East End (Hear No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,28

would have a London acquisitions agent I could speak with.

They did. But the moment I saw the name, my body had a two-pronged response. First my stomach fell. Or maybe it flipped. And my heart started to race. Of all the art experts in all the world… East flipping Hale.

How was he involved with the museum? I knew his family were philanthropists and he was a rich sod, so of course I assumed they must have art. But what was his connection to the Royal Museum in Monaco?

This is your chance to find out more about him.

Yes. Exactly. And since he was a direct connection to my case, I didn’t have to be hands off.

Not like you want to be.

No. I wasn’t going to muck up my life by continuing to fantasize about a man I knew to be bad news. I had enough problems.

For better or worse, you’re going to need to talk to him, so get it together.

So what if he’d given me the best kiss I’d had maybe ever? So what if I could still feel the ghost of his lips over mine? So what if I kept trying to figure out exactly what his scent was? None of that mattered. I was a professional. And I never gave up.

No way was I going to listen to my lady parts. And even if I did scratch an itch, I could still remain detached.

Liar.

Not that I would.

My father passed my office, and my gaze automatically went to my phone. I knew what I had to do, despite my nerves. I had to be prepared for him to give this lead to Denning. My gut twisted at that thought, but I tried to remind myself it didn’t matter. There was no way I could hold onto the information.

I held my breath as I knocked on his office door. He glanced up, and I noticed for the first time just how pronounced the lines around his face were. "What's up, Nyla?"

I took a deep breath as I stepped in. "Can I ask you a question, Dad?"

"Does this have to do with the London Lords or anyone from the Winston Isles?"

He studied me warily, likely wondering what fresh hell I was going to bring his way. I knew that expression. It was the Nyla, stay in your lane face, the Nyla, why are you causing trouble face, and also the, Nyla, why can't you just play by the rules face. Oh yes, I knew that face well.

And I hated seeing it. In that moment I knew what would happen. I knew if I told him about the call that I wouldn’t get to investigate. I wouldn’t be the recipient of warm, excited energy.

So I didn’t tell him. Instead I said, “I have a lead in my case. I need to speak to the curator of the Royal Museum in Monaco or their representative.” I cleared my throat before continuing. “Their London representative is East Hale.”

I let his name hang in the air and said nothing, letting the thick blanket of tension swirl around us until my father broke the silence. “I told you to steer clear.”

“And I’m following orders for once.” Except for last night. “But they had pieces in a loaned collection stolen and replaced with forgeries, similar to several of the thefts in my jewelry theft case. I really do need to speak with him.”

His glower was worse than the time we were in Rome and I borrowed the car to go to a party with friends. “Do you really think it’s in your best interest to circumvent a direct order?”

“That’s not what I’m doing. You can check for yourself. East Hale really is the London contact. I will stay very far away from anything to do with Grimwald Authenticators, but I do need to ask about the collection for the museum.”

We stared at each other for a long moment.

He frowned at me and sat back in his chair, the sun catching the red in his dark hair just so. "Nyla, I don't have time for games."

“No games, Dad. I’m just trying to do my job. This is my first step before heading to Monaco, but I can skip it if you prefer.” There was no way he would want me to go to Monaco without proper due diligence.

“You are on a very short leash, Nyla.”

I sighed with relief I didn’t necessarily feel. “Believe me, I know.”

When I was done with my father, I went to dot my Is