East Bound

by Nana Malone

  “No,” she said as she packed her files. “I’m leaving.”

  She might not like it, but I was right. Unfortunately, I'd said the one thing guaranteed to get her hackles up. She was going to make me pay for it later.

  Chapter 26

  East

  I knew there was no way she’d gone back to the penthouse. She was far too furious. So on the drive between the office and Nyla’s townhouse, I tried to figure out what to say to her.

  I'd worked myself up a little after she stormed out. I worked myself up even more when she didn't answer her bloody door. But finally, Amelia did. "Give it a rest, mate, she's not here."

  "Where is she?" I called past her. "Nyla. Let's talk about this."

  She laughed. "She's at my place. Now, I know you know where that is, and you can get there easily and quickly. But note that she sent me here so that maybe I could talk some sense into you before you went charging after her."

  I whirled around, more than determined to get to Nyla. Amelia was a poor substitute.

  But Amelia was stronger than she looked. She grabbed my arm, and when I went to loosen it, she grabbed me with her other hand and cuffed me to her. "What the fuck?"

  She jangled our arms. "I'm keeping you from doing something you’ll regret."

  “Not my kink, love.”

  She shook her head. “I have a feeling I don’t want to know.”

  "You have to uncuff me. Nyla is on the road to doing something colossally stupid. When she said she was going to bring in the most wanted thief in the world, I said sure, fine babe. You do you. Woman power and all that. When she said she was going after art forgers, I said sure, great, even though I was more than a little concerned that they were the same ones who attacked us in Monaco. But, oh no, when she's going after someone who I know to be personally dangerous, I have to stop her. I know her job is important. I know she wants to help us. But I also know what's going to keep her safe. Chasing after the Jamesons, she has to leave that to me."

  Amelia shrugged and then stepped into the living room, forcing me to go with her.

  "You're serious about this?"

  She shrugged. "Yes. Because you're being a twat."

  "I am not. What the fuck?"

  "Look, I know you care about her. I can see how much she cares about you. The two of you together, it's palpable. And the fact that you would do anything to take care of her, and I mean anything, is commendable. I watched you basically jump into enemy hands, just to get her back safely. I know this, but you have to realize that she's not a damsel in distress. I know you need someone to rescue, and Nyla needs rescuing, for sure. Just not from this.”

  I frowned at her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "My God, how can someone so pretty and seemingly so smart not get it?"

  "I don't know what you're on about."

  "Look, Nyla's different. She's this force of nature. You think that nothing can touch her. You think that she walks on water."

  "And?"

  "There's this other part of her that is just begging for love. A part of her that is begging to be accepted for who she is. And every time you try and stop her from that, every time you try and control her, every time you try to keep her from doing what she needs to do, all you're doing is becoming just like every other man in her life who has hurt her."

  "I'm not like Denning." My voice was a low warning growl.

  "I know that. Relax, handsome. You should know, it's not just Denning; it's her father too. All she's ever wanted is to be like him and to make him proud. She knows that if he had a choice, that maybe he wouldn't have had her."

  "That’s ridiculous. He's her father."

  "He loves her, in his way. But she overheard him and her mother talking one day. It was after Nyla had chased down some bully at school. She made a citizen's arrest, you see."

  I blinked in surprise. "Are you kidding me?"

  "No. They were living in the States then, and this bully had been harassing kids, stealing money from them, that sort of thing. Nyla cornered him. Full on using every bit of martial arts training she had, she cornered the bully in the gym. She held him there until the principal came for him. Then when the principal came, there was trouble all around. The bully claimed Nyla had kicked him and threatened his balls. Nyla, of course, didn't want to pretend that she didn't know anything about it. The parents were called and all that. But what was really funny was that she made the arrest on the grounds that he'd stolen money from other kids, and he had. He was stacked full of evidence in his pockets. One of the kids even wrote his name on one of the dollar bills he'd taken. So the kid got in trouble. And Nyla was going to get justice. Which was what she wanted. She didn't really care what happened to her. So you see, there is this part of Nyla that is so desperate to follow the rules, to make people proud of her. But then, at the core of it, she's a rebel. So as soon as the bully was handed his arse and his parents were called, when no one was looking, she kicked him in the nuts."

