40. Nash
40
NASH
W hat 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 getting him 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.
“Are you okay?” Sophie asks Elena.
“I get the mission, I do, but I wasn’t expecting that,” Elena explains to Sophie.
Sophie looks up at me, and I nod, letting her know she’s right the explosion was huge.
“I don’t think you’re going to convince Anna to feel an ounce of sorrow for anyone caught in the crosshairs of this cartel war. But I’m proud of you for caring for the people that were,” she says.
Elena looks up at her with surprise. “You are?”
“I am. That’s called empathy, and here you thought you had lost your humanity. You haven’t,” she tells her, giving her shoulder a squeeze as she passes.
“Come here,” I say, opening my arms for her, she rushes into them. “I’m proud of you, too,” I say, pressing kisses to her temple. “You have eleven women inside that are pretty darn thankful for you right now, and you’re about to bring Anna home to her father.”
“Thank you,” she says, hugging me tightly.
“We better get the hell out of here.” I walk her up the stairs of the plane.
The girls are all asleep. Tensions are still high between Elena and Anna, but Sophie is buffering the two of them.
“You can’t sleep either?” Brooks asks, joining me.
“Processing what happened tonight,” I tell him.
“What the fuck was that about? A fucking bomb?”
“Right? Guess it was pretty affective, it’s wiped out I’m assuming every cartel member.”
Brooks nods. “Is Elena, okay?”
“Yeah, she’s strong, plus she has me now.” I grin stupidly.
“I’m happy for you, man. It was a shock that’s for sure, but seeing the two of you over the past couple of days together. You make a good team. She brings you out of your grumpiness and you give her the support she needs.”
“I appreciate that, man.”
“This might be the start of something, your new life together,” he teases.
“That might be the true test, normal life.” I grin.
“True. Elena has been a weapon for all these years, her coming to Mexico was supposed to be her vacation.” He chuckles. “You know what it’s like, it’s hard to go back to civilian life.” He’s right there. “Something weird happened earlier, and I haven’t said anything to Sophie, but when Anna stepped on board the girls freaked out.”
“They might be used to seeing her as part of the cartel.”
“That’s what I thought, but Anna didn’t look so happy to see them either,” Brooks says.
“Really?” This surprises me.
“Maybe I’m overthinking things,” he says, taking a sip of his beer.
“Or maybe you’re not.” I raise a brow at him.
“Thinking we might need to keep more of an eye on her than we thought,” Brooks suggests.
“Agreed. Just until the dust settles, everyone is still in shock so they might not be acting how they normally would.”
“Maybe. I’m just glad we were able to find these girls. Working in this world, every day I’m disgusted by the depths human depravity will sink to,” he says, giving me a solemn smile. “I’m glad to have you back on my team.” He clinks his beer against mine.
Fifteen hours later, we are landing in Ibiza, where we get on another helicopter and head to the Clark’s home. When we land there are a bunch of unfamiliar people waiting for us.
“You’re home.” A man rushes up and pulls Elena in a hug. Who the fuck does he think he is? Elena hugs him tightly. Then I see one of the Clark sisters come up behind him and rub his back, she gives Elena a nod and a smile. Oh. That must be her brother. Ease up, Nash. What? It’s been a stressful twenty-four hours, my nerves are shot. Suddenly, I hear an older man wail beside us. He starts speaking Russian, and I watch as Anna and her father reunite. “Anna?” Elena’s brother asks, I think she said his name was Max.
“Yes,” she answers, then his eyes land on me and his brows pull together.
“Who is this?” he asks Elena, his jaw ticking with unreleased tension. Didn’t Brooks say he was an assassin, too, for the Bratva? Shit. Elena spins around and puts her hand in mine, the woman behind him gasps as she pulls me toward her brother.
“This is Nash Madden. I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for him,” she explains. That isn’t true, but the way her brother is looking at me like he wants to kill me, I’m going to assume it’s her way of diffusing the situation.
“You must be Max, Elena’s brother, it’s an honor to meet you. She talked about you a lot,” I say, holding out my hand to him. He takes it and tries to crush it, but I don’t let him.
“Why are you touching him?” Max asks Elena while still glaring at me.
“Would you cut out the overprotective brother bullshit, I could kill Nash in two point five seconds or less. I can handle myself,” Elena argues with him.
“I know, but you’re still touching him. Why?” Max presses.
