Page 40 of Emerald

He gives me a gruff nod. “Now, can you get the fuck off my bed so I can have a shower?”

“Fine.” I grin, sliding off the bed, making sure my dress rides up my thighs. Nash turns away, refusing to look at me until I’m standing up. “Enjoy your shower.”

15

NASH

Enjoy my shower!

This woman is frustrating as fuck. I hate how in equal parts I want to kill her but also want to fuck her, show her there is nothing wrong with my dick. I noticed the way she was baiting me earlier with the way she opened her legs, she nearly got me, too. It’s not my fault she is insanely beautiful, but then she opens her mouth and crazy spills from it. Then she flips me on my fucking ass like some kind of ninja and pushes a knife to my throat all under the guise that she learned it in self-defense.

Bullshit.

That was a perfect defensive maneuver. It felt good when I was able to turn the tables, I still have it. The fact that she didn’t flinch at all when the knife was against her throat, there is no way in hell that woman is a journalist. But why are Brooks and Sophie lying to me? Why the hell was she pushing me to fight her this morning? The woman is certifiable. I can’t work out what her game plan is. Who is this friend she is trying to save? Is there a friend or is she trying to get into the cartel for another reason?

Getting out of the shower, I get dressed and head straight over to my computer and open it. I sneakily took a photo of herfrom my security camera yesterday as an insurance policy. I log into my secure system and load up her face. I should have done this yesterday, but I trusted my oldest friend, now I think he’s fucking with me, and I don’t know why. I input her photo into the system and wait for the hits to come up. If she is hiding something, it will come up here. My computer pings, that was quick, and when I stare at the screen I still. There are photos of Ellie traveling the world working as a journalist, everything she has said is right there under the internet’s images. I shake my head because it doesn’t seem right, it’s too clean, too perfect. On the surface, it looks normal, but to someone trained to look for inconsistencies, it is the perfect cover, but what the fuck for?

I pick up my phone to call Brooks as he needs to give me answers, but it vibrates in my hand with a message from my bank; five thousand dollars was deposited into my bank account from Ellie. What in the fuck? I grab my gun from my desk and slide it into my pocket—no one knows about this account—before storming out of my room to where she is sitting in the living room on her phone.

“Did you just transfer money to me?”

Ellie looks up at me. “Yes.”

“How the hell did you get my bank details?” I never gave it to her.

“Brooks.”

I shake my head. “He doesn’t know about this account.”

“Or maybe you don’t know your friend,” she says, giving me a saccharine smile.

“Or maybe I don’t know who the fuck I let into my home.”

Ellie shrugs. “Probably that, too.”

I pull the gun from my pocket and aim it at her. “Get the fuck out of my home. I want no part of whatever this is you are doing. Fuck you and fuck your friend. I’m not helping you anymore.”

Those eyes land on the gun, then on me, she doesn’t even flinch. “You can’t do that.”

“Watch me. Get the fuck out.” I point to the door, while still having my gun trained on her.

“Nash, please.”

I shake my head. “Leave.”

Ellie stands. “This is so much bigger than me bruising your ego.” She starts to stalk toward me, slowly, evenly, like a fucking panther.

“You think I’m doing this all because of my ego? Because you insulted my dick. Please. I don’t give a fuck about what you think of me. I’m doing this because my friends are lying to me, and they have never in their life done that before. What have you got on them? You’re obviously blackmailing them.”

“I’m not blackmailing them,” she says coldly, continuing to get closer.

“Bullshit. You’re a fucking snake in a summer dress,” I spit at her.

“I’ve been called worse.”

“Don’t take another step,” I warn her.

“Or what?” She smirks. See like I said, she’s insane.

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