Page 22 of Undercover Desires

From the research Jett found on Arabella, she’s broke, doesn’t have a cent to her name. She’s only just hanging on to the house she inherited by a thread, and that kind of money would really help her out. I also know once Mr. Lucas sets his eyes on a girl, he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. My brief distraction yesterday, Yasmine, will have just kept him away this week. But he will be back, more determined than ever to win her over. I don’t know why she turned him down, knowing how desperate she is for money, but I’m glad she did. The thought of her with him makes me homicidal, and that’s not good for anyone.

I followed her into the break room after because I wanted to have it out with her. Force her to tell me why she’s trying to fuck us over. Instead, I shoved food in my mouth to stop myself. Leo would kill me if I screwed this up. She’s dropped into our hands, and he loves the idea of using her for our own personal gain.

As a kid, Leo was the smart dude around. He knew everything, and if he didn’t, he would look it up and have every tiny detail memorized before the day was out. He’s incredible. He tried to teach me chess once, but I couldn’t sit still long enough to learn. Now I think I get it. He wants to use her as a pawn in this game that Reader has signed us up to play in.

I peel into the parking lot of our local Caffeine Corner, a local coffee joint my brothers and I have been hanging around for years. Today, Leo wanted to meet for lunch. It conveniently sits directly across the street from Arabella’s house, giving me a vantage point to monitor her every move while we eat. There’s no sign ofher at the moment, but the fucked-up side of me hopes she makes an appearance. I would love to call her out on her lie—one of them, anyway. I spot my brothers, already chatting at the table by the window.

“You look more fucked up than you did when you left this morning,” Jett teases as I slide into a seat, signaling for Moreen to bring me the usual.

I brush off Jett’s observation and turn my attention to Leo, getting straight to the point. “I want her watched twenty-four-seven,” I inform him, my nerves still refusing to settle. “Jett, did Hazel’s dad take you up on that offer to work for you? He could shadow her,” I suggest. I know I’m grasping at straws here, but I need my brothers on board with me.

“I’m still working on him. He has his business back in Mexico to run,” Jett replies, adjusting his baseball cap while stealing a glance in Hazel’s direction, where she’s sitting at the counter across the room to give us privacy. He’s hesitant about involving her family, but we have no choice. We need his expertise. Well, I do. I’m not sure the other two are one hundred percent on board with me yet.

Leo assesses me, taking a sip of his long black. “Do whatever it takes to convince him. Kobe’s right. We need to keep a close eye on this girl. From what we’ve uncovered so far, she’s just out of probation, and this is her big chance to prove herself to Detective Reader. She’ll be eager to demonstrate her worth. Law enforcement runs in her blood; her father was a top detective in LA before he was killed on the job,” Leo emphasizes, leaving no room for doubt.

I give a smug smile in his direction, satisfied that he's finally understanding things from my point of view.

“I’m sure Hazel can help me convince him,” Jett concedes, still not sounding so sure about it, but once Leo is on board, we all fall in line. It’s just the way it’s always been.

“Hazel.” I snap my fingers, a sly grin shared with Leo. “Yes, she’s the linchpin to all of this.” I don’t know why I didn’t consider it sooner.

“What the hell are you talking about, Brother?” Jett asks, his concern for her way too obvious. His protective instincts run deep, but I know she can hold her own.

“Call her over,” Leo tells him.

Jett signals for her to join us, and she abandons her spot at the counter, where she had been engrossed in conversation with the server.

Hazel approaches us, her gaze darting between us hesitantly, but there's a sparkle in her eyes. “What’s going on? This all looks serious for a Monday lunch date.”

Jett takes her hand, guiding her to perch on his lap.

I lean in closer to both of them. “Do you want to be part of the family business?” I ask her, fully aware of just how much she wants to be seen as one of us. I saw it in her eyes the night she took matters into her own hands, ending her abusive husband’s life. She has the killer instinct we need and the spy skills.

“Are you serious? You’re going to trust me to help you?” Hazel eagerly rubs her hands together, scrutinizing Jett, searching for his approval. He nods, agreeing.

“I have a job for you if you can handle it,” Leo responds curtly.

“Shoot,” Hazel says, leaning in attentively.

“There’s a new girl at the club, Bella, the blonde you met the other night,” I inform her.

“The Australian. Yeah, I remember. Kobe kept staring at her all night; it was embarrassing for him.” Hazel smirks cheekily, giving Jett a knowing look. Great, now I have her ribbing me as well. They’ve teamed up.

“That’s her. Make friends with her. You guys are neighbors; she lives in the old place across the road, could be a good conversation starter for you—even though she likes to lie and say she lives in your building,” I say, trying to convince her this is a good idea.

Hazel considers our request. “Why?”

“Because we’re asking you to,” Leo says, his voice carrying a note of seriousness. We all understand the need to keep Hazel on a need-to-know basis.

Jett gives Leo a stern look. “If you want her to do your dirty work, tell her why,” he growls out, his protective instincts kicking in.

My brother is totally whipped, and I can't help but dramatically roll my eyes in their direction. Yet another reason not to keep a girl around; they control your life. She has him by the balls, and I think he likes it.

The server approaches our table with gourmet toasted sandwiches and steaming coffees, setting them down with a gracious smile. “You’re the best, Moreen.” I offer her a charming grin and a wink.

“Oh, Kobe, anything for you,” she gushes. Moreen, in her sixties, could easily be mistaken as one of my groupies if I hadn't known her for so long. She helped us boys out in our early years by providing food and asafe place to hang out. In return, I would help her clean up for an afternoon. She never let us pay, not even when we started bringing in the big bucks. We repaid her a couple years back, fixing two of her sons up with security work. She wanders off, and I sip my coffee, waiting for her to be out of earshot before I continue. She knows what we do for a living, but openly talking about it is just bad business.

Hazel takes a sip of Jett’s smoothie, and she pulls a face. “Yuck. Nope, could never get used to that green stuff.” She looks at him, disgusted.

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