Elena rolls her eyes and the pretty woman behind Max, I think it’s Grace, giggles as if all this is funny. “He’s my … um … Nash what are we?” Elena turns to me.
“You’re mine and I’m yours,” I tell her, looking down at those sea foam green eyes as a wide smile lights up her face.
“That’s it,” she agrees, turning back to her brother, who looks even more pissed off.
“Babe, stop.” Grace tugs on his arm.
“The man is old enough to be her father,” he snips.
“No, I’m not.”
“Max!” Elena warns her brother.
“You’re not dating my sister. You’re not good enough for her.” He points in my direction.
“Max!” Elena warns again as she lets go of my hand and takes a couple of steps toward her brother. “I will not allow you to insult Nash. He is one of the most caring, patient, loving, and truly good guys I have ever met. He makes me happy. I thought you were over-protective, he is much worse, but I know that’s because he cares about me, not because he can get something from me. He makes me feel more like a human than the monster that I am. You should know what that feels like,” she states, her eyes flicking to Grace.
The hard stone in my chest cracks open hearing her words.
“Grace is my wife.”
“Because of me!” she yells.
“I don’t understand how you went out on a mission and came back in love,” he says, throwing his hands up in the air.
“I don’t know, Max, how do you? Wasn’t Grace your mark? Weren’t you supposed to keep an eye on her?” She glares at him.
“This is about you, not me,” Max argues.
“Babe, I know Nash,” Grace tells her husband.
“You do?” He looks between his wife and me, still with murder in his eyes.
“He used to work with Brooks and Sophie. You’re ex-military, right?” Grace asks.
I nod. “SEALs.” Max’s eyes still narrow on me.
“You like Brooks?”
“I tolerate him.” Max huffs.
Grace shakes her head. “I think it’s great you’ve found someone,” Grace says to Elena. “And you’re not a monster by the way. I won’t hear you talk about yourself like that,” she tells Elena. “Welcome to the family, Nash.”
“Thanks,” I say, giving her a smile.
“Max, please, he means a lot to me,” Elena tells him.
“Fine. But if you fuck it up, I’ll kill you and no one will ever find you,” Max warns, pointing his finger in my direction.
“If I fuck up, I think your sister will beat you to it,” I bite back. He glares at me before giving me a nod and walking away to join Anna and her father.
“Sorry about him,” Elena says, biting her lip.
“He’s being a big brother, I get it.”
“You have a sister?” Elena asks.
I nod. “I have a younger sister and brother.”
“How did I not know this?” she says, shaking her head in disbelief.
“It never came up.”
“What about your parents, are they still together?” she asks.
“Yeah, still together, happily married.”
“Aw, that’s cute.” She smirks.
“When things die down, I’d like you to meet them.”
Elena stills. Was that too much? She just said all those nice things about me. Did I read that all wrong?
“You would like me to meet your parents?”
“Only if you want to,” I add.
“You think I’m worthy of that?” Elena asks.
I cup her face. “You are worth everything to me,” I tell her.
She swallows hard. “I’d like that.” Thank fuck. I lean in and kiss her.
Someone whistles breaking up our kiss. “Mackenzie,” Elena squeaks as she launches herself into the other Clark sister’s arms.
“You made it,” Mackenzie says, hugging her, “I was so worried when I heard about the bomb …” Her words tumble out a hundred miles an hour.
“I know. It was a shock. But I’m so glad to be home.”
“Me too.”
I would never have thought that these two would be so close, they seem like opposites. Mackenzie, I remember, was the straight-laced doctor, trying to save the world. She and Sophie never got on, they were always arguing on the phone.
“And this must be Nash, nice to see you again,” she says, holding out her hand.
“Nice to see you again, too, Mackenzie.”
“He’s so hot,” she whispers to Elena, but I don’t think she realizes how loud she is. But the laugh that falls from Elena’s lips fills me with such happiness. She is so much lighter around Mackenzie, she must really trust her. I notice she still is guarded around Sophie and Grace, but with this sister nothing but light.
“Kenzie!” Elena giggles.
“Sorry, I used my outside voice, didn’t I?”
“I appreciate the compliment.” I smirk.
“Urgh. That smile. I get why you fell for him. You don’t happen to have a single brother, do you?” she asks.
“I do,” which makes Mackenzie light up, “back in the States.” Her face falls.
“Just my luck.” She sighs.