The Fall of East

by Nana Malone

  In the back seat, he grumbled. "This isn't fun."

  Amelia laughed as she glanced back at him in the rearview mirror. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but you're only here on the off chance that we can't do this ourselves."

  "Yeah, but I mean, honestly, a gardener? Look at me." His expression soured with derision.

  I glanced over my shoulder and looked at his uniform, chuckling. "What? You look well fit. A sexy worker for sure."

  He lifted a brow. "I'm not buying it."

  I bit back a laugh. "No, really. You should really get one for you and Bryna to spice things up."

  He lifted a brow. "Honestly?"

  Amelia and I broke out into a fit of cackles which only made him grumble more as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

  "It doesn't matter how you look. We might not even need you."

  "Please, please let me take something. Anything."

  I shook my head. "No. Hello… Interpol in the house."

  He blinked in mocked innocence. "Oh, sorry. Was I supposed to pretend that I didn’t spend the better half of my life as a thief?"

  Amelia frowned. "Do you mind not bringing that up every two minutes? Because it gives me an enormous amount of conflict in the chest area, and I don't know what to do with these feelings."

  It was his turn to chuckle. "I know, you're not used to hearing things like this, and I'm freaking you out. Just think of it as broadening your horizons.”

  She just rolled her eyes and stopped the car. "No, you’re not. Go on and get out. We're here. Be mindful, they have cameras starting about a hundred yards out."

  He nodded. "All right. I'll see you back here. Here's hoping I can get in through the side."

  And with that, he opened the car door and headed straight into the massive property toward the gardens. With any luck, no one would even stop him. Hell, no one should even notice.

  It was Wednesday. We'd already checked the schedule of when the grounds crew turned up to deal with the west end of the property. Different days of the week, they handled different ends on the massive hundred-acre estate.

  "You think he can handle it?" Amelia asked.

  I lifted a questioning brow to Amelia. "What? Strolling in and stealing something?"

  She laughed. "No, remaining unseen."

  I coughed as I laughed. "You know what, that’s doubtful. He'll probably complain for weeks, but you know, he's fine. I think he's happy to be part of this one."

  "How well do you know him anyway?"

  "Not well. I met him in a few meetings, when this whole thing with East started, but he wasn’t implicated in the Grimwald Authenticators investigation. I honestly thought he was just royalty. Rich playboy."

  Amelia pinched the bridge of her nose. "How is it we're working with thieves?"

  "Are you asking me? I started out trying to put the whole lot of them in jail."

  “We are certainly working in the gray areas now.”

  My stomach flipped. This wasn't Amelia. She’d only been dragged into this mess because she cared about me. "I tried not to think about it. I reminded myself that there was a crime committed and that a punishment should be enforced. Their friend died because of these people. Sure, they stole from these rich twats, but there was a bigger picture.

  Amelia’s brow furrowed, and she tapped at the steering wheel as we followed the long lane toward the house. “My Scotland Yard brain is trying to account as to how many laws we have all broken now. But then my Scotland Yard brain is also curious about the mystery and how we're going to unravel it, how the puzzle pieces fit together, and how you make it into one big picture without having the edges all laid out first. And then there's a part of me that also thinks that I want justice. That's why I joined this fight, and that's also why I joined Interpol. I have no problem sleeping at night. This lot wouldn't hurt anyone. They haven't killed anybody. But the people they are going after… Those are dangerous men, and that worries me.”

  "Yeah, I hear you."

  Once we pulled up to the property and parked in the guest lot, we were met by the hustle and bustle of the daily routine of the estate. We could see the grounds crew at work right by the gardens, and we knew that Lucas would be milling around with them eventually. The ground under our feet made a crunching sound as we walked. And the late fall weather painted a picture-perfect day for the rich and fabulous.

  We rang the door, and the maid opened it. She had a warm smile for me and a more professional, curt one for Amelia, and then she showed us in. Lord Jameson came out of the sunroom with a wide smile. "Ah, Agents Kincade and Jansen. It's good to see you. Agent Kincade, might I just say your bravery in protecting me from that thief Theroux was incredible. Are you well? I sent flowers.”

