The Fall of East

by Nana Malone

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nyla

  The Monaco version of Interpol was fancier. Sleeker. Newer.

  We did have state of the art technology in London, but there was just something about Monaco that screamed everyone had money. Even the civil servants.

  Krista Wilson had been put in the holding cell for interrogation, and Amelia was already working on her when I arrived. Everything was so chaotic with my father being shot and then taken to the hospital. We tried there first, but as he was in surgery, they wouldn't let me in, and I just couldn't sit there at the hospital waiting.

  The Interpol offices were essentially right next door to the hospital, so East walked me over and now we both stared at the woman who had pretended to be my friend. Sat there and pretended that she cared about me and wanted to get to know me better. All the while buying herself time to, what? What was the purpose of all of that?

  I watched Amelia methodically take her through the questioning, but oddly enough, Amelia didn't have to threaten or play hard ball with her at all.

  Krista was ready to spill on everyone with no sense of loyalty. Amelia assumed her questioning stance her palms braced on the table. "Okay, you know what? I'm going to call you Hazel because that's what I know you as. After all, that's the name you gave all of us, isn't it?"

  Not Hazel lifted her head and smiled. "You're not bitter, are you? Just know it was not personal. You weren’t even my mark. I just needed to know if and how close you were to me, which, unfortunately, was far too close. I never expected Ryder to give me up, but you know what they say about honor amongst thieves."

  Amelia scowled at her. "You killed him."

  "Yes well, that's the thing about partners. They outlive their usefulness."

  Amelia just shook her head. "Wow. This is all about greed."

  Not Hazel shrugged. "What else is there? You can pretend righteous indignation, pretend you're better than me, but you're not. No one is. We all do what we have to do for our survival."

  Amelia slapped down the photos of the people who'd been killed, hurt, and stolen from. Not Hazel smiled as she looked down at them. "Are these supposed to mean something to me? You're barking up the wrong tree. I don't feel anything for these people. They all deserved what they got."

  "And Section Chief Kincade? Did he deserve what he got?"

  Not Hazel's mouth thinned then. "He got in the way."

  "Because you were going to shoot a pregnant woman."

  "That pregnant woman isn't innocent. Look at the life she lives. In the residence of the curator of the Royal Museum of Monaco. She's hardly a saint. The things you have to do to have that kind of money… No one is innocent."

  Amelia shook her head. "Okay, so tell us about these other not-innocent people. Who are you working with?"

  She leaned back on her seat, making her cuffs jingle. "I have plenty to say. I'm not going to do jail time for those arseholes, because I promise you, they're not going to look out for me. So I am certainly not looking out for them. I'll tell you everything."

  "Oh, fantastic. Why don't you start with who you're working with presently, because obviously, your brother and your former boyfriend are in prison."

  "Yeah, it's a shame about Riley. He was an excellent forger. But luckily, our backup, the one we all treated like the runt, like the dirt bag that he was, was actually pretty decent as forgers go."

  "The name, princess."

  Hazel laughed. "See, when I give you the name, you're going to get all up in your feelings about it. You're going to wonder, how did we miss this? How did we not know? You're going to try and rationalize who he is and what he does. But there is no rationality for it. He's greedy. Feels he hasn't gotten his just due in the world, so he chose to do something like this. That's it. There was no rationalizing anything."

  Amelia was out of patience. "A name."

  She laughed. "Sure love. The name that you're looking for is Garreth Jameson."

  Next to me, East cursed. Denning frowned. "Does that name mean something to you, Hale?"

  East shook his head. "We've been in the same social circles, but he's no friend of mine."

  "Oh, that's right. Isn't he one of your secret society knobheads? Went to Eton and all that. All the right schools, all the right connections."

  East just gave him a withering look. "Are you done? Because I think Nyla wants to hear the rest of this."

