Page 65 of Undercover Desires

“I did. Why do you think Jett was on to it so fast? You were distracted with Bella and Brandon, but as soon as he approached me, I told Jett. The guy was gone before Jett could catch him. And minutes later, Marini was at the bar, high as a kite. At first, I thought she was just really drunk, dancing and having fun. You know what she’s like, a real party girl who tends to overindulge. I decided to cut her off. Not even fifteen minutes later, she was wandering off to room four with one of the regulars. I sent Jett to check on them, and that’s when he worked out she wasn’t in a good way. The patron she was with was freaking out. He said she had only just passed out. Jett got Ben to take him home, get him out of the way in case, well, you know.”

“In case she died. Thank fuck she didn’t. You think this dealer offered it to Marini as well?” I seethe, my anger simmering at the audacity of this guy to offer drugs on my premises. Has he not heard about how we fuck up dealers who get caught in our clubs? There are no second chances!

“Unfortunately, knowing the state she was in, yeah. She’s just had a bad breakup; she was in Queen of Hearts last week crying on my shoulder. To have such a sudden change of mood and be up for a night of fun in that room, you know I’m right,” Xavier adds, offering her perspective.

“Do you know this guy? What’s his name?” I demand, the tension in my body making me feel increasingly agitated. I need to hit something.

“He goes by Kahil. I don’t know if it’s a surname or a first name, but that’s what his friends call him. You would know his face, he’s there every week. The odd thing is this seems out of character for him,” Xavier reveals. “Like it took me a sec to even work out what he was going on about because I was so shocked. He’s normally so white-collar worker, you know the type.”

I try to picture him, and I think I know who she’s talking about, and she’s right. He wouldn’t fit the mold, but that doesn’t mean anything. He might have been scoping the place for a while, trying to find an in for his dodgy dealings. What better way than to look like the complete opposite person to who we would suspect. “Nice work. Let me know if anything else catches your attention. And make sure to warn the other girls. They know the rules—no drugs in our club,” I remind her firmly. Not that I think I have to, I know she wouldn’t touch the stuff.

She raises an eyebrow playfully. “Do I need to start looking for a new girl for the bar? You and Bella?”

I chuckle at her suggestion. “I have that under control.”

Xavier smirks. “Yeah, looked like it last night. I don’t know what game you two are playing, but can you take it out of my club?”

I playfully correct her, saying, “My club.”

“You know what I mean,” she retorts. “Besides, I like her. I’m hoping she sticks around for a while.”

I’m curious about Bella’s sudden popularity among the club staff. “Why do you all like her so much?”

She offers a casual shrug. “She’s just a down-to-earth chick, you know, and she cracks a good joke about you, keeps the long shifts fun,” Xavier explains.

I chuckle at the idea of my little sugarplum making jokes at my expense. I knew I had her attention even when I wasn’t around. “Yeah, I bet. Thanks for your help.”

“Anytime,” she replies, giving me a quick hug. “Hope we find this asshole.”

“We will,” I assure her.

As Xavier takes off on her bike, I make my way to the gym, where Jett, Brandon, and Ben are sparring. With only a week left until Jett’s big title fight, we can’t let the events of last night disrupt our rigorous training schedule.

“Kid, Leo wants you down at the club early. He’s got a job for you and Rob.”

Jett looks over his shoulder, seeing me walk in. “He just called us. We’re going to have to wrap this session up, Brother. I’m needed in his little research project. You get that name from Xavier?”

“Kahil, she’s not sure if it’s a first or last name, that’s all she knows. Check the security footage from last night. He was at table six, he’s a regular. Was offering a powdered substance to the staff.”

He drops his gloves and grabs a bottle of water, chugging the entire thing. “I’m on it.”

“Where you heading?” I ask Brandon, wondering about his plans for the rest of today. I need to waste some time until we find this motherfucker, or I might take my bad mood out on someone I shouldn’t.

“Arabella’s. I told her I would help her with a few jobs around the house.”

“That was kind of you,” Jett snips, unimpressed, on his way out the door.

“She’s family. You lot might not like her chosen career path, but she’s a good girl, and she was just trying to do the right thing. She wants this town free of drugs, and so do you. You should be working together,” he suggests, and I kind of love the way he sticks up for her. I couldn’t see what they were talking about in the hall last night, but he cares about her, and I’m glad she has someone in her corner. She’s so young to be all alone, but from what I can see, it’s just her.

“We will be from now on,” I add, pleased with how my setup turned out. She has to know it’s the best option for all of us, and this way I can keep her close, keep an eye on her. Keep her as my own. “I’ll drive you,” I tell Brandon. After everything that happened last night at the club, I’m not sure where we stand, but I know I want to see her again, and since she has the next two days off from the club, what better way than to pay her a visit.

A shower and somegrub later and we pull up to Arabella’s rundown old house. From close up, it’s clear that time hasn’t been kind to the place. The front picket fence, what’s left of it, stands in disrepair, with only a few palings remaining, their paint peeling away like forgotten memories. In comparison to the rest of the property, the fence seems to be in relatively good condition. This place is a true dump, neglected and forgotten. We make our way past an old sedan, cocooned in cobwebs, a relic that hasn’t seen the road in years.

Brandon glances at me with a bemused expression. “When she said this place needed work, she wasn’t joking, was she?”

“I don’t feel comfortable about her living here. Is it even safe?” I express my concerns as we approach the front door. He gives me a look like he agrees. The worn-away planks creak under our heavy footsteps as we take the three stairs up to the landing.

Arabella opens the door in a rush before we have a chance to knock, glancing between the two of us, looking uneasy. “What are you two doing here?”

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