  “I received them. Thank you.”

  "Of course, of course. Don’t mention it. I’m sure that you had the best of the best care. Did they treat you well at Evanston?"

  "Yes, they were brilliant.”

  "You must have friends in high places. That hospital is very exclusive."

  “Well, I have a friend who insisted on taking care of everything."

  “Of course. Agent Jansen,” he motioned for Amelia. “Would you two join me in the office?"

  I blinked at Amelia. "Well, we wouldn't want to interrupt. You look like you might have been busy."

  He waved his hand dismissively. "No, no. I was just having coffee in the sunroom. I was almost done anyway. And I have a ten o'clock meeting, so let's head into my office."

  I frowned. That was not what we wanted. Letting Lucas inside the house was going to be a complication we didn't need. But if we had no other choice, that was how we were going to have to play this.

  Amelia pulled out her phone and sent a text so that Lucas knew what to do. And for the next fifteen minutes, we were stuck with Lord Jameson kissing my ass and giving Amelia a run of twenty questions. Mostly if we knew why he was a target and if we had caught Theroux yet.

  Then I made the mistake of asking, “Are you so sure it was Theroux? As you know, he's been on Interpol's most wanted list for a long time. But he’s been inactive. Why would he surface now?"

  That seemed to make him stop. "Well, my collection is vast. Quite the coup for someone like that.”

  "Yes, but how are you even aware of him? Like I said, he has been inactive for years."

  Lord Jameson blinked rapidly. "Young lady, I have been around this world far longer than you. In art circles, we all know who Theroux is and what he's capable of. To be young and unaffected by all of this must be nice."

  Amelia interjected. "Sir, we're doing everything in our power to catch Theroux. We promise you. But I mean it could have been anyone. Do you have any enemies? Have you considered that possibility?"

  He slapped a hand on his desk. "No, it was Theroux." Suddenly, he checked his watch. "Is there an official reason for this impromptu chat?"

  Amelia stepped forward. "Well, we just really wanted to check in with you and see if there had been any other disturbances, see if you’ve noticed that anything else was missing."

  "He wanted access to my vault. I already told you this."

  "Well, can you just tell us if anything was missing from your vault then?"

  His face went red. "No, of course not."

  We knew that to be a lie. A prickle of unease skittered over my skin, and I hoped to God that Lucas was done.

  My phone buzzed, and I glanced down at it. Lucas had taken a picture of himself eating a scone. Idiot. He also took another one of him with the spoon in a plastic bag along with a teacup.

  Amelia nodded when I nudged her with my elbow. "Well sir, we just mostly wanted to check in with you. Interpol obviously takes this case very seriously. If you think of anything else, please give us a call."

  And then we were on our way back out to the car, wondering just how much Lord Jameson was hiding.

  East

  In the seat next to me, Bridge shifted his weight. He was not cut out for surveillance. "Do you want
to get out of the car and stretch?"

  He frowned at me. "Look, I'm just not used to sitting so still for so long. I'm used to being more active."

  "Is this another day where I get stuck in the van on my own?"

  He rolled his eyes. "No, I just don't know how you do it. The idea of sitting anywhere and being confined just gets to me."

  I winced thinking back to school. When we were freshmen, Bridge was always in trouble. Always. And whenever he was in trouble, they kept him in detention, which was basically solitary confinement. It was in a single room with only one window to let in the light but so high in the wall that you couldn't see out of it. Professor Stonesworth, God, he was the worst. Old, stodgy, never smiled, and he was ancient. So you were always worried about him dying on your watch.

  “You didn’t have to volunteer.”

  He chuckled at that. "Yeah, if I'm being honest, I needed to get out of the house. Mina has been a real pill lately. I don't know what her problem is."

  “Trouble in paradise?" I shifted my gaze back to the Jameson Art Trust building. We had cameras on the inside, but there were some areas we didn't see, and if Garreth came out, I didn't want to miss him.

