Page 7 of Emerald

Pretty cool nickname if I do say so myself. I’ve heard the rumors.

“Do not underestimate Sophie either. There’s a reason she took on the Bratva like she did,” Brooks states.

“Which was utterly foolish. So, I will take on board your warnings about Sophie. Please know this, my talent is blending in with a group of people and becoming what they want me to be. I’m a chameleon, and my latest character is Ellie Clark,” I explain to him as I twirl my long blonde hair and give him an American accent.

Damon and Brooks' eyes widen as I settle into my new body.

“Freaky,” Damon mumbles.

“I will not have you playing with those people in that house. They have been through enough. This isn’t a game for them. This is their life,” Brooks argues.

“You think all this is a game?” I ask, waving my hand all over me. “You think I chose this life for myself? That I woke up one morning and thought, ‘Oh goodie, I’m going to be a murderer and a prostitute’,” I argue back.

“That’s not what he’s saying.” Damon tries to defuse the tension between Brooks and me.

“There was no option for me to be anything else once the CIA got their claws into me. The choice was to send my family to jail or help them put bad people away. I gave up my dream of becoming a ballerina for them. So don’t you lecture me on playing fucking games,” I say, pointing my manicured finger at him.

“You’re right. You didn’t ask for any of this,” he says.

This surprises me. I wasn’t expecting him to apologize. I should have guessed it, his profile says he’s an honorable man.

“But neither did those people inside. They were thrust into situations they were not equipped for. At least you had skills to defend yourself.”

My stomach turns at the thought of what those two and all the other jewels had to go through. I should have protected thembetter. A tear catches me off-guard and slides down my cheek. I brush it away, embarrassed that they saw that.

“I didn’t know at the time. They were not my mission.”

“I understand …” Brooks says, nodding at me, “… but Zoe and Grace don’t, and I think you need to talk to them about why you were there and didn’t help them. It might go a long way in healing Grace and Zoe’s wounds and will stop Sophie’s attitude toward you. They already know you’re CIA because of Moscow. They were listening right along with us.”

He’s right. I owe them that. We have a lot of things to piece together.

“It’s only day one. We can go slow,” Damon adds.

Brooks turns and raises a brow at his friend. “You think Sophie is going to go slow?”

“Sophie might need to learn it’s not all about her,” I pipe up.

“Well damn,” Damon states.

Brooks bursts out laughing. “You two are either going to become the best of friends or kill each other.”

Can’t see us being friends but killing each other? Yeah, that seems more like the two of us.

“We’re sisters now and sisters fight, or so I’m told,” I say with a shrug.

“The agency won’t allow you to kill someone because they’re asking too many questions, or that they are annoying the hell out of you. Just so we’re clear,” Damon adds.

My eyes narrow on Damon, and he shrinks under my glare at his comment. “Now that’s sorted, was there anything else you need to fill me in on?”

Damon clears his throat. “Other than Dimitri believes you are both truly dead. That is all for the moment. And they have advised me to give you both time to recover before joining the team.”

Recover? I don’t need to recover. I need to find my best friend Anna. “Never had a holiday before. What does one do when they are away from the office?”

Brooks' eyes narrow on me. And Damon’s brows pull together, unsure if I’m joking or not.

“As if I’m going to sit back and relax. Five years of living with a gun permanently aimed at my temple doesn’t afford me a lot of time to relax,” I explain to them.

“Maybe you should, it might help,” Damon adds.

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