Page 72 of Emerald

“Are you okay?” The words are like sawdust as I choke on them. Everything in my body is wound tight like a coil and all I want to do is destroy whoever did this to her.

“Go back to bed,” she tells me as she slowly moves toward her room.

“I can’t,” I confess.

She closes her eyes for a couple of moments. “Please, Nash. You can’t see me like this. Like some used ragdoll. I don’t deserve your concern.”

Her words burn a hole in my chest. “I know you did what you had to do to try to find Pearl. That you put your body on the line to help her. Now let me help you, Elena.” Those blue eyes look up at me, and I hate that she is looking at me with them because they are not her, it’s the character she is playing, and all I want to do is see those green eyes and let her know everything is going to be okay. “Come, let’s get you cleaned up,” I say gently.

Her brows pull together. “Why?”

“Because it seems you had a hard mission.”

“I did,” she answers quietly. My hands ball into fists but I try to even my breathing.

“I can see, now please, let me help you,” I ask again, holding out my hand for her. She looks at it for a couple of beats, and I wonder if she is going to reject my help again, She’s so used to working alone I can see that help is a foreign concept to her. When she reaches out and takes my hand, I can’t helpbut pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her. “I’ve got you,” I whisper against her ear. Reaching down, I pick her up in my arms and carry her into my bathroom where I turn on the shower, play with the faucet until it's the right temperature, and then put her down. “Elena, I’m going to need to put you down and undress you.” She nods silently as I do just that. I bend down to my knees and take off her high heels. Then I stand back up and slide her mini-dress down her body. She’s not wearing anything underneath the torn dress, but I notice the bruising all over her body, around her breasts, nipples, and wrists.What did they do to you?The image of me sliding my knife down over the same path makes me feel ill, that I’m as much of a monster as those men are when it comes to her.

“Nash,” her voice is quiet, “please don’t look at me like that,” she pleads.

I cup her face in my hands. “I’m not pitying you. I want to destroy them for what they have done to you.”

She swallows. “This is my life. You can’t destroy every man that hurts me.”

“Yes, I can, and I will.” She gives me a sad look as if to tell me I’m delusional, but I will help her to destroy these men, that will be my mission. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a purpose in this world, but now that I’ve found it, there’s no stopping me. “You will feel better once you’re clean.” I walk her toward the shower.

“Can you … um … join me?” she asks. I don’t like this fragile Ellie.

“Yes,” I say as I throw off my shirt, so I only have my pajama shorts on and step in behind her. I grab the shower gel and start lathering it up. She has her back toward me, and I start with her shoulders as I can see the tension in them. My fingers dig into the knots, and one by one, I try to ease them away. I notice the bite marks on her neck and the hickey under her ear.Calmdown, Nash,I tell myself as I count to ten. She relaxes slowly underneath my fingers.

“I found Pearl,” she says.

I still. Fuck. This is huge. “You did?”

She nods. “I told her I was getting her out. I have to get her out.”

“You will,” I tell her, feeling the tension sliding back up her neck.

“I got a small glimpse tonight of what the jewels have gone through. Where they had no control over the situation. They were just toys for others to play with.”Don’t lose it. Let her talk.“Usually, I’m the one in control. With each man, I understand the mission and what I have to do. This was not in the plan.” She sucks in a deep shuddering breath.What the fuck did they do to her?“I thought I was strong. Those women, they are the strong ones. Zoe and Grace for everything they endured,” she tells me. Shit. It must have been bad for her to react like this. “I’m going to destroy every one of them once I have found the jewels. And I’m going to fucking kill my ex for what he did to my sisters.” Good to see some fire back in her.

“I want to help,” I confess to her. She turns in my arms and looks up at me, she still has those blue contacts in. “I don’t like your blue eyes.” Elena pauses for a moment, and the next thing I know, she is pulling them out and placing her lenses on the soap dish in the shower. “Now I see you.” I grin, running a thumb over her cheek.

“You do, don’t you?”

“Do what?” I ask.

“You see me. Not Emerald. Not Persephone. Not a whore. Not an agent. You just see me.” A ball constricts in my throat making it hard to swallow as I nod. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me softly. I stiffen for a moment, unsure what to do, but she doesn’t stop. She continues to kiss me slowly,softly, and I find it hard not to pick her up and press her against the tiles of the shower. I let myself enjoy the simple kiss instead. The way her tongue slides against my own. Her teeth nibble my lip. I let my fingers slip into her tangled hair as we slowly deepen the kiss, it’s as if we are in no hurry, and I guess we aren’t.

“Thank you,” she says, looking up at me with those green eyes that melt me. “You brought me back from the dark space in my mind that I go to sometimes.”

“Glad I could help.” I grin. “Now turn around and let’s clean you up. Maybe you should jump into the spa, the hot water would be good to relax your muscles.”

“As long as you will join me,” she says.

“Okay,” I agree, and I hate the thud in my chest as she looks up and smiles.

After I clean her, wash her hair, and soothe her aches, I pick her up, carry her to the spa, and slowly lower us in. She moans as the warm water surrounds her before floating off to one side and me to the other.

“I’ve been invited to the gala,” she says quietly as she lays her head on the edge of the spa, “as Manuel’s date.” I nod because there is nothing for me to say, this was her goal, and she told me she would achieve it, and she did.

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