Page 26 of Emerald

“No problem at all, kitty, just curious to know who I am letting into my home, that’s all,” I tell her.

“Would you stop calling me kitty? My name is Ellie.” She huffs.

Never.

The fact that calling her kitty annoys her, brings me joy. Not sure why I am getting off on annoying this woman, I’m not normally this much of a dick to women, but there’s just something about her. I can feel her eyes on me, and it’s hard not to let my lips curl up into a smile at the invisible daggers she is sending my way.

“You’re not going to stop, are you?” She sighs.

I shake my head.

“I feel like we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot today. I’m not normally this much of a bitch. I’m worried about my friend and what these bad guys could be doing to her. I don’t want to waste a moment of my time on anything else other than finding her,” Ellie explains to me.

Now I feel like a dick. Here I am playing around with her when all she is worried about is finding out about her friend.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” I tell her.

“Bet you don’t say that too often?” She smirks, as I look over at her.

“I’m rarely wrong,” I tell her.

“Guess I better take that apology while I can, seeing they come around so infrequently.” She grins.

9

ELENA

I’m going to have to watch myself around this man because he sees everything. I should have realized that when Brooks talked so highly of him and their time in service together. To be fair, the man is infuriating, which caught me off-guard, and I let my character slip, especially when he said he knows the Clark sisters and they are not bitches like me. That’s when I noticed I was acting more like me, not Ellie. I messed up. I’ve been playing stone-coldEmeraldfor so long that turning into sweet Ellie Clark isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I thought spending these past weeks with the sisters that some of their sunshine would have rubbed off onto me.Guess I was wrong.

And what the hell is with my nickname kitty, anyway? If he keeps that up, I’m going to shoot him. Which would be a shame as the man is hot. Sophie neglected to mention that to me. Nash has the whole beach bum vibe going on, with his shaved head, a bit of scruff on a square jaw, and glistening blue eyes, almost the same color as the ocean. Tanned, muscular arms, that show that even though he looks like he does nothing but sit around his beach bar and drink beer and smoke pot, he does work out. He’s dressed in a white surf brand muscle top that opens all the waydown his sides almost to his hips, which gives me a peek at the six-pack he is hiding underneath the material. He’s in a pair of baggy board shorts and flip-flops. Complete opposite of the men I’ve had to seduce these past five years. Not that I want to seduce him. But I am going to have to rely on him to help me find Pearl, so if I do need to seduce him to get the information, it wouldn’t be a hardship, especially as he started out flirting with me at the airport before I shut him down.Not the right move, Elena, you need him on your side.

After our reset in the Jeep, the conversation flowed between us until we arrived at his home.

“This is it, nothing flashy, so welcome home,” he says, stopping the Jeep out the front of a large wooden beach shack right on the beach.

Wow.

I can see the turquoise ocean through the jungle of palms, it wasn’t at all what I thought it would be. The shack is set up off the sand on stumps on one level. There is a large deck out the front made of wood and a rickety wooden railing all around. There is a brightly colored towel hanging off one side of it and a set of surfboards stacked up against the stumps. There’s a table and chairs on the front deck, too, with a couple of empty cans of beer sitting there.

It's cute.

I step out of the Jeep, my shoes hitting the white sand beneath us, while Nash grabs my bags from the trunk. I take a look around and get my bearings, the shack is surrounded by thick, tropical jungle, palms all tightly growing together. Sounds of unfamiliar birds echo around us as I walk toward the shack.

“It may not look like much, but it’s home,” Nash says as we stop at the top of the stairs, and he pins in a code on the front door.Interesting.We walk through the sparsely decorated home. The same wooden floor as the deck outside snakes its waythrough the kitchen and dining area at the front of the house. It’s a whitewashed kitchen, small but functional, with an island in the middle with three bar stools pushed up against the concrete top. A bowl of lemons and limes is on the island, with state-of-the-art appliances. Does he like to cook? I’m a hopeless cook so that might be helpful. I continue to follow Nash down the corridor toward the back of the house. There’s a powder room off the left-hand side, beside the kitchen as we enter the living room. A tan sofa and two armchairs made of sticks look out to a large window, which takes up the entire wall, and now I understand why, there is nothing but white sand and turquoise ocean right off the deck, which has an infinity pool that looks like it joins the ocean on the horizon. This was not at all what I was expecting from the look of this home.

Wow.

“Your room is over here,” he explains, turning to the right and walking through the living room where there is a door. He pushes it open and walks in with my bags, which he puts down beside the bed. “There’s air con, and the bathroom is through there. I’ll let you freshen up, holler if you need anything. I’m heading to the bar to check on things,” Nash explains to me.

“Thanks,” I say, giving him a genuine smile. I have just turned up on his doorstep with no warning other than Brooks vouching for me, and with his military experience, he is smart to be skeptical of me. I’ve invaded his home and taken up his morning, then rolled my eyes at his lame attempts to try to break the ice. I need to get it together. I haven’t been this rattled since my first job, and I’ve done hundreds since. Let’s blame it on coming back from the dead.

“The bar is back out the front. Follow the path past the car and you can’t miss it,” he says, giving me a nod before turning on his heel and leaving my room. He closes the door behind him and it’s the first time I’ve been able to unfold my stiff shouldersfrom my neck. The room is gorgeous, there’s a rattan king-size bed with white sheets and cushions, matching bedside tables, a TV on a console, and a desk area. Behind the bed looks to be the door to the ensuite. When I pull back the linen curtains, I find my own personal deck that looks out over the pool and beach.

Stunning.

I open the sliding door and let the outside in, then take a couple of steps out onto the deck and inhale the salt air. I close my eyes and try to center myself, letting the sound of the ocean wash over me. I was so frantic to get here and find Pearl that I lost focus.

Usually, I would try to center myself before setting out on a mission and get into the role I need to play. But this time, I was so desperate to get to Mexico that I forgot all my training, which is crazy when it’s second nature to me.This is what you get for taking time off. This is why assassins don’t take holidays.

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