  "I don't know. Lately, every time we talk about the wedding or setting a date or anything like that, we fight."

  I nodded absently. "Are we ever going to talk about that whole Mina-hitting-Emma thing?"

  He sighed. "I knew it would be you who couldn’t let it go."

  "Of course, I can't let it go. Mina hit Little Tobes. That's astounding. I still can’t believe Emma left her standing."

  "Mina’s pretty ticked that, apparently, I took Emma’s side, even though Mina’s the one who got violent. I don't know… it’s just sloppy right now."

  I sighed. I knew he wasn't going to like this, but I had to say it. "Mate, you don't have to do this. You can walk away. I know it's not in you to quit, but God, if you're miserable, don't tie yourself to her.”

  "I—" He stopped and leaned forward. I turned immediately as well and zoomed in with my camera up. I snapped photos as Garreth Jameson walked out of the building.

  He turned left, and a vaguely familiar brunette approached him. Bridge muttered under his breath. "What the fuck is this?"

  "You took the words right out of my mouth."

  “Is that the bird he’s shagging?”

  I shook my head, realizing where I knew her from. "She's already taken."

  "Taken?"

  I nodded. "She is the fiancée of Nyla’s boss."

  Bridge whistled low. “So, should we chase or leave them alone?"

  God, I wished I could hear what they were talking about. They started walking toward the park, so we had no other choice but to get out and follow.

  The drizzle had started, so we grabbed the umbrella and followed after them, our trainers slapping on the wet pavement as we jogged.

  Bridge asked, "Do you think she's in on it?"

  “I don't know much about her. Just that she’s a graduate student. Art history. Not much to go on."

  He frowned. "Art history?"

  "Yeah, destined to be broke forever unless she can curate a museum.”

  "Right. So maybe this is work related?”

  I kept watching the pair of them. "I don’t know. She's too young to be part of that art school crew."

  "Oh yeah, the one Nyla was talking about. You think she's part of that forgery ring? Are you sure she's too young?"

  "Yeah. The info I have on her says she's twenty-two."

  Bridge cursed. "Right. Approaching now."

  "I know. What is she doing with him?"

  “Let's get a little closer and see what we can do."

  “I'm not sure this is anything."

  My stomach knotted. I'd been sitting on Jameson for two days. The clock was ticking, and we had nothing to tie him to the car park warehouse on Santiago Street.

  The team was strapped trying to work on both angles, and we were running out of options and time.

  "So, I wonder what will happen if we don't get Warlow?" Bridge asked.

  I sighed and turned to him. "Well, I'm sure we don’t want to find out. I doubt Theroux will be understanding.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  With rain pelting the umbrella, I circled back to our earlier conversation. “So, Mina?”

  For a long moment, he just stared at me. His lips twisted into a smirk, and then he shook his head. "You're a twat, you know that?"

  "I feel like you've said that to me before.“ Usually, I let it go. Mina was his business. But not this time.

  "I don't even know why I talk to you."

  "Because I give you the least amount of shit. Look, if you want to be rid of her, be rid of her. It's not that hard. If you love someone else, you need to say something."

  He shook his head. "No, I don't love anyone else. It's just that Mina and I… It’s not working anymore. But it's beside the point." He inclined his head toward Hazel and Jameson, who looked to be going their separate ways. "What do you want to do about her?"

  My gut said to follow her and leave no stone unturned, but since we had no time, I had to make a choice. "Right now, I don't think she's a threat. Let's keep an eye on Garreth. He’s absolutely up to something. We just need to figure out what.”

  Chapter Ten

  Nyla

  "I didn't realize this was going to be a team effort," East said with more than a little aggravation in his tone.

  "What's the matter, East? Afraid to show everyone behind the curtain?" Telly teased.

  East's hackles went up. "I don't need to worry about showing anyone what's behind the curtain. What I do is plenty fucking cool."

