"I don't know what’s happening. A little over a week ago, my father sat me down and told me to back off the London Lords, back off the stupid secret society angle, back off everything."
"Okay. And you did, right?"
She laughed. "Well mostly. Until I got call from Francois Theroux. He said he'd turn himself into me if I looked something up for him."
I dragged in a breath. “Jesus Christ, Nyla."
"Theroux is my father's case. The case I told you about that he’s been chasing for more than thirty years. But Denning doesn’t know about that phone call, yet now all of a sudden, he’s interested in pursuing the secret society angle and taking down the Elite.
"What?" I frowned at her. "I don't get it. You didn’t share what I told you about the Elite with him, did you?"
Her gaze lifted to mine. "No. I wouldn't do that. And I believe you. What you said about you and Covington changing everything, I believe you."
I studied her face and saw her sincerity. She wasn't being dishonest. She hadn't confirmed anything for Denning. "Okay. So let me ask you this. Did he exhibit any of this behavior when you broke up with him?"
She shifted then. Her nose wrinkling. "Well, no actually. Because I didn't break up with him. He broke up with me. He decided since he was going to be my superior it was not appropriate for us to continue to see each other, and I was blindsided by it, like a moron. I know, some Interpol agent I am."
I couldn't help it. The pull to comfort her was too strong. "You're a great agent. You follow your instincts." I stood in front of her and then pulled her to her feet and wrapped my arms around her. "I'm sorry. He's a wanker. Full-on, grade-A wanker. So what we're going to do is circulate his photo to the doormen. And then we're going to change your locks again. I don't trust him not to have made an imprint and a cast. And then you're going to start engaging your deadbolt every time you leave. Do you understand?"
She sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I understand."
"Do you have a gun?"
She furrowed her brow. "It's in the gun safe. I'm authorized because I was with MI5 before Interpol, but I’ve never had occasion to use it."
"Do me a favor. Just take it out and put it by your bedside when you sleep at night."
"Why?"
"Because I don't trust him. Not with you."
"This doesn't make any sense."
She spoke into my chest, her warm breath heating me, and I had to beat back the immediate wash of desire. Because that was not what she needed from me right now. What she needed was comfort.
"He was clear that he didn't want me anymore so why? Why is he doing this?"
"Do you think he's rattled because of something you're working on? Maybe it’s the jewelry case."
She shook her head. “No. He’s my boss. If I solve it, he still gets credit, so that’s not it.”
The fact that Theroux had contacted her had my brain spinning. What did Theroux want with her? Why had he offered her his capture? That didn't make any sense. And why go to Interpol instead of just pressing us to get him whatever information he wanted? I needed to meet with the lads and let them know that there was another player in the game.
Every instinct in my body told me to lie. To hide. To not share myself with her. But I couldn’t do that. I was compelled to bare my soul to her. “You should know that Theroux contacted us too. That night at the hospital gala.”
Her jaw fell open as her eyes rounded. "W-what the hell? What in the world is going on?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did he want from you?”
“He hasn’t told us yet. Just like with you, he wanted blind compliance. We are not inclined to give it.” I left out that we might not have any choice.
Nyla’s hands shook as they clenched my shirt. “I’m scared.”
"You're going to be okay. I’m not going to let anything hurt you."
Nyla wrapped her arms around me tighter and burrowed in, her bones melting and relaxing as her body sank into mine. And if that wasn't the ultimate show of trust for her, I didn’t know what was.
She tipped her head up, eyes wide, lashes still damp with tears. "I shouldn't have called you, should I?"
"Hey, if you're scared, call me. If you're tired, call me. If you just want to drink a whole bottle of whiskey because you're pissed off, call me. I want to hear your voice."
"Why are you like this? I can't seem to stay away from you. And believe me, I’ve tried."
"Then stop trying."
"I know I shouldn't believe you. I know I shouldn't trust you. But I do. And it terrifies me."
My heart jumped. Because she trusted me. And I trusted her. The thing I never gave to anybody. Suddenly my sphere of loyalty and protection expanded to include just one more person. Nyla was in the bubble now. And I knew I would give my life to protect her.
"East?"
I was so busy trying to beat back the pulse of attraction, it took me a moment to respond. "Yeah, Nyla?"
"Thank you for coming."
"Always. Even if we're on opposing sides of something, I will always come for you."
"I believe you."
16 East
My skin was humming.
She was so damn close, and the scent of honeysuckle wrapped around me, infusing itself into my skin, into my veins, intoxicating me, making me sway on my feet.
Then, she tipped her head up. The gentle angling of her head made me groan. Because I knew. I knew I was going to get to taste her again.
From this angle, my gaze flickered down to her lips, the bottom one just a little bit fuller than the top
