Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,3

too could have all the pussy in the world, but you’re giving that up.”

East sounded bored when he said, “If you two are done acting like children, we still have another device to copy.”

The first part of my assignment had been to sneak into Bram Van Linsted’s office and copy the data on his laptop. I was familiar enough with the Van Linsted estate to make that happen. After all, I’d spent enough time there as a child and then later when we were classmates at Eton.

Van Linsted Senior hadn’t been much of a fan of me or my mates. Having to be in charge of our instruction for the Elite had been a chore he clearly loathed. And he’d made his disdain known.? He’d made it clear he didn’t want any of us anywhere near his son.? But his hands had been tied, so he’d had to tolerate us, and we’d had to tolerate him.

But the time for tolerance was almost over.

2

Ben

I sipped my champagne, doing my level best to blend into the crowd. Easier said than done when my face was so damn recognizable.

As James Covington’s son, it was difficult to be inconspicuous. After all, this was a fundraiser. Marcus Van Linsted had supported my father as Prime Minister, so I was expected to attend. And there were more than a few people who wanted to speak with me, or, at the very least, be seen speaking to me.

I knew how to do approachable but aloof. After all, I’d been doing it for years. It was just a matter of slipping on the mask. My gaze scanned the crowd and found our host easily enough.

“I’ve got him.”

“Okay.?Remember, you have to get close to him.?It’s going to take a full two minutes, maybe three.?But once you have it, get the fuck out.”

“Nothing more specific than that?” As plans went, sometimes East was lacking in detail.

“It’s not an exact science. Remember we don’t want anyone to know what you’re doing.”

“Right.?Remind me the next time we steal sensitive information from our own secret society to put one of you in the field.”

East chuckled.? “Then who would be on tech? You? That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Technology and I got along fine?as long as I didn’t have to rely on it for anything.?I liked relying on myself.?It was safer.

Relax.?Don’t rush.?Take your time.?Play the part.

Bram Van Linsted was in the middle of the crowd as the man of the hour.?He was smiling and shaking hands.?I needed to get this done now.

With dark hair and blue eyes, he was a charming git.?Even in the middle of the crowd, it was easy to spot him. He was surrounded by people. After all, they wanted to curry favor.?Van Linsted was filthy fucking rich with excellent political prospects. His family had served in politics for years until leaving for the private sector. Rumor was he’d be making his own political bid soon enough.

I knew what most of these people didn’t know, though. Van Linsted wielded more power outside of politics than in it. And if there were to be any kind of elections, they wouldn’t be by the people. They would be only by the people he looked upon as peers.

People like me, like my friends, were the kind of people he wanted to strip power from.

But now I had money.?Not my father’s money, my own.?Between Bridge, East, and myself, we had enough power to dismantle the Elite.?If we were smart.

Everything had to go right or the dominoes wouldn’t fall the way we needed.

I bumped into a waiter as I marched toward my target, deliberately causing a minor crash.?The guy had only two glasses on his tray, so the spill wasn’t too bad.? “Mate, I’m sorry.”

I made a show of attempting to help him and having to be saved by him instead.? It would be better if everyone thought I was pissed. They’d make assumptions that I was useless.?Insignificant.

When I was back on my feet, I pulled my jacket back into place and leered at Van Linsted’s date, Cassandra something or other. She was a model.?There was something so familiar about her in the jawline. Had I shagged her??It was hard to remember that kind of thing.?As much as I was doing this for show, playing the luxury-stricken playboy, there was some truth to the carefully constructed exterior.?After all, I’d been playing the part for a very long time.

When Van Linsted caught sight of me, he frowned as if he’d tasted something bad.? “Covington, I see nothing has