Page 1 of East (The Moral Compass 3)

Chapter 1

East

I’mtryingsohardto be happy for my two brothers. I really am. I swear it. But there is only so much “kissy kissy” a girl can take. It’s as if they were male virgins before they met their respective partners. They are constantly all over each other. It’s good that they are happy, but for fuck’s sake, guys. This house has plenty of rooms. Just use one.

In just over a year, my brother West has fallen in love, moved his soon-to-be wife Sutton into the family home, and now they have triplets.

My other brother, North, who I always thought would be the bachelor of the family, has fallen in love with Kara. Kara is Sutton’s best friend. He has just bought her a house and a puppy and is proposing to her this afternoon. We all have to be in attendance.

Then, to top it all off, my eldest brother South rekindles a relationship from years ago, and she ends up trying to kill North in some fucked-up distraction trick to stop us from foiling a huge trafficking exercise. Oh, and you see, it gets better. When South was leaving the police station, the daughter of his ex-girlfriend was sitting there, waiting for her mum. And because her mum is probably going to be spending a good few years behind bars, my wonderful brothers decided she, too, could come and live in the family home. Absolutely wonderful. Daisy is hard work. She looks at you through slitted eyes, and when she does smile, it’s as if the milk has gone off.

To say I feel like a fish out of water in my own home is an understatement.

That’s why as soon as this afternoon is out of the way, I am back on our jet and back to my life in New York. If I play my cards right, I won’t have to come home again anytime soon, and the next time I see them will be in Ibiza for Sutton’s hen party, which is months away.

And breathe.

I think my issue is that I am jealous. Yes, jealous, because they have the kind of relationship I really want. The problem is, I only want one man. I’ve only ever wanted one man.

That man is Drake O’Brien. He is a singer—a rock singer—and, oh my god, so damn handsome. I think about him day and night.

West managed to get me tickets to a concert and, because it was in return for a favour, he managed to get me backstage VIP passes, too.

If West knew he was instrumental in me having my one and only night with Drake, he would go ballistic, but he was.

When I say my one and only night with Drake, what I actually mean is that we spent the night in the same hotel room, the same bed, even. I was so smashed, I spent most of the night throwing up in his bathroom before collapsing fully clothed on his bed.

Classy, I know, but boy, can that man kiss. We didn’t sleep together, and I am pretty grateful that I didn’t give him my V-Card that night.

I want it to be special and remember every detail. I was disappointed that when I woke up in the morning, he was gone and didn’t even leave me his number.

I’ve been to every concert I can get to since, but I can’t get backstage. I’ve asked West to get me more special tickets, but he’s been too busy with all the crap going on within the family, and I can’t tell him why I want them.

I was sure that if Drake saw me again, the spark that was there that night would remind him who I was. I know he’s got women falling all over him, including my brothers’ arch-enemy Alicia, but I really thought if he got to know me, we could have had something good. Something special.

That was, until he made a flying visit to see my brothers. I don’t even know why he came. I didn’t know he knew West so well, but before he left, he popped into the pool house to say goodbye to Sutton and Kara. He took one look at me and acted as if he’d never seen me before in his life.

My stomach sank, and my heart broke. Right now, I hate Drake O’Brien, but I can’t stop the fantasy rolling around in my head.

I need to go back to New York, forget all about him and try to move on.

Chapter 2

Zed

Ineedtogetout of London and back to the States before I do something that will wreck the years of friendship I have with West and North McGarry. Their sister.

I’d just finished a debrief with the guys at The Fortress and gone to say my goodbyes to Sutton and Kara. The house is huge, with a country lane leading up to the front doors. It’s an old mansion that the McGarry family has lived in for as long as I can remember. It’s the biggest house I have ever been in, with the exception of Buckingham Palace.

I walked through the indoor pool area, and there she was, this vision of absolute pure gorgeousness: blonde hair that had flecks of gold and eyes as blue as the clearest ocean. Hell on Earth, she is stunning.

I only had a few brief seconds to take in her beauty, but her picture is engraved in my memory: a face and body I will never forget, especially in that hot-red bikini.

Shit, I need to leave! If West even got one inclination that I had designs on his sister, I would have a bullet through my brain before I could explain.

Nope, it’s better all-around if I get as far away from her as possible. My dick is saying otherwise, but on this occasion, I am not listening.

I internally give my head a shake. I have to go back to the USA, anyway. My prick of a brother has got himself into trouble again. He’s always got someone after him or stalking him. This time, he says they’re sending him death threats and have poisoned his goldfish. Or so he says. That fucking fish gets flown around everywhere with him; there’s no wonder it’s dead, but he is insistent that someone is threatening him, and he wants me to go and sort it out.

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