East Bound by Nana Malone (big ebook reader txt) 📕

Chapter 11

East

I’d lied to myself.

I knew I didn't want to work with her, but I’d told myself that I could. That it wouldn’t cut deep.

That was a lie.

The night after Nyla and I began the search for Warlow, she joined us at Bridge’s house for a Theroux meeting.

Every move she made, every breath, I could sense her. I could fucking smell her. And now she was shifting on the couch, rubbing her thighs together as if she was trying to get comfortable. But of course, I kept thinking about why she was pressing her thighs together. Did she miss me? Was she thinking about me?

No, you knob.

Drew was the first to stick his nose where it didn’t belong. "Got to say, it's good to have you back. Someone's trying to hide his true feelings, even if he still looks angry."

I scowled at him. "She's not permanent. Don't get used to her."

Nyla's brows furrowed, but she didn't say anything. She merely crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze. A part of me wished she would fight back, give me some of that fire I’d seen the night I'd watched her in her flat, or some of the fire from the lift.

All the blood in my body started to rush south with that thought, and I willed that shit off. All I had to do was think about walking into that secret flat of hers and seeing the photos of me and my mates everywhere. I did not want that viper anywhere near us, but at the moment, we had no choice. I had to work with her. Which meant, my team had to work with her as well. But it was only temporary.

If you say so.

I tried to ignore her. If I could just pretend she wasn't there, maybe it would make that feeling go away. That constant hum that was present whenever she was around. That restless energy buzzing through my body, demanding that I touch her, or hold her, or talk to her. When the fuck had that happened? I had never had that problem before. The complete inability to focus on anything else. Bridge and I were the logical ones. Think it through. Don't get emotionally involved. It was easy.

Until Nyla.

She leaned forward. "Well, Drew, thank you for having me here, and I thank the rest of you for not trying to shoot me when I walked in, East notwithstanding. Um, the good news is we have some information on Henry Warlow. The bad news is Francois Theroux is demanding it in person, and I don't like it. It's dangerous. He's letting us decide the terms of where to meet though."

Livy piped up. "Obviously, it should be somewhere public. No chance in hell you two should walk into anywhere that's closed off and secluded. That's a recipe for disaster."

I watched as she joined Nyla on the couch. What, the two of them were friends now?

Nyla nodded. "No, that's not an ideal situation. Fortunately, we don't have all the information on Henry Warlow. We just have a photograph, and we need Theroux to verify it’s the right guy. He has no reason to hurt us, especially since it’s only a small part of what he asked us to do in finding him, but since there's just two of us, he could hold one of us until the other completes the job, so I don't like that either. I agree, public is best."

So what, she and my friends were pals now? Everyone else could just forget that any of this had ever happened? Well, I couldn't. I needed this over. The sooner we picked the location and came up with our plan, the sooner she would be out of my hair. "Okay, let's focus. What about Grimwald Square?"

"You mean right next to the train station?" Nyla asked. "I mean, it could work. It has a big open square. Multiple points of entry and exit. It's entirely possible."

Bridge leaned forward. "Safety is what we’re looking for here. And we need to be armed and ready as well, but carrying is a problem. Even though the square is massive, and yes, it’s always busy, there are lots of alleyways and exit points.”

Nyla gave him a direct look when he said that. "Excuse me, Mr. Edgerton, I don’t see how that would work. I've been suspended, so I'd get in as much trouble as anyone else if I were caught carrying a gun. Besides, I need Theroux. If we spook him and he's in the wind, I'll have nothing. So I won't be the faulty wheel here."

Bridge held up his hands. "Well, I'm saying you're an unknown quantity. Not that I don't trust you."

"No, I get it. East doesn't trust me, so you don't trust me. Fair enough."

It was Telly who waived away the notion. "No, you already proved your trustworthiness. We're better as a team. Working together. If we go in small, anything could go wrong. If one of you gets captured, then you can't make the meet.”

Ben was sprawled back in Bridge’s club chair, looking every bit a king on his throne. "Telly has a point. There is no purpose to keeping this small. Yeah, poor Bridge and Drew could freeze their balls off, but mine are already in Livy's handbag, so I'll be fine."

Livy coughed a laugh. "So I made you pick wedding colors the other day. Jesus. Are you still mad?"

"I'm mad that I now know the difference between mauve and wine. No self- respecting man needs to know that."

"Well, you didn't have to help."

I sighed. Things were deteriorating fast. "Please focus. I'd like to get this over with."

Surprisingly, it was Nyla who helped me. She leaned forward. "All right, if the meet happens, then Grimwald Square is the best option for us. We have these possible exits." She used the Skittles that she and Livy had been sharing to mock us. "If this is us, Theroux would likely put his men here.” She put all the purple Skittles on the rooftops in sniper