Page 95 of East (The Moral Compass 3)

“Okay, so enough of this mushy stuff. What are we having to eat?”

I see him roll his eyes. I don’t think I’ll get away with burger, fries, and a milkshake.

Chapter 38

Zed

It’sbeensixfullmonths of nothing but what some people would call a normal life. I haven’t had to fly out anywhere. I didn’t even have to give evidence against Alicia. She admitted to everything. She and her little friend were both given huge fines and extradited back to the UK. We now have a rolling restraining order on them both.

I’ve worked with East on a few projects, and we’ve managed to do most of the work virtually. I’ve even swapped out my jeans, combats, and boots for the occasional pair of chinos. Only on special occasions, though.

The house next door to North and Kara went up for sale a month ago. I can’t say I’m surprised. When North really laughs, it sounds like a bomb has gone off, and since he is the happiest I’ve ever seen him, it’s quite a frequent occurrence.

Call me weird, but I like it. I never thought I would enjoy the sound of laughter as much as I do. My go-to sounds were gunfire and bombs exploding because I knew I was helping people, but I don’t crave that anymore.

I like not having to set an alarm for 4:30 in the morning to catch a flight or be in a certain place, and I think I’ve not only shocked the lads, but I’ve shocked myself about the amount of time I spend talking to them and the girls now.

East gave me a fair old bollocking about cutting calls off without saying goodbye, so I do it exuberantly now to the point West cuts the call first. Life’s good. It’s a laugh if you let it be, and I’m glad I took the chance to test it out.

The girls are going out tonight as Kara and Sutton’s friend Sherie has had a promotion at work, so the lads are going out, too. It’s been too long since we had a good session and I’ve agreed to meet East at 1:00 a.m. in Club Q, but seeing as they have been out on the town since lunchtime, I dread to think what state they will all be in. East gets giddy off a bottle of wine, so I’m half-expecting a call at around nine.

What I don’t expect is four very well put together women, each holding her own and not falling all over the place. The four of them are surrounded by suits. West goes first and stands by Sutton and makes it very clear she is taken, especially when he picks her up and walks off with her. I have to laugh. North walks over all casual until Kara sees him, jumps on him, and starts dry humping him in the middle of the club. North indulges her at the same time, finding a quieter place. I casually stand beside East as we both burst out laughing at the two cavemen brothers. They trust their women; it’s the guys they don’t trust. That just leaves the brunette who, surprisingly, is throwing evil looks in South’s direction.

“I can’t remember if you two have met before. This is Sherie,” East says as Sherie half-smiles, her eyes firmly fixed on South.

“Nice to meet you.” I try to get her attention, but I’m not fast enough. The contents of the glass in Sherie’s hand flies in front of my face and lands all over South.

I look at East and she looks at me.What the hell!!!

Then they start screaming at each other. I catch the word cunt, or I think it is. I don’t understand. They are both yelling in French, and then she slaps him full force across his face.

Fuck, man, that must have hurt.

East dives in front of Sherie and starts yelling about her not hitting her brother. I look over to where South was standing a split second ago, but he’s gone, like he just disappeared into the thin air. I look around, but there is no sign of him at all.

East calms her friend down, but before she can understand what happened, Sherie, too, leaves. We both don’t understand what happened but just shrug our shoulders.

“Want to go home?” I ask.

“Yeah, fuck knows what’s up with those two. Kara said they had a fight last time they met. I wonder what the story is there?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. I want to go home. I have a surprise for you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Really? Like a proper surprise?”

“Yes, a real surprise.”

“I won’t ask questions, but just tell me it’s not a puppy. That fucking animal of Kara’s ate my heels earlier. I only took them off while we went in the house.” She slips off one of her shoes and shows me the chewed-up shoe.

Thank God it’s not a dog.

“No. I don’t think we are ready for a number three in our relationship just yet, Dynamite,” I say, kissing her gently on her forehead. I take her hand and go back to the Majestic.

***

Since we have been basically living with each other in the penthouse, her repetitive dream has stopped. She still tries to have it, but it never comes. So, this afternoon, I’m going to make her dream come true.

I’ve rented a brand-new Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. I’d have bought it, but there is no point when living in the centre of London, and I’m not in the habit of spending four million quid on a car that I’ll never use, but it’ll serve its purpose today.

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