Page 72 of Forbidden Hearts

“Just the return of our most popular dancer,” Jacob says, looking at me with a big grin. He points to the stage at the back of the club.

What. The. Fuck.

Alex is dancing on the stage. She leans forward and shakes her chest at a group of old, disgusting men standing by the stage. They insert money into her bra and high-five each other.

I reach for the gun at my hip, but before I draw it, I remind myself that there will be consequences if I unload my gun at those old bastards. I’m outnumbered and outgunned here.

Instead, I ball my hands into fists and squeeze them as tightly as possible to keep the anger in check. It’s the hardest fucking thing I’ve had to do in my life.

I follow Jacob to a booth where Ben is waiting for us. It’s the same booth where I first saw Alex dancing here. Fuck.

“Alonzo!” Ben yells over the loud music. “Come, take a seat. I heard you stopped by last week. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to meet you.”

I sit across from him and nod. My throat is tense with rage, and it’s hard to speak. “It was a quick stop, as I’m sure this will be.”

Ben frowns. “Nothing new for us?” he asks as Jacob squeezes himself in the booth beside him.

“None,” I say, turning to the stage. Alex is looking straight at me. Even though she’s dancing casually, her face wears a shocked expression. “It’s a lengthy process.”

“What’s the hold up, if you don’t mind me asking?” Jacob asks. He grabs a bottle of whiskey sitting in the middle of the table and pours some into a glass cup before sliding it to me.

I grab it and take a quick drink.

“The hold up?” I ask, turning to look at Alex again. She’s now dancing at the other end of the runway but still looking in my direction. “It’s just not that simple to break into a government building. I’ve been studying the entrance and various exits, but they have that building tightly guarded.”

Ben nods in understanding, but Jacob only stares at me. He’s not buying the explanation.

“Look,” Jacob leans closer. “This side hustle I told you about can grow into a multi-million dollar enterprise, Alonzo. I need to find that fucking rat and make sure they can’t speak another word ofmybusiness to anybody.”

I look between Jacob and Ben. “I don’t know what to tell you, gentlemen. It just doesn’t work that way. The job will get done when it gets done.”

“It’s been months. Maybe we called the wrong brother,” Jacob says under his breath, loud enough for me to hear.

“What did you just say?” I ask him.

“Nothing,” Ben jumps in. “Jacob is just worried about his other businesses. Anything that affects the operations at The Den can jeopardize his solo ventures.”

Jacob looks over at Alex, who is still staring at us from afar. His lips creep into a small grin.

Oh. They’re fucking.

My hand goes to my waist again.This is not the time and place for this. Besides, Alex never…

She never saw me the way I saw her. Shit, I don’t think I even know the real her. I thought I did, but clearly, I was wrong. She was fucking Jacob this whole time because to her, I was only a goddamn fling.

I take one last drink of whiskey and get up. “I just remembered I need to be somewhere tonight, but I’ll keep you both informed if anything new comes up.”

Jacob nods and smiles a devious grin.

“Have a good night, Alonzo,” Ben says.

I leave before I say or do something I will regret. Not only am I outnumbered in the club, but Jacob and Ben are still working withNuestra Casa. They’re basically untouchable. For now.

Jacob’s grin pops into my head again when I’m back in my car. There was a flicker in his eyes when he smiled his goodbye. It happened so fast, and I was so desperate to get the fuck out of there, that I didn’t have time to process what it meant.

Now that I’m here in the quiet parking lot, my brain can decipher the expression.

Some of a bitch. He knew. Jacob knew I was seeing Alex. Why did she tell him? Was I being played somehow?

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