  I was leaning forward, trying to piece together what the fuck was going on. I suddenly sat straighter when I realized the Collins ballerina painting we found at her storage was the original. The fake was hanging across from Lord Jameson’s office. If dear old dad was Henry Warlow and he'd been duped by his own son, when he found out, that was going to be a problem.

  I glanced at East, whose focus was on the interview inside. He also understood the implications.

  Garreth Jameson had known all along who his father really was. He'd been duping his father. How many pieces from the estate were in that warehouse? Thinking about it made my head hurt.

  All that time we'd been chasing our tails, when all along, Denning's girlfriend had been playing us for fools. Wow. I slid my gaze to him, and his jaw was tight. His eyes narrowed, as if he was running through every scenario where he could have seen the real her and was coming up blank.

  Denning had been the world's biggest asshole, but Jesus Christ, no one deserved that.

  I watched Amelia interrogate Not Hazel, and she was a star. Full on, giving no quarter, take no prisoners, a fucking rock star.

  "So you mean to tell us that all this time, you've been masquerading in order to determine if Interpol was getting close to catching you?"

  "It needed to be done."

  "What's the depth of your relationship with Agent Sinclair?"

  Not Hazel laughed. "There is no depth to our relationship. Let's not get excited here. He was a mark. All of you people were marks, and I got past you. Every last one. I get it. No one wants to look like a fool. Don't take it personally. I'm just very, very good."

  Amelia glanced up at the one-way glass, and Denning cursed. "I just texted headquarters. We're going after Jameson."

  I jumped at the possibility.

  "Oh, I want in on that."

  He frowned at me. "The hell you are."

  "My father is in the hospital. We have one of the perpetrators responsible. I just can't sit here and let the likes of them get away with it. If there's something I can do, anything, I'm going to do it."

  Denning laughed. "No way in hell. You're still on light duty. No one is going to touch you. And with your father out of commission, I'm the lead agent in charge."

  "Oh yeah, Denning? For how long? Because if it's not yet common knowledge that you gave away intel to that woman in there, it will be. Sir, you're on a tightrope. You can play big man all you want, but it's not going to happen. I'm in on this."

  Denning slid a glance to East. "Control her, please."

  East's growl was feral behind me. "She is not going to be controlled. That woman shot her father. That woman that you fucked when you managed to get it up. So you are going to do what she wants. Let her at least bring the case to a close."

  "She needs to be on the Theroux case."

  East laughed. "Theroux has nothing to do with this. That's your perpetrator right there in that room, her and Garreth Jameson. If you don't listen to Nyla, that's your career. Don't say I didn't warn you."

  He wrapped his arms around me then. "Come on, let's go check on your father. I'll have him transferred to a hospital near home as soon as he's stable."

  East Hale was forever born to look after me. He was going to give me everything I needed, and I would never have to ask for it. That was the kind of man I needed, and I loved him.

  East

  But there would be no moving the old man.

  The moment the doctor came around the corner, Nyla knew. She let go of my hand, and I felt the draft of coldness settle in immediately.

  The doctor was speakin
g, but it was Nyla I watched as he said the words, “I’m so sorry. We did everything that we could.”

  Her normally strong body crumpled. I expected her to cry, to wail… something. But she sat mute and bereft.

  I wasn’t sure how long we sat in the hall like that, on the floor, me rocking her, hushing her with what were meant to be soothing words. And that was how she sat until I pulled her to her feet.

  By the time we returned to the penthouse in London, she was completely silent. She hadn't wanted to leave, but I forced the issue because she needed sleep, and food, and time to process. I could kill the old man for leaving her after dropping a secret like that on her. All those years, she'd known him as her father. But he wasn't. Which led to nothing but questions. And all this time he'd said nothing. Just treated her like she was never going to be good enough.

  If he wasn’t already gone, I could kill him.

  I winced at that thought. She didn't need that from me while she was grieving. She needed someone to take care of her, which I was more than happy to do. I was worried though.

