Page 8 of Emerald

“You think I’m the kind of girl that is going to sit around a pool drinking Pina Coladas and getting massages?”

“Wouldn’t hurt to try?” Damon suggests.

“Does this place have a gun range?” I turn and ask Brooks.

He shakes his head.

“Where the hell do you practice?”

“Give it a week, Elena …” Brooks starts before I cut him off.

“It’s Ellie now,” I say, shaking my blonde locks.

Brooks rolls his eyes at my theatrics and lets out a huff. “You’re safe here, I assure you. Have at least one week of being normal before you return to being the best female assassin in Europe.”

“Only Europe? Gee, I think I’m slipping.”

Again, Brooks grinds his teeth, irritated with me.

“Ellie, stand the hell down and take the week off to sit by the pool, drink Pina Coladas, and bond with your new fricken family. You’ve earned it, okay?” Brooks growls at me.

Oh.

Daddy Brooks has come out using his military command voice. That’s hot.Don’t think Sophie would like you to think like that.True, she already hates me, flirting with her man will not go down well.

“What if I don’t know how?” I ask softly, hating that I’m showing even the smallest of vulnerabilities to these guys. Ican still kill them in two seconds, by the time they realize it’s already too late.

The guys stare at me as if I have sprouted a second head.

“Looks like you’re learning a new skill this week,” Brooks says with a grin before he turns and storms out of my cabin with Damon hot on his heels.

3

ELENA

After my early morning visit from the guys, I jump into the shower and clear my head. I need to get my game face on as it looks like Sophie has questions for me and isn’t going to stop until I answer them. If I’m honest, I’m nervous about what this morning will be like especially as I’m sure Max and Grace won’t be down for breakfast any time soon. It’s going to be me, the Clark family, and Sergei. I’m not sure yet which way his loyalties will be swinging as he seems rather close with Grace.

You are a lethal assassin, Elena. You can handle the most dangerous people in the world, this family will be a piece of cake.

See, that’s what I’m afraid of, this family and the warmth and forgiveness they have shown me already. I think that might be worse than coldness and hatred.

Stepping out of the garden cabin, I follow the path through the gardens, past the pool, and toward the open glass doors where I can hear everyone congregating. Sucking in a deep breath, I try to center myself before taking the last couple of steps into domestica.

“Ellie,” Elizabeth, Grace’s mother, is the first to spot me. She rushes over and pulls me into a tight hug. “How did you sleep last night, sweetheart?”

“Great. One of the best sleeps I’ve had in a while,” I lie to her.

“That’s good. You probably needed it. And now that you are safe it’s easier to relax,” she adds.

I nod in agreement. Little does she know I haven’t relaxed in five years, but last night’s sleep would have been the closest I’ve come.

“Tomas has cooked up a Frittata,” she says, gesturing to him in the large kitchen. “Mateo’s sliced up some fruit, too.” She points to the large bowl of fruit salad. “There’s fresh bread and cereal.”

“And bacon, don’t forget bacon,” Frank, Grace’s father, exclaims as he looks up from his newspaper at the breakfast table. Elizabeth chuckles and looks adoringly at him.

Is that what normal, loving parents look like?

“Yes, bacon and more hot food will be coming once Brooks and Damon are finished in the gym,” Tomas calls out from the kitchen.

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