Page 37 of Forbidden Hearts

I page through each document and snap a quick photo with my phone. I’ll have to read them later.

Four minutes left?

After taking the last photo, I put the folder back into the filing cabinet and look at the desk again to ensure everything is back in its proper place. I scan the office multiple times until I’m satisfied with how everything looks.

“Time to get the fuck out of here,” I whisper under my breath.

I exit the office. Everything is still as quiet as it was when I came in. Crouching, I make my way to the back door and peek outside.

Everything is quiet out here as well. Then I hear them.

The two security guards are still chatting. The wind carries their coarse laughter.

I climb the back fence into the alley behind the building. When I’m halfway out of the alley, I remove the black mask and walk to the sidewalk, blending with a group of drunk college students.

My heart pumps with the adrenaline of a successful mission. God, I missed this job.

???

“Fuck!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

I pace along the side of the road.

With a sigh, I stop and look up at the night sky. The moon is shining brightly, illuminating the patch of dirt in front of me and making the ground look a pale gray. Beyond the dirt lies Texas wilderness that slopes into a steep cliff.

I glance at my phone again, at the photos of the documents I took ten minutes ago. My fingers squeeze tightly around the phone when I read her name on the screen. I still can’t believe it. This has to be a joke.

“Fuck!”

A few minutes ago, I was high off the adrenaline of a successful job and couldn’t wait until I got home to look at the documents, so I took a peek while driving.

The documents discuss Jacob and The Den. They list names of men I haven’t met but who I assume are reapers in high positions. Some documents also mention Ben, but they list Jacob as a higher priority.

With one eye on the road, I flicked through the photos and read some more. There were pages and pages of suspected drug operations linked to the reapers and The Den. But it was all speculation with no evidence.

Then I saw her name in one of the documents, and my blood turned cold.Alex.

My chest tightened, and it became hard to breathe.He’s forcing her to sell drugs,I thought.If he gets her arrested, I will end him.

I pulled to the side of the road and read the rest of the documents. By then, I was nearly outside town, on the quiet road that leads to my cabin. I sat in my car, skimming through documents, trying to figure out what the prosecutor knows about Alex.

Jacob isn’t forcing Alex to sell drugs.Sheis the informant, the rat Jacob is looking for.

According to the documents, she told the authorities about two drug deals conducted by the reapers, including the one that got one of Jacob’s men arrested. For some reason, Alex hasn’t revealed anything new over the past couple of months and even broke contact with law enforcement.

After I read this, I stumbled out of the car. Confused.

That’s how I ended up here, pacing on the side of the road, trying to decide what the fuck I should do next. If I turn her over to Jacob, I know exactly what he will do to her. Small men like him don’t like their power being questioned. He will do monstrous things to her before killing her.

In the many years I worked forNuestra Casa, there were only a handful of times when I struggled to perform my duties.But I ultimately did them because that’s what the job demanded. I couldn’t let my reputation as a ruthless enforcer slide.

But this is different.

This…

My mind goes back to this morning, with Alex sitting on my lap. And later with her lying on my desk with her legs spread open for me. Her taste in my mouth…

How am I supposed to hand her over if I haven’t made her mine yet? I haven’t had my fill.

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