East Bound Nana Malone (best ereader for students .TXT) 📖

If Interpol wasn't the one shooting at us, then what the hell was going on?

Chapter 12

East

"Would you hold bloody still?"

Nyla squirmed on the edge of the loo sink. "It's okay, I'm fine."

I glowered at her. "You're not fine. We were just shot at. You’ve got some bumps and scrapes. I’m just trying to make sure you’re okay."

"I'm fine, East."

I didn't even realize she was bleeding until we were in the car. She hadn’t had a direct hit, but must have caught some debris because she have cuts on har arms and on her neck. I hadn’t had time to fuss over her then because I had to make sure that Ben's SUV was wiped from all the CCTV cameras. It wasn't until we reached my flat that I realized she'd likely been hit by one of the shards of stone caused by a bullet ricocheting off the wall. "Just sit fucking still and let me deal with this."

"Don't order me around. You are not my father."

"No, I'm not. How is the arsehole anyway?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Then she winced. "Ow."

"An ow from the one who claimed she's just fine?"

"Shut up."

"Gladly if you’ll just stop bleeding all over my loo."

"I didn't ask you to patch me up."

"What, I was just going to toss some gauze and antiseptic at you so you could take care of yourself? Fuck, Nyla."

"Well, can't say you probably didn't think about it."

Okay, fine, there was a part of me that had thought that, but only in terms of self-preservation. That would have kept me from having to touch her and be close enough to inhale her honeysuckle scent. As it was, I was barely standing after being so near her the whole damn night. I was practically crawling out of my skin. God, why did she affect me like this? Why the fuck was I such a goddamn pussy? I couldn't just put her out of my mind.

When she was all cleaned up, I stepped back, threw everything in the trash, and then washed my hands. I avoided her gaze on me. But before I could leave the confines of the loo, she whispered, "Thank you."

I shrugged. "Next time, don't get shot at."

"The last I checked, you were right there with me."

"Do you want to tell me what the fuck Interpol was doing there?"

She blinked at me. "Are you serious right now? I have no fucking clue."

I turned around slowly. "You expect me to believe that you didn't sell us out?"

"Are you insane? I need Theroux. What happened today probably spooked him, and now I have nothing to show for all this bullshit."

"What is he giving you anyway?"

She stared at me. "He said I can be the one to bring him in. He's my ticket out of cold storage."

"And you want me to fucking believe that you wouldn't sell me out to get your ticket out of cold storage?"

"Sorry, but you and your mates are not big enough fish compared to Theroux. Besides, this isn't just about getting back into Interpol for me. With a properly placed apology, I could have that tomorrow. This is about bringing in Theroux. Respect. The kind I've never had before. This has nothing to do with you. I didn't sell you out." She winced as she hopped down. "Have you heard from him yet?"

I shook my head as I grabbed my phone and checked. "He won't be happy."

"The question is, what the fuck was Interpol doing there and who was shooting at us?"

"I don't know, but I have to find out."

Out in my great room, the gang was all there. Drew had gotten a minor graze on his shoulder. "It looks worse than it is. I caught one when I was trying to cover you and Nyla as you left. One of those idiots saw me. I ran from Interpol and then caught the fucking slug. It's fine."

I frowned at him. "Let's call the doc."

He shrugged it off. "I've taken worse."

Ben glanced around the room. "Anyone else injured?"

Liv and Telly were fine. In fact, Telly seemed to think she was having some grand adventure. Bridge was fine, but he kept staring at Nyla. And I didn’t blame him.

Nyla didn't appreciate it though. "Do you have something to say, Mr. Edgerton?"

"No, not much. Except, what was Interpol doing there?"

Nyla sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Jesus Christ, like I told East, I have no idea. And since nothing is ever kept secret between you lot anyway, just so you know, what I’m getting from Theroux is that he agreed that I could be the one to take him in. I had nothing to do with this tonight because I needed it to work as badly as you did."

Livy frowned. "No one's suggesting that you did."

Bridge raised his hands. "Well, actually, I am kind of suggesting exactly that."

Livy scowled at him. "Oh my God, what is with you? It took you a while to come around to me too. She clearly wasn't shooting at herself. That had to be Theroux and his men."

I shook my head then. "But that doesn't make any sense. Theroux needs us. If he's been watching us, and I suggest he has, there have been a dozen times where he could have taken me out easily."

Nyla nodded. "Me too. It doesn't feel like him, and Interpol had no reason to shoot at us. Those were sniper shots. They were high-caliber weapons, and they were silenced. Something else is going on here."

I had to agree with her. "Yeah. As much as I hate to admit it, it doesn't feel like Interpol. This isn't their playbook."

Drew ran a hand through his hair. "Then whose playbook is it? Because I, for one, am tired of being behind the eight ball all the time."

Ben scrubbed his hands over his face. "Okay. Let's just all take it easy. Let's regroup tomorrow at a neutral location. Maybe the restaurant? Call up Lucas and Bryna. We