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

"Then tell her that. Know who she is and stop trying to fix her, or change her, or protect her. Stand by her. I know that’s hard for you. You probably have some traumatic thing in your background too, something that makes you concerned about safety and protocols and all that good shit."

I opened my mouth to say something, but she interrupted me. "But I don't care. Nyla is my best mate. We had a fight, a pretty major one, a couple of weeks ago, and I said some things that I can't take back, some things I shouldn't take back. And the one thing I realized in all of it is that Nyla, at the core of it, just wants to be loved. And if you fuck with her, I will fuck with you. You might be all powerful and rich, but I swear to God, I will make your life a living hell."

"Noted."

"Excellent. Now, if I unchain you, are you going to behave?"

She dangled the keys. I considered lunging for them, but something told me Amelia would toss them out of the window if I fucked up.

"Yes, I will behave."

"Now, I'm going to actually sit here for another thirty minutes, and you can go to my flat. Please, I'm going to ask that you two don't shag in my bed. I really like my bed. If you must shag, do it on the floor, so I don't have to sanitize any of the furniture."

"Who says we're going to shag?"

She coughed a laugh. "Yeah, okay."

I returned her laugh. "Fair enough."

"Don't hurt her. I swear to God, if you do..."

"Yeah, I know. You already told me. Step off my balls, I get it. I fucked up. Let me fix it."

And then she unlocked the cuffs.

East

When I found Nyla, she wasn't alone.

Livy was with her at Amelia's.

Amelia's furniture was oddly boho chic. Not what I pictured for her. Amelia gave a perfunctory no-nonsense vibe in person, but her whole flat was reclaimed wood and colorful vintage items. The overall result was shabby chic but done expertly. Maybe she'd hired a designer?

Livy took one look at me and shook her head. "You fucked up, huh?"

I sighed. "Are you the bodyguard?"

Livy shook her head. "No. Pretty sure Nyla doesn't need one."

I winced at that. "Fine. I deserve that."

Nyla came out of the back room. “Hey, Liv, I—?" Her voice cut off, and she sighed when she saw me. "I'm surprised Amelia was able to wait that long."

"Well, she had me shackled."

"Stop being so melodramatic. You've made your feelings perfectly clear."

Bugger. "Look, I messed up. And I promise it's something that will happen again and again and again. I shouldn't have any expectations that you'll forgive me, but if I could just talk to you for a minute, I would appreciate it."

When I turned around, Livy already had her phone out. "Is it still raining out there?"

Nyla frowned. "Liv, where are we going to have dinner?"

“Sorry. Something came up.”

I grinned down at Olivia. "Looking out for me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Someone has to. When my husband texted me with a 911, I knew you'd done something colossally stupid."

"Wow, Ben's a serious mate, isn't he?"

"You're lucky he loves you. Now fix this."

And then she was gone, leaving me alone with Nyla to either love each other or slaughter each other. Nyla crossed her arms over her amazing tits, hiding them from my view. Which was probably for the best because otherwise, I'd be distracted. "Before I say anything else, first let me say I'm sorry."

"East, I don't—"

"No, I will keep saying it again and again. It's not your ability I question. It’s just that there are a lot of psychos out there, and all I want to do is take care of you and keep you safe. The idea that my chance to do that could be taken away scares me. Do you understand how much?"

"Yes, I do, but—"

"I was wrong. You were right. I need to trust in you, but I hold on so tightly to my control because it's the only way I can feel whole again. After not being able to protect my sister all those years ago, I go a little overboard. I just want to take care of you."

"East, I love that you worry about me so much, but could you maybe try to understand that I just want to stand next to you, not behind you?"

"Trust me when I say I want you standing next to me too. I just have a shit way of showing it."

"So are you going to let me protect you as much as you protect me?"

I frowned at that. "Well, yeah. I have to admit that I'm deadly afraid of spiders."

Nyla just rolled her eyes at that.

I shuddered. "They're the worst. Deadly little beasts."

She laughed. "I'm serious."

"You don't seem to understand. You have already changed the course of my entire life. I have never felt like this before. Learning to accommodate someone else, learning to keep someone safe, protect them, and still let them be them, is taking some getting used to. But I can figure it out. I'm pretty smart."

"Yeah, humble too."

I took her hands. "Forgive me. I was an idiot, and I shouldn't have said those things."

"You were right. I am impetuous. And it probably did cost me my job."

I cradled her cheeks in my palms. "No. The way you are is why you're so damn good at your job. Your father and Denning don't see that yet, but they will one day, and you'll already be gone. You don't need them. You don't need to make them happy or work so hard for their approval."

“I don't need your approval either."

"I know. But you have it. I'm sorry. I never want you to doubt yourself. Who you are is exactly perfect and enough, okay?"

Her lashes fluttered as she tried to blink away the tears. "Yeah, I know."

"And I'm an idiot for even suggesting that you can't