East End (Hear No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,101

else out. But for now, if I wanted East, if I wanted to be with him and enjoy this thing between us, I needed to let all that other shit go.

"Hey, what's going on in that beautiful head of yours?"

”Just thinking. I’ve really got to get into the office."

"Will you stick around a little bit? Maybe we could have breakfast?"

I groaned. "I like the idea of coming back to you in my bed. But maybe we can arrange that some other time."

"Okay, party pooper."

As it turned out, he made it worth my while when I rolled out of bed and he rolled with me, scooping me up quickly.

I giggled and squealed. "Put me down. I'm heavy."

"Please. You weigh barely anything."

"Ugh, I'm tall. I'm not one of those petite little things you can toss around."

He set me down gently, and then his thumb and forefinger tenderly gripped my chin. "Hey, you are a badass. Anyone who ever told you differently was a complete and total arsehole. Do you understand?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I understand."

"Good, now you have a three-second head start before I chase you into the loo."

I knew he was serious. All he had to do was say one, and I took off running. But he didn't even give me till three before he was already charging after me.

And what ensued was lots of kissing. Soapy, delicious snuggling, and then, well, he had a satisfying breakfast after all. Of me. In the shower. And as I gripped the towels and closed my eyes, I couldn't believe just how lucky I'd gotten, because how was this my life?

I could have this. All the time. I just had to let that other part of me go.

As East kissed my neck and lifted me gently off my feet, placing me against the wall, my brain was unable to think clearly except for one tangible thought; no one had ever made me feel like this before. And I was never going to let that feeling go.

Thirty minutes later, after I tossed on some joggers, a T-shirt, and a hoodie, and then East had gotten dressed in the same clothes he had worn the night before, we left my flat together. He had to go to the guest parking lot to grab his car, and I just indicated I was going to take the tube. It was faster. Then he gave me a long kiss as he left me at the tube. "I'll text you later."

"Send me nudes."

He chuckled and gave me another soft kiss on the nose before heading to his car.

I jogged down the stairs, but instead of heading left, I turned right. It was time I let the London Lords go. I was going to focus on my future and what was going to make me happy instead of listening to that niggling part of my gut. My gut was wrong. My gut sucked. Two stops later, and I was at the address Amelia had texted me the day before.

Giving up, are you?

I'm turning my focus to something else.

When I unlocked the flat, I found Amelia with a stack of papers, cleaning something up. She turned to me and said, "Jesus Christ, there you are."

I wrinkled my brow. "What? Have I been missing?"

"I've been calling you since last night."

I winced. "Ah, I might have turned off my phone." And then I winced again when I realized I hadn't charged it either. I'd mindlessly grabbed it this morning without even looking at it. "Sorry, I hope it wasn't urgent."

“I just wanted to make sure you still wanted to pack all of this up. I can’t believe you’re just abandoning this investigation after all the work you’ve put into it.”

"Shit, Amelia, I'm sorry. That was my bad. I should have texted you right away. I went to see Dad yesterday, and he benched me. He suspended me."

Her brows popped. "Wh-wh-what?'"

"I know. Indefinite suspension for insubordination."

She sputtered. "That son of a bitch. That is some serious bullshit. All this shit Denning pulls, and what he's done to you, and he tags you on insubordination?"

"Yeah, that’s basically what I said."

Amelia started pacing. "Oh my God, I am going to write a complaint so big."

"To who? He's section chief."

"We can get a lawyer, you know?"

"What? I'm going to sue my dad? I'm just— I'm so tired of the bullshit. And I told him to take his suspension and shove it, so I'm probably pretty fired."

Amelia shook her head in disbelief. "No. Don't you dare. There's a lot of