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“Make sure you do, I don’t want no gringos coming into my territory.” Garza didn’t stop fuming about the new gang who were trespassing into his territory and trying to sell their latest concoction of drugs. But I found my attention moving toward the dance floor, and I spotted her almost right away. She was on her own, her arms in the air, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world.
She was in danger, more than she would ever know, simply by being here. How could she be so stupid to come to a place like this? And why the hell was she alone?
“See something you like?” Garza asked, his voice closer now, and I whipped my head around to face him. His gaze was on the dance floor too, and I had no doubt he’d have at least two girls in his office by the end of the night, but Belle would not be one of them.
“Maybe.” I shrugged, acting indifferent. I was a master at putting on an act, and I knew he wouldn’t doubt me for a second. I’d worked too long and too hard to take this mo
therfucker down. The first time I’d met him, I was a twenty-one-year-old who was second-in-command to the local drug dealer. Back then, I’d never thought I’d end up here, but now, twenty-one years later, I was in the inner circle, about to take him down once and for all.
Many people had tried to go undercover in his operation and failed, which was why Brody—my boss—hadn’t sent me in until now. But the timing had worked, and the intel we had told us something big was going to go down. That something big would be our golden ticket, but in the meantime, I had to prove myself to Garza, which meant doing everything a lackey would do while making sure his territory was safe.
One of Garza’s guards stepped closer and dipped down to whisper something in his ear. His brows knitted, his mouth moving into a straight line, and I knew he wasn’t happy. Garza stood and wiped off the sleeves of his jacket even though there was nothing on them. “I have people to see. Make sure you both get the job done.” He left without another word, and as soon as he was out of sight, Rory grabbed the bottle of whiskey and drank right out of it.
“I dunno about you, bro, but—”
“I gotta go,” I said, not interested in listening to Rory and his life lessons. The dude was a liability and loved to drink himself into a stupor, but at least he didn’t hesitate when it came to shooting his loaded weapon.
My gaze didn’t move off Belle as I walked through the VIP area, but I got distracted when I made it to the top of the stairs. Two guys were starting a fight, and I managed to get around them unscathed, but I’d lost sight of Belle in the process. Fuck.
Even though every fiber of my being wanted to rush down the stairs and search for Belle, I managed to walk at a normal pace. Once I was on the edge of the dance floor, I scanned the room until I saw her hands in the air.
My breath stuttered with relief from finding her as I pushed my way through the crowd. I needed to get her out of here, but I had to do it so no one would be suspicious. She had to get out without garnering any attention from any of Garza’s men.
I stared at her hips as she swayed them left to right, and even though I wanted to grab her arm and pull her out of here, I knew I couldn’t. So instead, I moved closer to her and placed my hands on her waist gently.
“What the hell are you doing here, Baby Belle?”
Her back straightened and her muscles locked. She knew exactly who it was behind her, but she kept on dancing as she turned around to face me. Her gaze locked with mine, and my muscles loosened.
Belle had been part of my family since the moment she was born. Everyone else in my life had always wanted or needed something from me. I’d had to save my cousin’s ass more times than I could count, and she was the reason I had gotten into the drug business in the first place. She’d crossed the top guy in our neighborhood—Hut—and the only way I knew she would get out alive was by making myself indispensable to him. That was how I met Belle’s mom, Lola. She was Hut’s stepsister, but she’d needed something from me too. She needed help to survive each day, and then along came Brody, who tricked me into becoming an informant.
I didn’t regret any of it, though. Because without Brody and Lola, I probably wouldn’t even be alive. Brody had given me a lifeline and let me create a life for myself, as well as welcoming me into his man-made family.
And then Belle came along. The sweet innocent girl who didn’t want or need anything from me, but I would give her everything she asked for. The last time I’d seen her had been just before I went undercover for this job, and I could have sworn she still looked like a kid. But right now, she looked like anything but.
Her makeup was minimal, and her wavy light-brown hair flowed down her back, but it was the tight clothes and the way she lost herself in the music that made her look older than she was. But then again, she was twenty. She was an adult, had been for several years, but it was hard for me to look at her as anything but the little girl who would run at me when I came back from being undercover and fling herself at me, knowing I would catch her, always.
She lifted up on her tiptoes, but even that wasn’t enough to bring her lips to my ear. “I came with my friends.” I gripped her waist tighter and glanced around us, making sure no one was watching.
“Come with me.” I didn’t wait for her to answer as I pulled her through the crowd, past the bar, and into the hallway the restrooms were in. No one knew there was a secret door at the end of the dimly lit hallway, which led to Garza’s office and the security center, as well as the drug packing facility he’d set up. It wasn’t his biggest facility, but it was the one that housed the block this club was on.
The music was a low hum now compared to the main area of the bar, which would mean I could talk to her properly. I pushed her against the wall and planted my hand above her head to cage her in. If anyone looked at us, they’d think we were just a couple of club-goers about to make out.
“You need to leave,” I ground out, flicking my gaze to the right to make sure the coast was still clear.
“Why?” she asked, and even though this wasn’t the time to argue, I could feel my lips quirking on one side. Belle was never afraid to ask what others wouldn’t, and she never backed down. I didn’t expect her to do that now, which would mean I’d have to at least tell her something. Her dad wouldn’t like it, but I didn’t have a choice.
“I’m on a job,” I told her, moving my gaze back to her and staring into her dark-blue eyes. They held so many emotions, but the one most obvious was relief.
“I missed you,” she murmured, and I stepped closer to her. All it would take was one sway of my body, and we’d be touching. “I was worried.”
“I’m fine,” I told her, swallowing against the lump in my throat. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
She rolled her eyes and puffed out a breath. “Whatever, you know I do.” Her gaze flicked over my shoulder, and her eyes widened. “There’s a couple about to have sex opposite us.”
I whipped my head around and saw the sight she’d witnessed. She wasn’t wrong, they were about to have sex. I cursed and pulled her farther down the hallway, knowing I shouldn’t have moved this close to the secret door, but also knowing if I didn’t, she wouldn’t leave, and I needed her to leave so she was safe—but also so she wouldn’t blow my goddamn cover.
She pressed her back against the wall, and I leaned closer to her, my hand now on her waist. I squeezed it several times to try and silently communicate what I felt I couldn’t say. “You need to leave. It’s not safe here.”