  I coughed. "Excuse me?"

  "Even though he was about to get justice, Nyla has this streak in her that's rebellious, impulsive, a little bit dangerous to herself and others. She still had to see it being done her way, or it wasn't good enough. And her father, when he found out, he was horrified. He was so angry. Went on and on to her mother, saying if he had to do it over again, he didn’t know if he’d make the same decision."

  I frowned. "He said that?"

  "Yeah. Where she could hear. And you know, I think many a parent has probably felt like that with a child who’s a particular handful. But she knew that he would have made different choices because he doubled down with her mother and said, 'I know what I said. She's mine, but sometimes I rethink that choice every single day.' Her mother, of course, was horrified. And Nyla, she took on the burden of his words. So she tries even harder to be just like him, but the thing is, she's not. She is rebellious. There's a part of her that never wants to conform. And there's a part of her that thinks the right thing doesn't always come by following the rules.”

  “That’s fucked up.”

  “Her father doesn't know she heard this. He couldn't know the impact his words would have on her. But it shaped her. And every rejection he gives her as an adult just reinforces what he said a long time ago. That she's unlovable, that she's difficult, that he would have made a different choice had he known. And so she tries so hard. She just wants to get this right. She wants to be the one to bring in Theroux and to take down Jameson. She knows that it's your thing. Knows that you and your mates have a claim on that. She knows that. She's not dumb. But man, she wants to be the one.”

  “She’s risking too much. I can’t be worth it.”

  “She wants to finally be able to say, 'Look, I did it. I am worthy of your love.' Granted, she's a grown up. But even though she's done all the right things and said all the right things, there will be something hollow about it. She knows, but she wants it anyway."

  I sighed. I was forced to plop down on the couch next to Amelia. The clanking sound of the cuffs rang hollow in my ears. "Jesus Christ, I could kill him for that."

  "Yeah, me too. Trust me, every time I see him around the office, I really do have the urge to hit him."

  "Why go and work for him though?"

  "Because Nyla is not self-aware enough to know that she's really torturing herself. In some way, she's still a little girl who wants to make her father proud. And her ex-boyfriend. And her current boyfriend. She wants these people to be proud of her, to acknowledge that she's amazing. The problem is she’s always picked knobs who didn’t acknowledge how brilliant she is."

  "Are you kidding? I always think she’s the one who walks on water."

  "Then tell her that. Know who she is and stop trying to fix her, or change her, or protect her. Stand by her. I know that’s hard for you. You probably have some traumatic thing in your background too, something that makes you concerned about safety and protocols and all that good shit."

  I opened
my mouth to say something, but she interrupted me. "But I don't care. Nyla is my best mate. We had a fight, a pretty major one, a couple of weeks ago, and I said some things that I can't take back, some things I shouldn't take back. And the one thing I realized in all of it is that Nyla, at the core of it, just wants to be loved. And if you fuck with her, I will fuck with you. You might be all powerful and rich, but I swear to God, I will make your life a living hell."

  "Noted."

  "Excellent. Now, if I unchain you, are you going to behave?"

  She dangled the keys. I considered lunging for them, but something told me Amelia would toss them out of the window if I fucked up.

  "Yes, I will behave."

  "Now, I'm going to actually sit here for another thirty minutes, and you can go to my flat. Please, I'm going to ask that you two don't shag in my bed. I really like my bed. If you must shag, do it on the floor, so I don't have to sanitize any of the furniture."

  "Who says we're going to shag?"

  She coughed a laugh. "Yeah, okay."

  I returned her laugh. "Fair enough."

