My eyes went wide. “You put it in a safe house?”
She grinned. “Yes. Ingenious right? It’s a small studio space we never use.”
I never anticipated that Amelia would go so far down the rabbit hole. "Well, here's the thing; if we find evidence of a secret society, what exactly are we going to charge them with?"
"Well, we can’t charge them with anything specific because obviously having a group with membership is not a big deal. But if we could expose corruption, collusion, prove they're like the underworld… Wouldn’t that be enough?"
I could see where she was going. And the question was, did I trust Amelia's instincts, or did I trust East?
East. You trust East.
Shit. I trusted Amelia hands-down. But about this, I did trust East too. I believed what'd he told me about the Elite. So how could I let Amelia go down this path?
"Okay look, I hate to say it, but I feel like my dad was right."
Her eyes went wide. "Oh my God, did you just say your father was right about something?"
"Okay, okay, I get where you're going. But I mean, honestly, we've got nothing on them. Sure, maybe a secret society. And maybe collusion for the sex trafficking, but that would mean that they would all have to have known about it and deliberately turned a blind eye. And I don't think that’s the case because they're the ones who gave us the evidence."
She sighed. "Well, if we do find evidence of a secret society, there's still corruption."
"Yeah. I agree, but that's not under our purview is it? That's the Yard."
"I know." She sighed. "I just want to know if we're right. I'm pissed at your dad because he just dismissed us outright."
"Yeah, me too actually." I was pissed about that. Especially since I was right. And so was Amelia. But she was barking up a tree that wouldn't yield any fruit. I didn't want to, but the next time I saw East I was going to have to let him know that Amelia had started piecing together the puzzle. Sooner or later, she was going to learn about the Elite, and some of those men didn't want to be outed.
She sighed. "Okay, I'm going to put a pin in this, but I'm still checking the financials. Maybe I'll get lucky and get a hit. It's not like you to give up so easily."
"I'm not giving up."
"Or you just have a crush on one of the London Lords, and you're hoping he's a good guy."
I was hoping. And more than that, I believed he was a good guy. Even though I didn't want to believe, I really did.
I just hoped that, once again, my instincts were right.
East
As I tugged Nyla toward the palatial house in Belgravia Square, she dug her heels in. "Would you relax. They’ll love you."
She swallowed hard. "I know you say that, and you probably believe it, but I don't know."
"Look, I'm the one who doesn't trust anybody. If they see me trust you, they will too."
"But, East, I’m nervous."
I squeezed her hand. "I get it. It can be hard."
"And I was investigating your friends. Come on."
"Yeah, there’s that. Ben might give you shit for it. But I got you."
She dragged in a deep breath, the motion making her breasts lift in her light sweater. She’d picked an off-the-shoulder cream sweater dress, knee-high boots, and a thin strip of gold dangled from each ear. Her hair was thick and slightly curling in the breeze. She looked stunning. "Look, these people are my family. And since you and I are on the same team now, they need to be too."
"Okay. I just… I don't even know what we're doing."
I turned to face her slowly. "Well," I said as I tugged her closer to me, even as she tried to dig in. "You are the woman that I'm obsessed with. Which doesn't happen ever. So if I wanted to lock it down, I’d say I'm going to go ahead and just give myself the boyfriend stamp."
She shook her head almost as if she was having a seizure. "What? What are we, fifteen?"
"If you want, I can snog you in the bushes like we are."
She snorted a laugh. "We've already been there."
"Yes, we have. This time there'd be no sprinklers. So maybe I'd lift up your dress, slide your thong over, push into you just a little. You know, just the tip."
A flush crept up her neck and into her cheeks, giving her a pretty pink glow.
"Jesus, maybe I should throw you into the bushes."
"No. Everyone will see."
"That my darling, is part of the fun."
"You really are an exhibitionist."
"Depends on the day. But seemingly with you it's just hotter."
She swallowed hard. "Okay, well we better get inside before my knickers are drenched."
"You know, it's funny hearing you say knickers with that slight American accent of yours."
"It's not American. I'm just as British as you are."
"Yeah, but you've lived in the States half your life."
"So?" she huffed
"Just saying. Come on." Her hand was soft and warm in mine. I marched up to the door and didn't even bother ringing before I opened it. But Ben had been paying pretty close attention to security ever since Livy's stalker situation, so Livy almost met us at the door. "East, there you are." But she didn't hug me like usual. She went straight to my left. Her smile was warm and sweet, and her arms stretched out as she wrapped them around Nyla. "Agent Kincade, thank you for coming to our home."
When Livy pulled back, Nyla blinked at her. "Um, Call me Nyla. And thank you. Especially considering that I was such a thorn in your side."
Livy shook her head. "You were doing your job. And well, too. We just happened to get caught up in the crosshairs."
"Yeah.
