"Of course I know that. I'm just saying. He might open up more if he thinks you're falling under his spell."
"No dice. I'll get him to tell me what I need."
"Of course you will. After all, you're Agent Nyla Kincade. But it would be easier if, you know, you embraced the thing that he loves. And from what I've seen, it's women. And you and I both know he likes you. He really, really likes you. You just have to feed that. Get him to trust you."
"You know what? Why haven't I realized just how diabolical you are until right now?"
"Oh, you know how diabolical I am. I'm pretty sure it's the reason we're best friends. Have fun in Monaco."
I gave her a little salute as I popped another sphere of sugar into my mouth. "Yeah, will do." As I opened the door, she called out after me. "And wear something sexy."
The last thing on earth I wanted to do was entice East Hale. The man was already dangerous to me. I didn't need to make it any worse.
Nyla
I tried to swallow the bitter burn of annoyance as I dragged my overnight bag down the stairs of my flat. I loved my flat, the high ceilings, the open space. I didn't need a modern and fancy condo, but it needed to feel light and airy. I hated the sensation of being closed in. It was probably more than I should be paying, and Lord knew, this was London. But I loved it.
But instead of having a Sunday morning lie-in, I was leaving for Monaco. With East Hale. I was frustrated after all my careful planning to bug him and his friends, and they’d never said anything incriminating. He’d found me out before I could get anything of use.
God help me. There was something about the man that just irritated me. His utter calm, that underlying arrogance, and I was going to be trapped with him for a couple of days.
There's another reason you hate him too.
But I wasn't going to think about that. No way was I going to pay any attention to that pull of awareness I had around him or the way his green eyes flashed and held mine, captivating, stopping me from movement like I was a snared rabbit. Oh, he was affable and friendly enough, but there was something underneath all that, a core of steel. A core that said he was a mountain and wasn't being moved unless he damn well wanted to be.
And I was a woman accustomed to moving mountains.
I checked my watch and frowned. I was told to be outside at bloody six o'clock in the morning, that there would be a car and—
"Nyla."
I whipped around, hand on my pepper spray. Since I was stationed in the UK, I wasn't allowed to have a gun unless I was on assignment, so my gun was locked in my briefcase along with my paperwork. But I breathed a sigh of annoyed relief when I saw it was Denning. "Oh, for Christ's sake. What are you doing lurking in the shadows?"
He rolled his big shoulders. "I was hardly lurking. I went for a run. You were on the way."
"So what, you just stood outside of my flat waiting for me? I suppose I should be happy you didn't let yourself in."
He frowned slightly. "I turned over my key."
"Did you?” That was still one of our points of contention. “Not to worry, though, I changed the locks."
His brow furrowed. "You and I both know if I wanted in, I could get in."
I shook my head. "I was always better at lock-picking than you were, Denning. I can’t see why you would want in anyway because, what did you say? You were slumming it with me?"
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "There's been a development."
"What kind of development?"
"One that we'll discuss when you land in Monaco. Things have changed."
"Yeah, you already said that. What's wrong?"
He cursed under his breath. “You need to be watchful of Hale.”
I frowned. “Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t you and my dad the ones who said to leave him alone, Denning? I don't have time for this right now. My car is arriving any moment. Just—"
A Mercedes Maybach pulled up to the curb, and a driver dressed in all black stepped out. "Miss Kincade, apologies for the delay. There was traffic on M1."
I blinked at the sight of the car and the man dressed in black. "Right. Yeah, thanks." I handed him my rolling suitcase and turned to Denning. "You have thirty seconds to tell me what you’re going on about."
"Fine. I don’t trust Hale. I think it’s dodgy that your father told you to let it go."
My brows popped. "What? So when I needed you to back me a week ago and you didn't, what was that about?"
He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I was sure you were off on one of your tangents. But now I’m not so sure. I have to be aware of the optics."
My heart sank just as quickly as it had risen. "Oh Jesus Christ, Denning, if you’re worried about optics, what are you doing here bothering me?"
"I want you to keep us, keep me, informed. If you notice anything off with Hale, you must notify me immediately."
"I'm sorry, but isn't that against fucking protocol? You and Dad need to get on the same damn page."
His lips curled up into a sneer. With his light brown hair, sharp jaw and shrewd eyes, I’d always thought him handsome until his cruelty made all of his features stand out in sharp relief. "Why do you always have to be so goddamn difficult?"
And there he was. The real Denning. He wasn’t worried about me. He was worried about himself. "I'm not trying to be difficult, Denning. You're just always a dick, so I respond
