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Would he be angry if I did? Or would he kiss me again? Maybe he’d leave with me, and I could ask him what was really going on. Why was he so close to the college I attended? Had Dad sent him this close because of me? Or was this where the undercover operation was taking place? Who was he undercover for? How much longer would he be undercover?
I was full of questions with no one around to answer them. It wasn’t like I could ask my dad what was going on. If he found out I’d gone to the club, he’d probably come here and take me back home himself.
I’d always been inquisitive. I wanted to know what was going on around me, and I always wanted to be part of it, but I was rarely let inside the circle. I was always kept on the outside, not knowing what was really going on, and it was no different now. I was on the outs, not knowing why Ford was so close to my college but knowing I’d find out eventually, even if it took some undercover work of my own.
But first, I needed to figure out my philosophy class.
“Hey, guys?” I glanced around at the table. “Do any of you know what theoretical philosophy is?” The silence was deafening, and when they didn’t answer, I groaned. “I didn’t think so.”
“Ask Google,” Justin said, picking up his soda. “It’s what I always do.”
* * *
FORD
I pulled up outside the club, the same club Belle had turned up at over a week ago, only it wasn’t nighttime now, and there wasn’t a line of people queuing up to get into the jam-packed building. The sun was shining, its hot rays beating down on me as soon as I pushed out of my car, but there was something swirling in the air.
I’d always listened to my gut. I didn’t fully understand what it was telling me half of the time, but I always paid attention to it. And today, it was telling me something wasn’t right. It was the way Garza had called me down to the club and told me to be there within an hour. It was the way his voice was calm but also on edge.
It wasn’t unusual for Garza to call me down to his office or to his mansion, but there was something about today that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I’d left an encrypted message for Brody before I left, but I was nearly five hours away from home, which meant I had to go in alone with no backup if something went down.
The way I worked meant I was often on my own when I was undercover, but I knew my limits. I could sense when something was about to go down, and I could call in the cavalry. But today, I didn’t have any backup, so I had to keep my cool and get out of here without anything bad happening.
Learning the way Garza worked and conducted business felt like a full-time job, but at least I knew how to approach him and talk to him when he wasn’t happy. Maybe the safe we’d brought to his house a couple of days ago didn’t contain the drugs. Or maybe he wanted us to take care of the gang infringing on his territory.
Maybe I was overthinking? I’d been doing a lot of that since I’d seen Belle. I tried to deny thinking about her and what happened that night. I pushed it to the back of my mind because I needed to concentrate on finishing this job, but the memory of her lips against mine would sneak in just as I was falling asleep, and then the danger she was in while at the club would have me shooting upright in bed.
But I’d gotten her out of there. I’d managed to protect her, even if I had crossed a line while I did it. I’d done something I never should have. I just hoped she understood why.
“Ford,” the guard at the door greeted. “He’s waiting for you in his office.”
I nodded, not bothering to reply as he opened the main doors for me. The club was so different during the day. Its darkness was replaced by light, and the music which usually drowned out everyone’s voices was absent. The only thing you could hear were the machines whirring from the back of the building as they counted the laundered money.
I took a left and headed down the hallway toward the concealed door where another guard was waiting. This one was just as big as the one outside, but he didn’t greet me. Instead, he pushed open the door and then resumed his position guarding it.
The machines were louder inside the back part of the club. Rows and rows of women stood with bags of cash as they put them into counting machines. But it was the back few rows bagging up cocaine and meth that caught my attention. That was new in the club, or had I missed it the last time I was here?
I didn’t want to linger too long, so I walked past them all and toward Garza’s office. His door was closed, so I rapped my knuckles on the heavy wooden surface three times and waited.
“Come in!” his rough voice said, and with a deep breath, I pushed open the door and stepped inside his office. Where his home office was luxurious and inviting, this one was cold and all about the business. It reflected him perfectly.
There wasn’t an inch of sunlight in the room as all four walls were reinforced concrete, doubling as a safe room. A lone desk was in the middle, and Garza sat behind it, his gaze connected with mine.
“You called?” I asked. Usually, I would have waited for him to say something, and I knew by speaking those two words, I was showing how on edge I was. I cracked my neck to relieve some tension and tried to center myself.
“Yeah.” He looked down and pulled a few papers off a stack of folders. “I need you to find someone.” He rummaged through the papers and finally held one of them up. I stepped forward and took the photo from him. “I need you to find him and bring him to me.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why, but I knew better than that. I knew I had no right to know why he wanted someone, but it didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to find out through other means. “Okay,” I said, pulling my cell out and taking a picture of the photo. I handed it back to him and waited again.
“I also need to—” A knock on the door cut him off and he growled out, “What?”
“Mr. Garza?” a soft, feminine voice asked. “We have trouble with drug, you help?”
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ.” Garza stood, causing his chair to fly back and bang into one of the metal cabinets against his back wall. “Stay here, Ford. I’ll be back.”
I nodded and stepped to the side to let him past me, and as soon as he opened the door, he spoke in Spanish to the woman, his words flinging at her a mile a minute. The door banged shut behind him, the wood against metal scraping throughout the room. And then I was alone. Alone in his office. Alone in the only place in this club that didn’t have cameras. He was too afraid of being caught on camera and it being used against him, but he hadn’t factored me into the equation.
My instincts kicked in, and I lunged forward to look at the papers he’d pulled out. Maybe there would be something on there about the guy I had to basically kidnap to bring to him. I shuffled through the lone papers on his desk, and when I didn’t find anything, I paused, making sure I could still hear Garza. His voice was distant, but unmistakable as he got angrier and angrier about the machine being broken.
