And maybe that was my mistake, because that classic mask of irritation and annoyance mixed with drinking bravado was a recipe for disaster.
"Look, you stay, and I'll move." I stood and picked up my purse, but then he grabbed my elbow hard. I glanced down at his hand. "You’ll want to remove that."
"Oh yeah? Make me."
I placed my free hand on top of his and easily used my index and middle fingers to turn his wrist. He yowled, and then I added pressure to his joint for good measure.
"I already told you once, so don't make me repeat myself. Do not touch me."
"You're a cunt."
"Well, I mean, I do have one. I think you're misunderstanding the grammar here."
"You—" He didn't get to finish because somehow, he was being thrown back. It happened so quickly. He was wrenched out of my hold and his back was against the wall, and then someone in a suit was choking him out.
"Holy shit, East. East, stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. I'm fine. Honestly, I am fine. You can let him go.”
"Jameson, you fucking touch her again, and I will kill you."
"Already been there, mate."
East squeezed harder, and the guy's eyes started to bulge out. "Hey, look at me. We don't want to do this. Not publicly, not here, not anywhere. Let him go. I'm fine."
When that still didn't work, I stepped between them, wedging myself between East's hands as he asked, "What the fuck are you doing? Get out of the way."
"Look at me, I'm fine. Let him go."
His gaze met mine, and he blinked several times and then released the hold.
From some shadowy corner to my left, a nondescript bouncer appeared. “Easy boss. I have him.”
East released the other man then. His gaze met mine and dropped before I could get an answer. Then he turned and strode out, leaving me standing there at the bar wondering what the fuck had just happened.
Nyla
Thanks to the bartender, I found him on the roof, the wind slightly rustling his dark hair. "Are you okay?"
He didn't turn around. "Yup, fine."
I sighed. Great. Taciturn. I was used to taciturn. "I'm just saying, if you're not fine, I might make a half-decent listener."
"I'm fine, Nyla."
"East, you're not fine. You almost took that idiot’s head off. I mean, I don't know him, but based on what he did earlier, he seems like kind of a twat.” I raised a brow in query. “So I assume he deserved it?"
"That's a safe assumption to make."
"Great, he deserved it. But then, why did he deserve it? And are you okay, or are you going to leave here, break into his place, and kill him?” I held up a hand. “If you are, I advise that you don't tell me because I feel like I’ll need to report that."
I heard that chuckle, the small exhalation that was part laugh, part irritation. "I wish I could. But I can't let my personal feelings about him get in the way."
"Personal feelings. Okay.” I gestured toward the rooftop door. “I handle men like him every day.”
"I know."
"Okay, so as long as you know that."
As I spoke, I moved closer and closer. "So, do you want to tell me what's going on?"
"Sorry, I scared you. I just—" His voice broke off.
“You just what?”
His voice lowered to a growl. “I hated seeing his hands on you.”
"I—” What was I supposed to do with that? “I'm just saying how you handled it was not ideal. I think you owe me some kind of an explanation."
"Do I?” He turned his gaze on me. ”You said it yourself, we're barely even friends."
I winced at that. "I was being facetious. I appreciate you stepping in. I do. But honestly, I thought you were going to stab him in the eye. So I'd really like an explanation. I don't know anything about you, East Hale. So, tell me something about you so that I don't have to disappoint you and tell you that you are never going to see me again. Unless, of course, if I'm going to put you in jail."
He laughed then. "You don't want me in jail. I'm too pretty to go to jail."
I rolled my eyes as I approached the railing and placed my elbow on it. "So talk to me."
"I went to school with him. I've known him forever. I am pretty certain he assaulted my sister."
My mind spun. Of all the things I'd expected him to say, that wasn’t even on my list. Anything but that. I thought back on how that guy had been too handsy, a little bit drunk, and not listening to my more-than-firm no. And the look on East's face as he safely extricated me and then rounded on the other guy like he could have put a hole in that bloke's face and not thought about it twice. Which was not the picture of elegance that East presented.
East Hale was old money. His family were gentry. His mother was an heiress of a vast art fortune. So where had that bottled up anger been hiding?
"It's fine,” he insisted. “I'm fine. You don't have to do this, check on me. You're the one who should be checked on. Are you okay?"
I crossed my arms and nodded. Because somehow, up here, with nothing but the city lights of London below us, I could tell the truth. I had been a little scared. Not that I didn't know what to do or how to handle somebody like that, but that flare of fear that women are told to swallow, that we’re told to never feel, that moment when someone wanted to use a woman’s body against her will, it was very real. It was something male agents never had to contend with. But every single female agent did. "The point is, I'm fine now. I'm okay. You were there, thankfully. Though we both
