Chapter 2
Alex
PRESENT
All eyes are on me as I storm into The Den .
Men in black leather jackets and vests sit at every table in the club. They look up from their poker cards and half-empty beer bottles to follow my steps, piercing me with their lustful eyes, as they have done for the past year. The ones wearing vests reveal arms covered in ink and scars.
The air is stagnant with the odor of cigarette smoke and cheap beer, and the floor is sticky to walk on. It reminds me of movie theater floors after spilling soda, except beer and blood are the only things spilled in this place.
They call themselves a family, but I’ve seen a few fights break out in the club in the year I’ve been working here.
Loud music blasts from a speaker at the back of the club, where a woman in a blue polka dot bikini dances on a runway that spans a third of the club. Drunk men sit along the stage, cheering her on and inserting dollar bills into her bikini bottoms.
“Alice, is Jacob here tonight?” I ask the girl behind the bar. Like me, Alice is in her early twenties. Blonde braids spill onto her black leather vest, partially covering her patch. A blood-stained skull between four red roses.
“Alex!” she says with a smile. She tops off a glass of beer and slides it to a man sitting a few seats down the bar. “I didn’t know you were working tonight.”
“I’m not,” I say. “That’s the problem. Is Jacob around?”
In truth, I hate my job. I have to entertain smelly old men and their unwanted advances, but this is the highest paying gig in town for somebody like me. It’s just enough money to pay for college tuition and Mom’s medical expenses. But only when I get decent hours, and lately, they have been lacking.
“Jacob? You just missed him. He’s in a meeting with Ben and some other guy,” Alice says, motioning with her head to a door at the back of the club. A tall man with a large belly stands by the door. His arms are folded under his man-boobs. Like most nights, he has a stern look on his face.
“Some other guy?” I ask. Most patrons are regulars, so it’s out of the norm when somebody new comes along, especially to see Jacob and Ben.
“Yeah, some guy in an expensive suit. Hispanic, I think. He’s kind of hot,” she says before putting her hands over her mouth and widening her eyes with regret. “Sorry, don’t tell Ben I said that.”
She looks over at the men sitting at the bar. None are paying attention to our conversation. Even if they are eavesdropping, they probably have too much alcohol in their systems to remember anything by tomorrow morning.
“Don’t worry about them,” I lean in and whisper. “They won’t remember anything by tomorrow. And your secret is safe with me.”
I know she’s not the type to cheat, not even in the privacy of her imagination. If she thinks this mysterious man is attractive, there must be something to it.
Suddenly, I’m curious to see the man who made Alice forget about Ben for all of three seconds. But that’s not why I’m here tonight. I have to see Jacob. I need the extra work hours.
I tell Alice that I’m going to see Jacob and that I’ll catch up to her later.
“Good luck getting through Sammy,” she says before returning her attention to another group of men approaching the bar.
Sammy, the man guarding Jacob’s door, traces my steps across the club until I stand before him. He is the only sober man in the club, a three-hundred-pound statue standing tall and proud in front of Jacob’s office.
“I need to speak with Jacob,” I say, looking up at him. He is tall, well over six feet, with broad shoulders that block the door frame behind him. Even though he has a large belly, he is probably the strongest man in the club. Large, tattooed arms bulge from his leather vest, which brands the same patch as Alice’s vest and everybody else’s in the club.
The patch of the Lone Star Reapers , a biker gang. Allegedly.
“He’s busy,” Sammy says in a deep, raspy voice.
“I don’t care,” I say, biting the inside of my lower lip. “Please, I need to speak with Jacob. It’s important.”
When Sammy doesn’t respond, I reach for the doorknob, but he swats my hand away. “He’s busy, Alex. Come back later.”
“I need to speak with him, Sammy. Please, it’s important!” I say, raising my voice.
“Lower your voice. No need to make a scene. Just come back tomorrow.”
“If you don’t let me through, that’s exactly what I’ll do. I’ll make a scene. I need to see him now .”
I am bluffing, of course, but I don’t know what else to say or do. Jacob reduced my hours again, even though he knows I desperately need the money. Even after I allowed him to put his filthy hands on me in exchange for more work.
“I’d like to see you try,” Sammy says. His face remains expressionless. Men in this club sometimes say and do things to rattle women like me for amusement, but not Sammy. He is Jacob’s personal bodyguard and takes his job seriously. After all, he’s protecting the leader of the reapers and the owner of this fine establishment.
“Jacob!” I yell. Sammy called my bluff. My only options are to give up and go home or turn the threat into action. And Mom didn’t raise a quitter.
My fists go to the door again, but no matter how many times I sidestep Sammy, he always ends up in front of me. For a man his size, he sure is quick.
“Don’t make me put my hands on you,” he warns.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I lash out, not entirely sure I know Sammy as well as I think. Still, I dug myself into a hole, and the only way out is to dig deeper. “Jacob! Jacob!”
