The Fall of East: Book 3 in the Hear No Evil Trilogy by Malone, Nana (best reads .txt) 📕

"I know, it makes him nuts. But it makes me so happy. They’re warm and fuzzy. And a unicorn." Her smile was like a ray of sunshine.

Ben just shook his head. "She complains that the house is too cold."

Livy glowered at him. "I'm from Ghana. Everywhere is too cold."

He rolled his eyes. "Half of you is British. You can turn up the heat then."

Livy smiled and then leaned over to give him a lingering kiss. "Oh, I do love it when you give in. But from now on, you can only walk around naked."

"That's going to make it real awkward for the rest of us, mate," Bridge snickered.

Ben glanced around. "You lot are still here? Out. I want to shag my wife."

Livy gave him a smacking kiss then plopped into his lap. The ease with which he wound his arms around her made me itch for Nyla. But she was working with Amelia late tonight on their actual case that someone was paying her to work on. Livy turned her attention to the rest of us even as Ben's hand reached down to her ass and squeezed.

I tried to look anywhere but at them. The level of intimacy was too much. Sure, the two of them kissed each other a lot. And Ben's hands were always all over her, but there was something different about them now. Something so settled. And I wondered if I would ever feel like that.

Livy said, "Well, it's obvious why Theroux wants Nyla in on it. He wants you to catch him."

I lifted my brow. "Oh, yeah?"

"Well look, no one goes to this much trouble for a mere gripe, right? Maybe Warlow stole from him. So he wants vengeance. Makes sense. But to systematically go after someone and ruin their whole life, that's more than just vengeance. That's you-killed-my-whole-family, mafia-level stuff."

"You think it has to do with more than money?"

She shrugged. "If I had to bet, I’d say so. The only thing I know that makes you go crazier than money or a family vendetta is love."

I frowned. "You think this is over a woman?"

She gave me a bemused smile like I was an idiot. "Okay, so if someone hurt Nyla, or took her, or anything like that, what would you do?"

My answer was quick, and I didn't even hesitate. "I'd annihilate them quickly and efficiently. Ruin their whole life."

She nodded. "Yes, obviously. All of the above. This feels like that. So, if you can find out about the women in their lives, someone they worked with, someone they dealt with, you'll have an answer."

Then suddenly it struck me, and I pushed to my feet. "Oh shit."

The lads all looked at me like I had lost it, and Drew said, "What? Sweetheart needs you?"

"I have to go talk to her. We have the answer to this. Theroux gave Nyla something to investigate on her father with some cryptic note that her father wasn't who she thought he was. When Nyla started looking, she found a confidential informant that had been part of Theroux’s crew. She was an associate of Theroux and Warlow. If there was a woman involved, it's probably her."

Ben nodded. "Good. Then let's get Nyla and Amelia on finding out who this mystery woman is. It's time to put the puzzle pieces together."

Chapter Twelve East

As I gave notes to Belinda, she scribbled furiously, flipping the papers over. "Yup, got it. Oh, and don't forget that you need to look at the final design plans for the Dubai property. You just need to sign off on them, and then they will move forward and send them off to the project managers. Then for Tahiti, the boutique property with Jax, the build has started on it, so you have a check-in on your calendar for next month for you to do a site visit. Should I also book a ticket for Miss Kincade?”

My lips curved up into a smile thinking of this morning. "Yes. I’d like to surprise her. I see you have things well in hand."

"Well, that's my job, right?"

She lifted her eyes and shoved her glasses up her nose. Today, her face was clear of bruises, but she still looked tired.

"Is Jack bothering you again?"

She shook her head. "No. Sometimes I think I see him, but I remind myself that it's not real. It's a figment of my imagination. I know you sorted it with the police. They were great. They took my statement, and I filed a restraining order. I have you to thank for that."

"I didn't do anything."

She bit her lip as she smiled. "Right, of course you didn't do anything. Just know that if you had done something, I would be eternally grateful, but I have zero way to pay you back."

"I don't need you to pay me back. I care about my people. And you are one of my people, so if he gives you any more trouble, just let me know." I was just glad she was safe.

She nodded and pushed to her feet. "Yes, sir, Mr. Hale."

I was gearing up for my next call when the ping came through.

I had set up a facial recognition scan for Garreth Jameson to coincide with any members of the Wilson Crew. So far, nothing had come up. But I’d just gotten an alert. I’d set up an algorithm search for Hazel Frost after seeing her with Jameson. So far nothing had popped. Until now.

As I was about to pull up my system, my phone rang. I glanced down when I saw it was Telly. As soon as I connected, she said, "Hey, I got an alert.”

“Me too. I’m checking now.”

It was a race to see who could get there first. My ego just wouldn’t let her have one. But still she beat me to it. “This is odd. The hit is on Krista Wilson, not Hazel Frost.”

“Put your glasses on love, Krista and Hazel are one