Page 64 of Undercover Desires

We stay like this, our bodies wrapped around each other, panting sweaty messes. The only sound to be heard is our labored breaths as we try and get out heads and bodies under control.

He slowly pulls out and helps me up to sitting. “Are you okay?” he asks, concern in his eyes. He’s worried he hurt me.

“I’m fine. Are you?” I ask, still haunted by the look on his face earlier.

“Better now.” He hands me my jeans and does up his own pants, watching as I wiggle into mine. I lean back on his desk, not sure what to say or do next. Where do we go from here? I want to ask him a million questions. I want to tell him I’m falling for him. I want to escape with him to a different dimension where our love could be possible. But I know I’m asking too much. What we have is impossible. We’re two very different people from totally opposite walks of life.

“I only remember one thing about my mom. I’ve never told anyone before, not even Leo or Jett. It’s what she looked like when I found her unconscious on the bathroom floor. It’s the only thing I can see when I think about her, and it haunts me.” Tears well in his eyes. He’s so broken tonight.

I take his hand in mine and wrap my arms around him, holding him close. I wish I could take away all his pain. “I’m so sorry, Kobe.” My heart breaks for him. What an awful thing to see as a child. Especially when it’s your mother.

“I know there should be other memories in there. Happy ones. Jett and Leo have them, moments in time where they remember her good days, but I don’t. She couldn’t handle her life, so she drank or used drugs to black out all the shit she didn’t want to deal with. Including her own kids.”

That’s all he says, but it’s all I need to know; this is something more, something worth fighting for. He confided in me his most painful memory, and he’s still here, letting me comfort him.

CHAPTER 27

KOBE

All of us areon edge after the events of last night. Leo is in damage control and has been on and off the phone with me all morning. I’m well aware that I need to act swiftly to prevent the rumor mill around town from churning out false information, but he’s more adamant than normal about it, due to our situation with Arabella and Reader. I think after last night we have less to worry about with her, she’s coming around, but if Reader gets word, it will give him reason to search the club again.

“Yeah, got it. Xavier’s pulling up to the house now,” I tell Leo over the phone. He’s on his way home from visiting Marini, who we’ve been informed will need a short hospital stay. Unfortunately, her memory of last night’s incident is hazy at best, or perhaps she’s too frightened to talk. In light of this, I’ve called my manager over for some insight, as very little escapesher attention, which is why I trust her to oversee things in my absence.

“I want a name,” Leo growls. “Someone has to know something. If fucking Reader finds out about this before we’ve had a chance to mop up the mess, it could be dire for us, Kobe. You know what happened last time there was an overdose in the club.”

“Understood.” I disconnect the call, taking a deep breath, trying to calm the crazy bubbling up inside.

Xavier screams into the driveway, pops off her helmet, and hops off her bike. She stands by it, looking me over, and smirks. “You look like shit, Kobe,” she quips, her tone dripping with attitude.

I chuckle, well aware that she’s right. I haven’t slept a wink. Add to that an early-morning training session with Jett, and I’m practically dripping in sweat. It’s a nasty combination, I’m sure. “Thanks for dropping by. What are the whispers?” I inquire, wiping a hand over my sweat-drenched forehead.

“You’re not going to like it, Kobe,” she says ominously.

“A girl nearly died in my club last night. I need to know why, before Reader gets wind of it and starts accusing us,” I emphasize, the urgency of the situation weighing heavily on me. I haven’t told her about Arabella being a cop, I’m not sure why, but part of me wants to protect her. I think I’m secretly hoping she will keep working for me, and I don’t want her to be ostracized over it. I know how protective the other girls can be over me.

Xavier studies me closely, her concern evident in her eyes. We’ve known each other for a long time, and she can tell that something is weighing heavily on me.

“Kobe, are you okay?” she asks, her voice filled with genuine concern, but she’s not talking about this situation now. She can see there is a lot more going on.

I nod resolutely. “I need this dealt with,” I say, concentrating on the club.

“You know that group who usually occupies booth six every Friday? Well, one of them was there alone last night. He appeared unusually tense, mentioning that he was waiting for someone. I casually inquired if it was a date, just trying to make polite conversation since he had never been there alone before.”

“Was he on a date with Marini?” I ask, wondering where this is going.

She shrugs. “The other person was a no-show. He vanished not long after I served him his drink,” Xavier continues.

“Why do you think he had something to do with all this, then?” I press for more information.

“Before he left, he offered me something he called Bliss. It was a powder of some sort, looked like cocaine. I declined, and he told me to spread the word, let the others know what he had available,” Xaiver explains.

“Marini’s toxicology report came back with Euphoria X in her system, a shitload of it,” I tell her. Not sure how this could be a cocaine-looking powder. Euphoria is a pill.

“Has anyone asked her how she took it? Was it in tablet form, or are they now distributing this shit as a powder?” she inquires, and I can tell she’s just as worried about what this means as I am.

My eyes meet hers with a knowing look. She’s right, that could be exactly what’s happened. A dangerous new form of the drug may be circulating. The girlswouldn’t be so stupid as to take any form of Euphoria in one of my clubs, they know how we all feel about it, but if they didn’t know that’s what it was, they might risk it.

“Why didn’t you tell someone last night?” I ask.

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