The reapers sitting at the nearby tables take notice, but I don’t pay any attention to them. I keep yelling for Jacob while Sammy puts his arms out, trying to hush me.
The door behind him opens, and a hand taps him on the shoulder. Sammy steps aside, revealing Jacob in the doorway. Behind him, two men sit with their backs to the door. I recognize one as Ben, the VP of the reapers and Jacob’s second in command. The other man is wearing a suit that contrasts sharply with Ben’s leather jacket.
“What the fuck is going on out here?” Jacob asks with an annoyed voice. He looks between Sammy and me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the man in the suit looking over his shoulder at us. His skin is tan, and a stubble of beard decorates his strong jawline. His dark eyes travel the length of my body, sending an icy chill down my spine. Then, with a bored expression, he turns to speak with Ben again.
From my limited glance at him, Alice had underplayed his attractiveness. The man is deadly handsome. Or maybe my standards for attractiveness are warped by this place, and simple grooming is enough to stand out as good-looking among the sea of crusty, middle-aged men.
“I told her you were busy,” Sammy explains. “Then she started acting like a maniac.”
“I need to speak with you,” I tell Jacob.
Jacob glances at me with a sour expression. “I’m in a meeting, Alex. What do you want that can’t wait till next week?”
“You cut my hours again. I thought… I thought we came to an agreement.”
A grin appears on Jacob’s face. It’s the same annoying grin he makes when he’s about to screw you over. “We came to an agreement last month. This is a new month, sweetheart. Do you understand?”
“That’s bullshit,” I say. I understand exactly what he means. I bite my inner lip to contain the anger rising in my chest.
He grins again. “My place. Tonight.”
“No,” I say, exchanging glances with him and Sammy, who stands beside us like a statue. Jacob is shameless. He doesn’t care who hears his disgusting insinuations. He’ll say what he wants to say in his club.
“Then we have nothing else to talk about,” Jacob says. “I’ll see you next week.”
“Please,” I say. “You know I need the money. Just give me an extra shift or two.”
“If you want extra shifts, you know what to do,” he says before returning to his office and closing the door.
Asshole.
???
I slide out of his bed as soon as possible and search for my clothes on the floor.
“What’s the hurry to leave?” Jacob asks. He reaches for a pack of cigarettes on his nightstand. “Let’s not pretend you didn’t enjoy this.”
He brings the pack of cigarettes to his face with one hand and pinches a cigarette out with his lips. With his other hand, he rubs his crotch over white bedsheets, all while looking at me dead in the eyes.
“I have class tomorrow,” I say, covering my breasts with one arm as I slide my panties back on.
I have class tomorrow, you fucking pig, is what I really want to say. But he writes my checks, so I keep my mouth shut. I strap my bra on as fast as I can.
“Class,” he says. “ Heh . Did you get to see the man at The Den tonight? The one in my office?”
“The man in the suit?” I ask. Of course I remember him. He stuck out like a sore thumb.
“That’s the one,” Jacob says, lighting his cigarette. “Do you think he’s hot?”
“No,” I lie, throwing on my top. I think I responded too quickly because Jacob gives me a weird stare.
“Well, he’s a professor at TCU,” he says. He must see the surprise on my face because he says, “Yeah, shocker.”
Why would a professor from Texas Central University set foot at a biker gang’s club? Everybody in town knows The Den is the reaper’s home base.
“He retired from his previous line of work a year or two ago and started teaching. Jesus,” Jacob says, sending a plume of smoke into the air. “What kind of an asshole retires that early in life? A rich one, I bet.”
A pit settles in my lower stomach, growing heavier with each word that comes out of Jacob’s mouth. He never shares what happens during his private meetings. Why is he telling me this now?
“Alonzo Alvarez,” Jacob continues. “Fancy name for a beaner. A rich beaner. He used to be an enforcer for Nuestra Casa , the Mexican mafia family that supplies us with drugs. I’m sure he made a lot of money before his retirement.”
“Why are you telling me all this?” I ask, tightly gripping the hems of my pants. I found them on the floor a while ago but was too concerned with what Jacob was telling me to put them on. Something tells me I won’t like wherever this conversation is leading.
“He teaches art now. It’s one of those classes where you draw naked people. That fucking perv.” Jacob pauses and blows another plume of smoke, then turns to look at me. “The man is sitting on a big pile of money somewhere. It’s dirty money, so I doubt it’s in a bank. He must be keeping it someplace close.”
“Okay?”
“I want you to take his class in the fall. I want you to gain his trust and find out where the money is.”
I scoff and shake my head at the absurdity of what he just said.
“I’m serious,” he says.
What he’s telling me is ridiculous, but he’s looking at me with a serious face. He’s not kidding.
“That’s insane,” I protest. “Why would I do something like that? You just said he used to be mafia. A guy like that… he’s dangerous.”
“If you find the money, I’ll let you keep half,” Jacob says. “Think of how much good that money will do for your mother. Shit, you wouldn’t even have to work for me to pay for school. Your life would be set. How does that sound, sweetheart?”