Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,16

“Hard to pretend all is right with the world with the evidence sitting in front of us,” he muttered.

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Nothing has been right with the world since he died. Van Linsted was on overwatch that night. He should have protected him or something. Instead of facing repercussions for failing at his one job, he’s in line to be fucking Director Prime. How is that for justice?”

“Fuck!” Bridge threw his glass, and it shattered against the wall.

East scowled. “Oi! What the fuck, mate?”

Bridge rounded on him. “Fucking Van Linsted. Bram always said if he had his way Toby and I would never have been Elite. And then he got his wish.” For the first time since I’d known him, Bridge was well and truly shattered. Looked like I wasn’t the only one gutted by seeing Emma again.

I scrubbed my hand down my face. “We failed him too. I pushed all of you to say yes. I was the one who saw family and power and legacy. Fucking bullshit. We’re just as culpable as they were. And to make it worse, we all conveniently walked away from the Varmas.”

“So what do we do now? Emma is going to keep trying to get to the Elite members. And she’s going to get hurt in the process,” East said.

He was right. Emma would keep going after them. And I could give two fucks if the Elite burned. They talked so much shit about brotherhood and family and bonds. But it was all lies. “We show her we’re doing something about it.”

Drew sat up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, Bram Van Linsted has been living the charmed life. The life Toby should have had. If someone doesn’t do something, he’ll be the next Director Prime. He stood there and did nothing to help Toby, and then our so-called brothers allowed Toby to be forgotten like he was nothing. So we’re going to be the something that stops him.”

East sat up straighter, the moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows glinting off his cufflinks. “So what are you saying?”

I met each of their gazes. “We’re the something that’s going to stop Bram Van Linsted. We’re the something that’s going to burn the Elite to the ground if we have to. For Toby.”

5

Livy

Present Day

I limped through the door with my shoes in my hand. Exhaustion permeated every cell as I forced one foot in front of the other. I’d taken off my shoes Britney Spears style. The good news was my feet were nice and cool. The bad news was they were now grimy. But at least I didn’t have that dull, persistent ache going on.

At the curb, the police officer who had driven me home waited until I punched the code in for the front door before turning on his headlights and pulling away.

When I shoved open the door, I found Dexter pacing. I didn’t even make it past the foyer before he was on me. “Where the fuck have you been?” The scent of gin on his breath was strong.

“Hello to you too, Dexter.”

“It’s bloody nearly two o’clock in the morning.”

“Believe me, I know. Perhaps you could hold your yelling for the morning.”

His gaze skimmed over me. “Were you with someone?”

“Really, Dex?” Whenever he wanted to spin out, that was his favorite line of questioning. “We talked about this.”

He sidestepped me, calling out, “Do you have my meds?”

I placed my shawl on the sideboard before turning to face him. “The chemist said the prescription doesn’t renew until next week.”

“You know I need them. My bloody hand hurts.”

“You know how to resolve that. It’s not my job to take care of you.”

He frowned, lips parting like he wanted to argue. But he knew better. His therapist had been clear about drawing boundaries. It was a line not to cross.

“It’s the least you can do. After all, you did this to me.”

The guilt clawed at me, and I beat it back. I tilted my chin up. “No. You were too wasted to drive. So I drove and we had an accident. We agreed with Doctor Kaufman that you wouldn’t throw that in my face if you wanted a second chance.”

He stepped into my space, laying the stench of gin and sweat over me like a shroud. The guilt that accompanied it was the heaviest to maneuver under. He was right. He was in pain because of me. I had been driving that night. The night that had changed everything. But he