Page 16 of Undercover Desires

“Who?” I ask, like that name should make sense to me, but I have never heard it before.

“Your girl with the Aussie accent,” he says, his voice filled with a mix of disbelief and resignation. “She’s the new detective at my station. One Arabella Hamilton, or I guess she goes by Bella for short or when she’s undercover.”

My blood boils at the thought. “Are you kidding me? She’s a cop,” I yell, my anger rising. She can’t be, she’s too sweet and innocent, too pure-looking. Too fucking perfect. This is my worst nightmare. I’m obsessed with a fucking cop.

“The picture on her fake ID matches that of the girl I met on Monday. She’s the latest addition to Reader’s team of narcotic detectives. They’re looking for drug-related activity and anything else they can lock you up for. He wants you guys out of power.”

My heart pounds in my chest. I pick up a bottle and hurl it across the room, watching it shatter. I’ve hired a fucking cop to work at our club just because she has a pretty face and a sweet ass. Leo is going to murder me himself. And he would be right to.

“Everything under control over there?” Caleb asks, sounding worried.

“Fucking peachy. She had me fooled,” I grumble, still in disbelief.

“If it’s any consolation, it’s pretty easy to see how. When she sat down beside me on Monday, I was confused as hell about why she was here. She’s not your typical cop.”

“Shouldn’t matter. I should be able to sniff out a cop a mile away.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll take that as a compliment,” Caleb says sarcastically.

“You should,” I reply. He knows what I mean. He’s not one of them, the pigs out to get us.

“What do you want me to do about her? Did she see anything last night?”

I’m hit with flashbacks of my tour and her being so flirty in the private room I showed her through. That all seemed so legit. Here I was thinking she was a breath of fresh air compared to the other girls who work for me, and now I know why. She’s a fucking actress playing me. “Keep an eye on her.”

“What are you going to do, Kobe? She’s a nice girl, put up to this by Reader. Your fight is with him, not her. She’s new in town, doesn’t know you guys or how this town works,” Caleb advises, sounding protective of their new officer.

“Just monitor her. Update me if you hear or see anything else,” I respond firmly. The last thing we need is this situation getting out of hand before I decide what to do about it.

“Kobe,” he says in a warning tone, but I need to get off the phone, so I disconnect the call. I’m furious. Who does Detective Reader think he is, messing with us, sending in a pretty little spy to watch over us? I should have slept with her the first night I met her. I would’ve been done with her already, and finding out she’s a cop would just be laughable.

Jett knew we couldn’t trust Reader, and after his screw-up with Liam, I should have known he was up to something as well. We all should have. Leo’s off hisgame, has been since he and Piper shacked up. Yet another reason not to let a chick rule your life. I could give them a whole damn bucketful of ‘em, but the two of them didn’t listen to me. First, I lost Leo to Piper, and now Jett has fallen head over heels for Hazel. The irony isn’t lost on me. I’m the only sane one around here.

“Is everything okay in here, Mr. Rivera?” a sweet voice interrupts my thoughts.

I stare at the young woman. She started here at The Joker a few weeks back, but I can’t think of her name for the life of me. Something starting with an O, I think. My pulse beats in my ears, like a ticking time bomb about to go off. I’m so fucking furious. I’ve been screwed over before, more times than I can count on one hand. We all have—by friends, by colleagues—but never by a girl, especially one I’m so fascinated with. I don’t know why it hurts so much. Why should I care? I should get rid of her, block her from ever stepping foot in the club again, or any other establishment we own. But that would be too easy. She thinks I’m the bad guy, some asshole who needs investigating. Well, then I’ll show her how damn bad I really am. Arabella Hamilton is going to regret the day she sided with Detective Reader.

“Mr. Rivera, are you okay? There was a loud bang,” the girl asks, trying to make eye contact with me.

I look her over. She would be so easy to fuck around with. I could get rid of this irrational anger swelling around inside of me in no time. But the thought makes me feel uneasy. “Ah, yeah,” I reply, trying to collect myself. “Can you sort this mess out for me, sweetheart? I need to get going.”

“Anything for you. When will you be back? I thought you were working here tonight.” She looks up at me, eyes wide, needy. She wants me. My family all say it’s me, but fuck, if they had girls throwing themselves in their direction, they wouldn’t be able to resist either. But today, I’m disgusted by the thought. I need to get out of here, and fast.

“Change of plans,” I mutter and bolt out of the room, slamming the emergency exit door behind me as I leave the building.

Inside my Jeep, I peel out of the parking lot, the wheels spinning as I speed away. I’m so used to people treating me like I’m evil. Like what my brothers and I are doing is so wrong. Sure, there is a murky gray area we cross over from time to time, but not without being provoked.

That’s what she thinks, Miss Perfect Arabella. She’s been fed a story, and it was all too easy for her to believe. My brothers and I have spent years trying to undo all the messed-up things Antony Acevedo and Ace did to this town while they ruled. We have successfully cleaned up the streets and eliminated the major drug problems that plagued the town. Crime is at an all-time low. But no matter how hard we try, all the good we do… we can’t escape the reputation.

I race through the door at the Rivera estate, searching for the kid and Jett. I find them in our home gym, sparring. Second training session of the day.

“She’s a damn cop,” I spit out.

They both spin toward me. “Who?” Ben asks.

“The blonde with the accent. The one I just hired for Queen of Hearts.”

Jett drops his gloves and comes up to me, getting in my face. “How the hell did you let that happen? Didn’t you run your checks?”

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