Page 16 of Forbidden Hearts

I hate to admit it, but maybe Santiago is right. After all, the first thing I did when I moved to San Marquez two years ago was visit Jacob. I had worked with him a few times when I was an enforcer, so it made sense to let him know I was retiring here and to let me know if he ever needed anything.

Three months ago, he called me out of the blue. By then, I had already formed a reputation at TCU and was growing bored with retirement and college girls.

The peaceful life is making me anxious. It turns out teaching art is a littletoorelaxing, so when Jacob called, I was eager to see what he wanted.

“The owners of the club are Jacob and Ben. They are the only points of contact forNuestra Casa. In other words, his men don’t know who we are, and it’s better if we keep it that way,” I say.

I grab my gun before exiting the car.

We walk to the front of the bar, where a group of leathered men stand by the door. Santiago recoils back when one of them tries to search us for weapons.

“Chill,” another guy tells the one trying to check us for weapons. “Jacob is expecting this man. He’s a personal friend. But I’ve never seen this one before.”

He points at Santiago.

“He’s with me,” I say. “He’s family.”

The two men look at each other, contemplating what to do.

“If he doesn’t come in with me, I’ll walk. I don’t think Jacob would like that very much. Or Ben,” I warn.

The men exchange a few glances.

“You can come in,” says the one who recognized me. He waves us in and tells us he’ll take us to Jacob. He escorts us through the crowded floor. It’s surprising how many men are drinking this late on a Tuesday night.

“Is Jacob hosting a party or something?” I ask our escort. The lights are dim, and loud music plays at the back of the club. I’ve been to The Den a few times before, so I know they have dancers, but they never seem to pull in this many men. There must be some other event going on.

Our escort keeps walking. The music is too damn loud for him to hear me.

“It’s not normally like this. Business must be booming,” I yell at Santiago over the loud music.

“I can see why,” he responds with wide eyes. “Wow.”

I follow Santiago’s eyes to the stage at the back of the club, where a woman in high heels dances on the runway. She leans down to let a group of men stuff money into her bra. Crowds of men pool around the stage, waiting for their turn to tip this incredibly sexy woman.

“God Bless America,” Santiago mutters beside me, referring to the dancer’s flag-themed bikini.

The dancer has long, sensual legs. Her breasts bounce as she walks up and down the runway. Watching her sway her perfectly toned body evokes a slight tingle in my groin.

Where did Jacob find a woman like her?

“Alonzo?” Santiago yells. I turn to look at him. He is a few feet ahead of me and pointing at the man escorting us to Jacob, who iswayahead of us. “You’re falling behind!”

Without realizing it, I had slowed my pace to get a better look at the dancing woman. Her killer body is evoking all sorts of feelings in me. I’m trying to see her face, but she keeps looking in the other direction, only partially turning her head our way.

I pick up my pace. We’ll pass her on the way to Jacob’s office, so I’ll get a better look at her face then.

With each step, my body aches with anticipation to see the face of the woman whose body charms every soul in the club, mine included. My heart is racing in my chest, and my pulse is speeding out of control.

Who is this woman?

Our escort stops before reaching Jacob’s door and points to a booth in an elevated section of the club. Jacob and Ben sit at the booth with a table full of beer bottles. When Jacob sees us, he waves us over with a big smile on his face.

The stage is front and center from the booth where Jacob and Ben sit. It looks like I’ll get a perfect view of the dancer and not just a quick glimpse.

“Gentlemen,” Jacob says as we arrive at the booth. “Welcome! Please, take a seat. My office was cleaned this morning, and now it smells of chemicals, so this will do for now. But don’t worry, the noise will cover up our conversation.”

Ben scoots closer to Jacob, allowing Santiago and me to sit across from them.

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