Page 89 of Tamed By You

With a nod of his head, he follows me to my office. As soon as the door closes, I slam my hand down on the oak desk. “What the hell has been going on? Why the fuck did we have paramedics here?” I am seething, my blood pumping around my body at an alarming speed.

“If you calm down for a fucking minute, I can tell you.”

“Is it Ali? Is she okay, is she—”

“The paramedics weren’t for her. She’s okay, she’s, I don’t know…”

“I swear to god, if you don’t start talking in complete sentences, I’m going to fucking break something.”

“Harry, calm down,” he barks. I shrug off my suit jacket. It suddenly feels too tight. I’m breathing like a bull ready to charge.

Fuck, I do need to calm down. I run a hand over my stubble and let out a long breath.

“Brad, please, what the hell has been going on?”

He tells me everything, Cassidy, the drugs, Ali breaking down on him. I feel like I descend into a black hole.

Drugs. She took fucking drugs?

“What the fuck is she playing at?” I bellow. My spine tenses. “I’m gonna—”

“Do nothing. Calm down. I think she’s really going through something.”

“What, what is she going through? Tell me, because clearly, she will talk to you, but she won’t fucking talk to me.” Breathing at a rapid rate, it makes me lightheaded and I try to slow it down. The memories of our last night together and her opening up to me come flooding back. Is it all connected. Why she hid parts of herself for so long? Is it all linked? She’s hiding something and I need to know what.

‘Haz, I know you’re angry and you’re worried, but you need to get a grip. This isn't the same thing as Tori—”

“Don’t. I don't want to think about that right now.” I bend down, bracing my hands against the desk, hanging my head, and trying to get my breathing under control.

“Just go easy with her, okay? Go find her and talk to her. Calmly.”

I lift my head. “She’s here?”

He nods “You need to—”

“Talk to her, I know.” I’m up and out of my office, charging down the corridor, pushing the doors open with such force I nearly take them off their hinges. I scan the club, the dance floor packed with people bopping to the techno beat. The lights above, sparkling down, casting shadows, making it hard to see faces. I search the crowd and then I spot her bright blonde hair I'd recognize anywhere. My eyes drift down to the tight pink dress she’s wearing and I still, clenching my fists as I notice a set of hands wrapped around her tiny waist, and a mass of dark hair nuzzled into her neck.

I’m moving, not thinking, not giving myself time to calm. My hand flies to the head in the crook of her neck, fisting the hair and dragging him away from her.

“Get your fucking hands off her,” I roar.

Wide, icy blue eyes meet mine, her perfectly shaped mouth agape. I shove the guy and he falls to the ground, but I don’t give a shit. I’ve never felt anger like it. Narrowing my eyes at her, I scowl. My tone drops to something softer as I say, “Hey, Ali Cat. Miss me?”

Chapter Forty

Ali

He’s here. It takes me a few seconds to register that it’s really him, thanks to the vodka I've been drowning myself in. Gabby is out for the night with Patrick, and I needed to get out of my apartment, so I came to where I knew I would feel safe. Where I would feel a little closer to Harry without being with him. But now he’s here, in front of me, with a murderous look in his eyes.

He takes my hand and I blindly follow, too shocked to speak. He drags me down to his office, my petite legs struggling to keep up, taking four steps for his every two.

He slams the door so hard it makes the picture frames on the wall rattle, and I wince. I’m still clutching my drink, and sensing I need some courage, I down it and slam the glass down on the desk.

“I can slam too, you know,” I sneer.

He braces his hands behind his neck, pacing up and down like a caged animal. “What the fuck has been going on… start talking.”

“Excuse me, you don't get to speak to me like that.”

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