  "Don't hurt her. I swear to God, if you do..."

  "Yeah, I know. You already told me. Step off my balls, I get it. I fucked up. Let me fix it."

  And then she unlocked the cuffs.

  East

  When I found Nyla, she wasn't alone.

  Livy was with her at Amelia's.

  Amelia's furniture was oddly boho chic. Not what I pictured for her. Amelia gave a perfunctory no-nonsense vibe in person, but her whole flat was reclaimed wood and colorful vintage items. The overall result was shabby chic but done expertly. Maybe she'd hired a designer?

  Livy took one look at me and shook her head. "You fucked up, huh?"

  I sighed. "Are you the bodyguard?"

  Livy shook her head. "No. Pretty sure Nyla doesn't need one."

  I winced at that. "Fine. I deserve that."

  Nyla came out of the back room. “Hey, Liv, I—?" Her voice cut off, and she sighed when she saw me. "I'm surprised Amelia was able to wait that long."

  "Well, she had me shackled."

  "Stop being so melodramatic. You've made your feelings perfectly clear."

  Bugger. "Look, I messed up. And I promise it's something that will happen again and again and again. I shouldn't have any expectations that you'll forgive me, but if I could just talk to you for a minute, I would appreciate it."

  When I turned around, Livy already had her phone out. "Is it still raining out there?"

  Nyla frowned. "Liv, where are we going to have dinner?"

  “Sorry. Something came up.”

  I grinned down at Olivia. "Looking out for me?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Someone has to. When my husband texted me with a 911, I knew you'd done something colossally stupid."

  "Wow, Ben's a serious mate, isn't he?"

  "You're lucky he loves you. Now fix this."

  And then she was gone, leaving me alone with Nyla to either love each other or slaughter each other. Nyla crossed her arms over her amazing tits, hiding them from my view. Which was probably for the best because otherwise, I'd be distracted. "Before I say anything else, first let me say I'm sorry."

  "East, I don't—"

  "No, I will keep saying it again and again. It's not your ability I question. It’s just that there are a lot of psychos out there, and all I want to do is take care of you and keep you safe. The idea that my chance to do that could be taken away scares me. Do you understand how much?"

  "Yes, I do, but—"

  "I was wrong. You were right. I need to trust in you, but I hold on so tightly to my control because it's the only way I can feel whole again. After not being able to protect my sister all those years ago, I go a little overboard. I just want to take care of you."

  "East, I love that you worry about me so much, but could you maybe try to understand that I just want to stand next to you, not behind you?"

  "Trust me when I say I want you standing next to me too. I just have a shit way of showing it."

  "So are you going to let me protect you as much as you protect me?"

  I frowned at that. "Well, yeah. I have to admit that I'm deadly afraid of spiders."

  Nyla just rolled her eyes at that.

  I shuddered. "They're the worst. Deadly little beasts."

  She laughed. "I'm serious."

  "You don't seem to understand. You have already changed the course of my entire life. I have never felt like this before. Learning to accommodate someone else, learning to keep someone safe, protect them, and still let them be them, is taking some getting used to. But I can figure it out. I'm pretty smart."

  "Yeah, humble too."

  I took her hands. "Forgive me. I was an idiot, and I shouldn't have said those things."

  "You were right. I am impetuous. And it probably did cost me my job."

  I cradled her cheeks in my palms. "No. The way you are is why you're so damn good at your job. Your father and Denning don't see that yet, but they will one day, and you'll already be gone. You don't need them. You don't need to make them happy or work so hard for their approval."

  “I don't need your approval either."

  "I know. But you have it. I'm sorry. I never want you to doubt yourself. Who you are is exactly perfect and enough, okay?"

  Her lashes fluttered as she tried to blink away the tears. "Yeah, I know."

  "And I'm an idiot for even suggesting that you can't take care of yourself, because you can. I'm just terrified. My control over this situation's not getting any better. And it makes me worried. But I trust you. As long as you trust me, I trust you."