  Livy had called. Telly had come over with her wife, Carmen. Brought food. They'd sat with her and watched an episode of Project Runway.

  But Nyla hadn't seen it. When they left, she only readjusted her seat so that she could look out the balcony window at the city instead of at the television.

  I didn't know how to fix this. I didn't know how to make it any better.

  Instead, I cooked. It was rare, because I never had time for it. We had a couple of nannies growing up who actually took care of us. Wonderful Mrs. Graton, she loved to cook. Whenever I was sick or sad, she'd make me soup. She called it chicken soup, but there was so much more than chicken in it. There were also sausages, and potatoes and other vegetables. Finally, she just called it garbage can soup because I kept saying no to it, and she'd take it back to the kitchen to throw into the garbage.

  As I cut up the ingredients and let the oil simmer to brown the meat, I kept my eye on Nyla. Every time I added an ingredient, hoping the smell from the soup would get her moving, would get her interested, she continued to just sit and stare. When I finished, I served it with two rolls and carried it on a tray into the living room. Then I sat in front of her. "Come on, beautiful, you have to eat. I know you don't feel like it, but you have to."

  Still, she didn't move. Didn't budge. I didn't know what else I was supposed to do. "Love?"

  Her gaze didn't turn to meet mine, so I adjusted my seat to perch directly in front of her. She blinked rapidly when I blocked her gaze, and a small smile perked on her lips. "East, hi."

  "Ah, she lives. She breathes. She talks."

  "Sorry. Obviously, I don't know what to do with myself, so I'm just sitting here."

  "I know. You want to crawl into a shell. I get it. But you can't. Sorry."

  "Why won't you just let me hide? Please?"

  "Sorry, I can't do that."

  "I just want it to stop."

  "I know but I need to feed you. You need a shower. And then you need some sleep."

  "There's no way I'm sleeping."

  "Okay. I'm not going to make you sleep, but I do have ways of getting you to sleep if you won't cooperate."

  She scowled at me. "I'm not in the mood."

  "Okay, you don't have to be in the mood. That's the best part. I take care of you and do anything that's going to help you feel better. None of this is about me."

  She blinked. "What did I do to deserve you?"

  I grinned at her then. "You tried to hunt me and my friends down. I've never seen anything sexier."

  And there it was, a hint of spark in her eye. She almost laughed. It wasn't even really much of a smile, but goddamn it, I would take it. "Now, eat."

  And she did. Bite after bite, I fed her, and she didn't fight me. She ate whatever I put at her lips. Once or twice, she even chased the spoon. I'd set such a low bar for myself as her caretaker, and I was really happy about this. At least she was eating something.

  When she was done, she turned to me. "Who am I, East?"

  "You, my love, are Nyla fucking Kincade. And I love you."

  She blinked rapidly. "Why?"

  "See, it's really all about you being a total badass. God, it’s so sexy. You know, you chasing us, threatening to put us in prison. You have never been hotter."

  "Why are you doing this?"

  "I love you. I'll keep saying it until you believe it, but that's all there is to it. I'm going to look after you because it's what you need. Because I hope it will make you happy again. You're not going to fight me, because this is what you do when you love someone. And I will love you always, forever. Even if you think you're walking out of here. I mean, not that I'll let you."

  "You recognize that's kidnapping, right?"

  I blinked at her. "Is that a joke? You're joking. This is… wow. Excellent."

  She shook her head at me. "I don't want to joke. "

  "I know. But the fact that you aren't well fit right now, is on me. I let you sit in your sadness. You still get to be sad, but now you will be clean and sad. Come on, let's go get you in the tub."

  "No, no more tub where you won’t look at me or touch me."

  "Well, to be fair, you were injured, Ny."

  "I don't want that now." Her gaze searched mine, and there was so much love, and so much need. She was pleading with me.

  "What is it you want, Ny?"

  "I love you. I want you to love me back and make me forget."

  I nodded. "I can absolutely do that."

