Page 113 of Emerald

Nash swerves across the bitumen from the force of the blast and you can feel the intense heat from the inferno.Anna, what in the hell did you do?When my attention turns to her, I’m greeted with a blinding smile. I stare at her in shock.

“Keep fucking driving, we need to be nowhere near this scene when the authorities come,” Anna screams at us.

I turn back around and look over at Nash, who looks back at me, and we share the same what the hell just happened look, but he doesn’t slow down until we are far enough away.

“What the fuck did you do?” I scream at Anna as we arrive at the heliport.

“What was required,” she answers coldly.

“You blew up that entire event.”

“And?” She shrugs as she starts to walk to where the helicopter is waiting for us.

“Now isn’t the time,” Nash says, grabbing my arm as Anna walks off.

“She murdered all those people. There were so many innocent people,” I yell at him.

He nods. “Just get into the helicopter, we will discuss what happened when we are safely in the sky.”

40

NASH

What the fuck just happened?

Anna just blew up the entire Yucatan Cartel, and the next generation, too. In one fell swoop, she destroyed an entire dynasty. Elena’s right, so many innocent lives were taken tonight, and I know when it comes to war there will always be collateral damage, but it doesn’t make it any easier when it happens. It’s a thirty-minute flight from Tulum to Cancun, and Elena hasn’t looked at Anna once. I quickly text Brooks to give him a heads-up, and he’s shocked too. I’ve also been checking the news to see what they are saying about the explosion. The initial reports coming in are saying it was a gas leak. I’m not sure how they are going to be able to swing that when everyone knows that tonight’s event was full of the cartel. Who the hell is going to take over now that everyone is gone?

Once we land, Elena storms off the helicopter and walks over the tarmac toward where the plane is waiting for us.

I jog after her. “Wait up,” I call out to her.

“I’m so fucking angry, Nash. You’re going to have to give me a moment,” she says, continuing to power walk.

“And I will, but just try to hold in your temper when you get on the plane because there are eleven scared women on there, and if you storm in with guns blazing it’s only going to freak them out even more.”

This makes Elena slow down. “I’m glad the cartel has been blown off this earth, but …” She looks up at me with a pained expression.

“I get it. I’m not saying it’s right what Anna did but …”

She shakes her head. “If you say it’s for the greater good, I’ll fucking shoot you.”

I hold up my hands. Brooks and Sophie walk down the stairs and join us on the tarmac. “Are you okay?” Sophie asks Elena as she looks her over to check that she wasn’t hurt in the blast.

“Physically I’m fine,” she says through gritted teeth.

“And here I thought I was in the presence of Persephone, the most feared assassin,” Anna says, walking up behind me. Did Elena tell her about Persephone? “Didn’t think you’d get so bent out of shape over what happened. You know it was my mission. I did what I was told to do. Four years of being undercover with those lowlifes and now I am finally free. We should be celebrating their deaths,” she says happily.

Elena doesn’t look happy. “Of course, I’m celebrating their deaths, just not the innocent lives.”

“And you think everyone that attended that event was innocent?” Anna scoffs at her.

“The people that worked the event were innocent, I sure as hell don’t think any of the guests were,” Elena bites back.

Anna chuckles. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. They were all employed by the cartel, they are all cousins and friends of the people inside there. Pedro was so paranoid that someone would try to murder him that he started his own event and catering company and made sure everyone was vetted to be cartel sympathizers. That way he knew the chances of someone gettinghim were next to none. Guess he was wrong.” She chuckles. Brooks and I look over at each other, this girl might be crazy.

“That may be so, but how many of them were loyal because they needed to provide for their families,” Elena bites back.

Anna rolls her eyes. “What’s done is done. I know I’ll sleep well tonight knowing I took out one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico. Also knowing they will no longer be stealing and selling women. That they won’t be murdering people tonight. That they won’t be trafficking drugs to America.” And with that, she passes Elena with a shoulder shove and stomps up the stairs. Brooks follows her.

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