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

until I crumble your house of cards. Do you understand me?" She leaned close, and the scent of honeysuckle filled my senses, making my mouth water.

But then my mouth was filled with the taste of metal, and my teeth rattled. Then along with not being able to fucking move, I couldn't breathe either. It was like her scent wrapped around me, enticing me, and then when it was too late, choking me.

I wasn’t sure how long I laid there seizing. God, had she used a Taser on me?

That was how Bridge found me, on my back in the grass, my eyes open, my body coiled and tight. He was panting from the run. "Christ, both of you are fucking fleet-footed. I saw her hit you when I was across the street. Are you okay, mate?"

I blinked up at him and groaned. "Fuck me."

With a cheeky smile he said, "East, we've talked about this. You're not my type. I like you as a mate."

"Fuck you."

He grinned. "I see you're getting back to fighting form. You'll be all right. What did she hit you with?"

That buzzing in my head and my teeth had to mean she’d hit me with a fucking Taser. She came prepared with a Taser. Why?

Bridge pulled me to a sitting position, and I dragged in slow, steady breaths. "Fuck, that hurts."

"Is it actually pain or tingles?”

I groaned. "I guess more tingles. My teeth, God, they feel awful."

"Yeah, that's a lot of voltage. I think you should get checked out by the doc."

I shook my head. "I'll have the staff doctor come to the penthouse. I'm sure it's fine, but fuck me, who was that woman?"

"Well, you’re the one who went after her. And you caught her. She didn't tell you anything?"

I studied my friend in the darkness, the moonlight making his jet-black hair appear slightly bluish. I opened my palm, displaying the SD card I'd stolen out of the camera. "I am Elite, remember? I have some tricks up my sleeve."

Bridge squatted down next to me and took the SD card out of my hand, studying it. "How long will it take before she finds out her SD card is missing?"

"I'm not sure, but it could be a day. But I’m sure that I'll have everything off of that thing tonight."

"Of course, you will."

I glanced around, staring into the darkness, wondering if she had turned back to watch her theoretical kill.

"I don't know who you are princess, but I will find out, and then you and I are going to have a very long chat about why you don't tase strangers."

Nyla

My legs ached. My lungs burned. But still, I forced my arms to keep pumping.

If your arms moved quickly, then your legs moved quickly. Neural coupling, right? It was some long-ago advice from a running coach, but I was going to rely on it to survive.

I’d miscalculated. I’d thought tonight would be easy. I should have probably predicted this outcome. I just didn’t want it to be a failure.

You almost got caught.

Run. Run. Run. Run.

I darted down an alleyway despite the lack of illumination. I could only hope nothing unseen waited to trip me. The safe passage was on the other side. Amelia had a car waiting, and all I had to do was make it to her.

I didn’t hear footsteps behind me. I didn’t hear anyone chasing after me. I didn’t know if they were giving chase, or if they were coming, but that one guy… Hale. East bloody Hale. He had followed me out of the restaurant.

The real question was if he’d recognized me or not. No one should have. The disguise I’d worn was a good one. My partner, Amelia, was a whiz with prosthetics.

I kept going but slowed my steps as I stripped off the black hoodie I’d been wearing, pulling the arms through and reversing it so the red inner lining became the outer layer. I thrust my arms into the sleeves again and snapped it on. As I sped up again, I spat out the filaments used to plump out my cheeks. Then I peeled off the latex I’d used to fashion a nose for myself and tossed it at the nearest bin.

I yanked the wig off my head and shoved it in my pocket because I didn’t want to leave it where it might be found.

Listen, no one is following you.

I wasn’t dumb enough to believe that. I’d been trained too well. I knew someone could be following whether I detected