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Chapter Nineteen
Logan
Tonight was no different to any other night in the club. The music was loud, the lights were almost blinding when they flashed around the room, and it was packed with all the usual types—sleazy guys, barely-dressed women throwing themselves at the sleazy guys, and the people who ran the show, with a few strays who weren’t sure what the heck they were doing here in the first place.
Yet, even with all of this going on, I felt claustrophobic. I knew Jamal and his guys were growing suspicious of me and I was concerned that I’d been made.
I stared down at the latest needle prick that spoiled the skin on my wrist and pulled the cuff of my dark-colored dress shirt down over it. My way of showing my loyalty to the gang was to test their product—more than once. It was a shameful act I would always carry with me, and I knew I would pay the price when this undercover job was done.
The only outcomes I hoped for at this point was to come out of this alive and with Aria’s forgiveness.
I surveyed the area and noticed Jamal’s lackeys watching me in turn. My time here had never been exactly easy. I was a new recruit, and new recruits were tested. I’d done things in the past few months that I was far from proud of, including shooting a guy from a rival gang. They ordered me to kill him, but the last thing I needed was to get caught up in a murder investigation, so I purposely shot him in the shoulder instead. I had told them nerves had gotten the better of me, and the important thing was they had bought it.
They weren’t buying my act now, though. I wasn’t sure what they knew about me or how they knew it, butIknew my life was in danger because of it.
Was Aria’s life in danger, as well?
My line of sight settled on Joe, one of the bouncers. We held one another in our sights for a few seconds before he casually turned away. It seemed he had his eye on me, though I wasn’t sure why. He seemed like an okay guy, but whose side was he on? Not knowing had me concerned about Aria’s two roommates, whom he was apparently involved with. If he was a part of the gang, then I worried about the safety of those women, not to mention Aria by association.
I moved through the crowd, looking as casual as possible, and made my way towards the bar close to him. I ordered a bourbon on the rocks.
Joe joined me at the bar but continued to scan the crowd. “I’ll have what he’s having,” he told the bartender.
I froze. As innocuous as those words sounded, they were actually the term Mark came up with to identify friendlies.
The bartender narrowed his eyes at Joe. “Aren’t you on duty?”
“I’m not allowed to have one?” Joe asked as he arched his eyebrow at the guy.
With a shake of his head, the bartender poured Joe’s drink and set it on the table. He also set a glass of water down beside it.
Joe glared at him. “Get gone.”
The bartender moved down the bar to the next customer.
“You’ve been made,” Joe muttered as he lifted the glass of bourbon to his mouth.
“I figured.” Was he here to state the obvious?
“Twilight knows.”
I widened my eyes, but otherwise schooled myself to remain nonchalant. “That’s it, then?”
“Yep.”
I disguised my deep breath by taking a swig of the burning liquid. “I’m in deep shit.”
“We’ll get you out,” Joe mumbled. He tipped the bourbon down his throat in one fell swoop, but never touched the water. “Back to it.”
I watched him walk away. So, Joe always had my six, and I never knew it. I wasn’t as alone in this as I thought. I’d made the right decision taking a job with Cole Security. They went above and beyond for their employees, and Joe was proof of that.
I threw back the rest of my drink and set the glass aside before I continued moving through the club, pushing past dancers and shaking off grabby men and women as I went.
That was when I saw her.
I ignored the women trying to gyrate up against me as I watched Aria being dragged through the crowd by one of Jamal’s henchmen. I squeezed my hands into fists at the mere thought of them being so close to her. I never wanted her to be any part of this. Aria Jones was too good for this world, and possibly too good for me, yet I would do anything for her. She had quickly become the most precious person in the world to me, and I wouldn’t let anyone harm her.
I shoved the sexy dancing woman off me. “Dance with someone else, sweetheart,” I called over my shoulder as I stormed away and tailed Aria and the henchman. The offices were at the back of the building down a dark hallway. They were well away from the main club—a deliberate set up that allowed the gang to do their dodgy shit away from prying eyes. If they were taking Aria there, then she was in huge trouble.