  Watching East and Telly fight over who was the better hacker was annoying on most days. But today of all days, we needed answers. Telly had tried identifying the fingerprints, but there was a block of some sort. When she tried to access the fingerprint files on Henry Warlow, she came up against a whole lot of 'do not enters.' Bridge lifted his head and winked at me, giving me a confident smile. "Any reason why we wouldn't be able to access the server?"

  "No. I can use my clearance, but someone is going to want to know what we're doing. The real question is why we can’t access this. I mean, simple fingerprints should be the easiest thing in the world to get access to. Why are we running into all these firewalls?"

  Ben came in from the kitchen carrying a very large platter of something that smelled garlicy and divine. My nose made me rise up. "What in the world is that?"

  "Livy has been trying to merge our two cultures. So she made these sticky buns. Pull them apart, and there’s oxtail inside."

  I stared at him. "Are you kidding me right now? Give me."

  East laughed. "Ah, you better give it to her before she gets her ammo. I know better than to get between that woman and food."

  Ben chuckled and passed the platter to me. I grabbed my plate, pulled one apart, and heaped it high before handing the platter off to Amelia.

  Telly cracked her fingers. "All right East, since you think you're so good, come on, let's do this. You and me, mano a mano."

  East just rolled his eyes. "I don't have to prove anything to you, Telly. I'm a genius. Everyone knows it."

  She snorted a laugh. "Just because you say you're a genius, doesn't make you an actual genius."

  Livy just laughed as she took the plate from Amelia. "Look, Telly has always been like this. All you have to do is tell her that someone said they're better than her, and she's like, 'oh, watch me now.’"

  I watched the man I loved act like a total moron, just because someone said she was better than him.

  East narrowed his gaze at me. "I see the look you're giving me. She's not better than me. She couldn't hack the system, could she?"

  Telly cursed and laughed then. "It’s not that I couldn't. It's just that there were some very clear you-shall-not-pass vibes being given off, and I don't want to go to jail. I mean, I could do the time without a problem. I saw
Orange is the New Black. Some of those prison bitches are hot. But Carmen would not be pleased."

  East only rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Can we get this show on the road?"

  Amelia took a bite of one of her sticky buns and moaned very loudly. Telly looked up. "Oh, Amelia, suddenly I am feeling you and me and these prison vibes."

  Amelia just barked a laugh. "I don't think you can handle me.”

  Telly snorted. "Amelia, you dark horse."

  Livy rolled her eyes. "Don't mind Telly. She flirts with everyone. Lucky for her, Carmen doesn’t mind."

  Amelia grinned. "I don't mind. No one has flirted with me in weeks."

  Drew came down the stairs then. "If you’d have just said so, I'd have been flirting with you weeks ago."

  Amelia rolled her eyes. “Your loss. I've got this thing about married blokes."

  Drew gave her a cheeky grin. "You're missing out."

  "So is your wife, apparently."

  Emma guffawed around her bite of oxtail sticky bun. "Oh my God, Liv, I don't know what you did, but this is… wow."

  Ben nodded as he leaned against the archway to the dining room. "Yeah, love. I'm going to put on a lot of weight if you keep cooking like this.”

  Livy blinked up at him. "You put that sticky bun down, sir. I'm sorry, but I have an expectation for that six-pack to stay just as it is."

  He laughed. "Oh, yeah? You have to incentivize me to keep this six-pack, because right now you are enticing me to eat."

  "I have my ways."

  The two of them chuckled. The rest of us rolled our eyes at their incessant flirting. There was a knock at the door, and Lucas and Bryna came in. They had someone else with them. The princess. I wondered how much she knew. Princess Jessa was Lucas's sister, and her husband was Roone Ainsley, Ben's cousin, and also a Winston Isles Royal Guard. One of these days, I was going to get used to rubbing shoulders with these people.

  Once we were all settled, East and Telly assumed their positions on their dueling laptops. This looked like some kind of weird video gaming competition or something, and I couldn't help but laugh. They were really going to do it. We were all sitting around watching as they hacked things. I remembered a time in my life when breaking any little rule had been out of the question.