stalked through the room. Fear stabbed my heart. He shouldn’t have come in, but I knew in the same breath that he’d never leave his staff to handle this alone.

Staring at him, I took a step. With the smallest glance my way, he flattened his lips. At his side, his fingers made a slicing gesture.

A hand took my wrist. “Don’t let them know who ye are,” a man said in my ear.

Jamieson. I glanced up to be sure.

He muttered something to Manny, and both men moved casually to bracket me.

Arran didn’t stop until he was face to face with a huge policeman. A brutish older man with an unpleasant, self-confident smile. At a word from Arran, the man produced a piece of paper, a warrant of some kind, I guessed. Arran read it then folded it and slid it into his back pocket, all while the big cop watched.

On previous nights, Arran had donned a suit to be seen out in the club, but today, he was still in his jeans, his blood-stainedclothes unchanged from earlier. Yet his expression was neutral, no visible sign of the anger I knew he had to be feeling.

He looked like a gang member caught in the act. This couldn’t have been worse.

To my right, the cops surrounding Alisha suddenly rotated her, yanking up her hands to be cuffed. Horror joined my fear. At the same moment, up on the stage, five or six of the dancers were also clamped in handcuffs.

“Suck my ass, fucking pig,” Alisha snarled at the one holding her. Her wig of long, dark curls had come askew. “If you don’t think we can all see your dick is hard from touching us up, think again.”

“Alisha,” Arran’s voice cut through the hubbub. She fell silent, and he snapped at the guy who had to be the lead officer, “Is any of this necessary?”

“You tell me, Mr Daniels,” the officer replied.

What he said next was too quiet for my ears, but I saw the result in gut-wrenching slow motion.

Arran offered up his wrists. The police officer snatched them behind his back and handcuffed him, yanking hard to test them.

A shout reared in my throat. I cut it off, finally learning my lesson about being impulsive. Instead, I pressed my fingers to my lips, waiting for the second where his gaze sought me out again. Arran cut me a look, right as he was being marched outside.

There was not a single thing I could do to help him.

Along with Arran, they took a red-faced Alisha and six of the dancers, fearful expressions on all of the Divine staff members’ faces. A number of police officers were still in the room, questioning others one by one.

“Genevieve?”

I turned to find an ashen-faced Lara approaching.

“What do we do?” she asked.

For a second, I had no idea why she was asking me, but then it clicked in. Arran had gone, Alisha, too, and Shade was nowhere to be seen. She hadn’t asked Manny. For now, I was in charge.

The remaining police officers moved together and spoke in low voices. I marched over.

“If you’ve finished doing damage, the staff need to lock up and get this place back in order.”

One with a tidy moustache regarded me. “And you are?”

“Unless you’re arresting me, that’s none of your business.”

His lip curled under the hairy caterpillar decoration. “Do you work here?”

“Nope. Just trying to help these good people out.”

They swapped glances then shrugged, two peeling away to the exits. Moustache Cop stayed with me. He leaned in, a glance spared for Jamieson and Manny who’d remained at my back.

“Say the word and I’ll take you out of here. In handcuffs, if you need it to be believable.”

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