  I could feel the tension ebbing from her shoulders. "I trust you."

  “Good.” I leaned forward and slid my lips over hers. "Now, how about you let me apologize properly for being a world-class wanker."

  "I am eager to see how well you apologize Mr. Hale."

  Nyla

  I hustled into the building. I was late. Really, really late.

  It wasn't my fault, though. I put my tardiness squarely on East. He had been distracting me.

  It was the only explanation, because goddammit, I was late.

  I had gotten the Where the fuck are you? text fifteen minutes ago and started hustling to get to work. After taking the stairs two at a time, wincing with each one because East had gotten inventive when he woke me up and I was sore in places I wasn't even sure I could be sore in.

  But dear God, it had been good. So good that, well, now I was late.

  Just move your ass.

  At the top of the stairs, I made a left, chucking off my coat and slinging it over my shoulder as I swiped my badge. I tried to tuck my hair behind my ears, knowing I probably looked freshly fucked because I hadn't had time to wash it. I’d just spritzed it with some conditioner and water and finger-combed it, enhancing my natural curls.

  As I was leaving the penthouse, East had given me that look that said he was ready to drag me back to bed again. His voice when he saw my hair had gone all low and gravelly. "I've never seen your hair like that before."

  "I've never been this late before. Usually, I wash it and blow it dry."

  "I like it like this. In fact, maybe you could come back to—"

  I'd laughed, and then locked myself in the loo so I could put my clothes on.

  And somehow, I was still late.

  Okay, it was because I had allowed him to give me the kind of kiss that curled my toes, and then we'd spent a full minute dry shagging against the door as he tried to fumble my pants open, because I didn't want to leave him any more than he wanted to leave me.

  Fucking hell. This was all his fault.

  Sure it is.

  When I finally made it to the conference room, it was standing room only, and I frowned. Amelia was in the back, and I wove through a couple of people before tapping her on the shoulder. "Thanks for the heads-up."

  She leaned back, arms crossed sternly, focusing on Denning as he and my father gave the address
to the team.

  "You're welcome. What's gotten into you? A little billionaire?"

  I coughed to cover my laugh. "A very big billionaire actually."

  Amelia lifted a brow and turned her head slightly to face me before looking me up and down. "Oh, you don't say. Go, East."

  We both had to stifle our giggles then. "What's going on?"

  "You didn't miss much. They've been going on about how they need all hands on deck for this new case, But I don't know what it is."

  I frowned.

  Finally, my father got to the point and switched the projector to a photo of Lord Walter Jameson.

  I pinched Amelia's elbow, and she nodded because she couldn't turn around. She had to stay focused.

  "We received a call from Lord Jameson. He has good reason to believe that Francois Theroux is going to rob him during his birthday celebration this weekend."

  My breath caught. No. There was no way. If that was what Theroux's plan was, he would have called. He would have said something.

  Amelia pinched me back.

  My father continued up front. "So, we will be going with teams prepared to defend against Theroux and we are planning to capture him. Alive. Have I made myself clear?"

  Someone in the front that I couldn't see raised a hand and was called on. "So we're not going with a tactical team?"

  My father sighed. "We are, but they've been instructed. Theroux is dangerous, but we are going to do everything in our power to preserve human life. I want him alive. Does everyone understand?"

  Everyone murmured their agreement, and the pit of my stomach fell. No. This was not how it was supposed to go. Theroux was mine. Why did Jameson think Theroux was coming for him?

  My phone buzzed in my hand, and I glanced down.

  Amelia: After your adventure, Jameson might know what we’re up to.

  Nyla: Fuck.

  Amelia: Exactly.

  Garreth must have told him that I was nosing around after our interview. Why else call Interpol? I'd tipped my hand. I had fucked up. Mentioning Henry Warlow's name had been a mistake. And now, Jameson was going to thwart our plans.