  Chapter Eighteen

  Nyla

  And he did make me forget. With his hands, his lips, his mouth, his words, East told me everything I needed to know. He loved me. I was his. He was mine. With every whispered caress, every nip of my shoulder, every slide of his tongue over mine, he told me everything I needed to know. He carried me into the bedroom, shutting the door behind us aggressively. When I giggled, he tossed me on the bed, chucking his shirt and unsnapping his pants as he went. He had that look on his face. One that said that he meant business, and he was going to show me all of the ways that he meant business. When he dropped his trousers and boxers in one fell swoop, he approached with a sly grin. "Now, now, Nyla, Ms. Kincade."

  I laughed. "That's Agent Kincade to you."

  He laughed. "Yes, ma'am, Agent Kincade. Now, I must remind you, that this shall be a long arduous ride. I hope you snacked sufficiently. I hope you've limbered up. I pray to God that you hydrated. Because I'm not letting you out of my sight for at least a couple of hours."

  As he crawled up my body, I couldn't help but continue laughing. "You know, Mr. Hale, I'd really like you to put your money where your mouth is."

  He lifted a brow. "Or maybe I’ll put my mouth somewhere very, very special."

  And he did. He crawled up my body, nipping along the way at my calf and then my inner thighs. When I moaned, he only chuckled. And then he stopped right at the apex of my thighs. "Open."

  With a teasing smile I shook my head.

  He laughed. "If you don't open, I won't ask so nicely the next time."

  At the hem of my knickers he glanced up at me, eyes fierce, teeth grazing his bottom lip. "Do you want me to ask nicely?"

  Feeling insolent, I shook my head. "No."

  He chuckled, and then using his teeth, he bit down on the fabric, slowly tugging it down. Tugging them down over my legs.

  When the fabric caught on my hips, he frowned, and using his strong hands he gripped my thighs, parting them ever so slightly so he could see his quarry. And then leaving my knickers where they were, he leaned over them and licked with flat of his tongue to scrape over my clit.

  I started to shake. "East."

  "You're the one teasing us. I'm being perfectly reasonable. I was just sitting here minding my business, being well-behaved. But you, you had to tease me. You had to make me want things."

  I gasped as he licked over my clit again. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

 
"You know, I don't think you're sufficiently sorry. I think you meant to tease me. I think you mean to make me behave badly."

  I gasped and panted. "No. I'll behave. I swear. Oh my God."

  And then he stopped. He moved backwards, sliding my knickers off with his teeth as if he hadn't started to make me shake. Down, down slid my knickers until he slid them right off my legs.

  Smiling then, he surveyed his handiwork. "Ah, that's better. Now I have a clear view." I rolled my eyes, but not too much. Because I knew my insolence was going to get me in trouble.

  He started his journey back up, placing oh so light kisses along my legs, my toes, back up to my calves, taking his sweet time to torture me.

  I squirmed. "East. Stop playing."

  He laughed. "Oh, I think I've earned the right to play, don't you?"

  "I swear if you—" With a speed I'd only seen at select times, he crawled up my body and planted his whole mouth over my sex. Sucking, licking, nipping gently. The first wave of orgasm hit me quick. I couldn't breathe, all I knew was that I saw stars, and he was unrelenting. He did not stop, he did not pause, he gave me no quarter. Because he was on a mission to make me forget. And forget I did, because Jesus Christ, the things he did with his tongue. Even as I begged off with please, please, please, oh God, I can't, not anymore, he kept going furiously until he pulled out another back-snapping orgasm from me. And then he leisurely kissed up my belly.

  "So Nyla, when will you learn that obeying commands will keep you very, very happy."

  "Just to be clear, I don't obey commands ever. Besides if I did, you would go apoplectic. You wouldn't even know what to do with me."

  He laughed. "You're right about that."

  "And just so we're clear, while I very much like you being a little bit bossy in bed, you're not in charge of me."