Page 60 of Forbidden Hearts

There’s a long pause. Is Jacob afraid of Alonzo, or is he amused by what I just said?

“You don’t want to fuck with me, Alex. Be ready Monday evening. Find my money.”

He hangs up before I can respond.

Bastard.

???

“Is something wrong?” Alonzo asks. He caught me glancing at my phone for the third time in the past ten minutes.

“Nothing,” I say, setting my phone aside on the couch. “Just checking the time. I need to study soon.”

“So studious,” he says, leaning over and kissing me on the forehead. “You’ll have plenty of time to study after the movie.”

It’s Monday afternoon, and we’re sitting in his living room watching a movie. I’m anxiously looking at the time on my phone, waiting for Jacob to call Alonzo.

The call finally comes about halfway through the movie. Alonzo gets up and tells me he has to answer his phone in the kitchen.

“Do you want me to pause the movie?”

“No, that’s okay,” he says as he exits the living room. A few minutes later, he returns and says he has to leave for a few hours. “You can finish the movie without me if you want.”

“Maybe I should study for midterms instead,” I say. “Do you think I can use your study?”

He nods. “That’s a good idea. Study now, and we will finish the movie when I return.”

He kisses me in a warm embrace before heading out the door. I stand by the window and wave him goodbye.

As soon as his car exits the driveway, I run to his study, where my books are waiting for me on the desk. Instead of sitting to study, I search his desk and any other place I can access for the cabinet keys.

The more I search, the more a sinking feeling settles in my lower stomach. It feels like I’m doing something wrong, like I’m betraying Alonzo’s trust.

“He’s just using you for sex,” I remind myself. “What’s wrong with me using him for money?”

But that’s the problem.

Even if he is using me for sex, I have grown to care for him. I enjoy caressing his hair at night and watching him doze off. I enjoy spending sunsets picnicking and painting with him by the stream behind his cabin. And I enjoy having dinner with him and even helping him cook meals sometimes, despite his insistence on doing everything himself and treating me like royalty.

I can’t do this to him,I tell myself as I shut the desk drawers.I can’t betray him like this.

I wanted to leave town as soon as I found Alonzo’s money, but those plans will have to change. I’m stuck in this town for a while longer. As for Mom… I’ll do right by her some other way.

In the meantime, I’ll need to find a way to tell Jacob I’m not stealing from Alonzo. He’ll be pissed.Beyondpissed. But that’s a bridge I’ll have to worry about whenever I get there.

And Alonzo… Just thinking about him gives me warm goosebumps. I don’t want to end things with him. I know theywill soon—probably as soon as the semester ends—but I want to enjoy his company for as long as I can.

Let the chips fall where they may, but I willnotsteal from Alonzo.

Chapter 29

Alonzo

I sit in the chair opposite Jacob’s desk. He smiles at me and puts out a cigarette.

“Have you found the rat yet? It’s been a few weeks since we last spoke,” he says.

“Not yet,” I say. “Breaking into a government building isn’t so easy. They have cameras everywhere. You can imagine the penalty if I was to get caught.”

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