Page 1 of Cross Point

Chapter One

“I need a favor.”

Hearing her friend’s words as soon as she’d answered her phone made Katrina “Trinity” Cross let out a heavy sigh. No greeting, no warning. Just…a favor. Coming from this particular friend, a favor could mean anything from flying overseas to take out the dictator of a small country to leading a rescue mission to the middle of the Congo. No matter what it was, it probably meant something that she wasn’t going to like.

Staring out at the dreary sight of the Chicago street outside her apartment window, she desperately wished for some sun and warmth. Instead, winter seemed unwilling to completely release its hold on the city, blanketing it with cold, icy rain.

And this phone call did nothing to improve her mood.

It made her instantly regret answering it. She really should give being antisocial a try. Fuck it, that wouldn’t work for her. She normally liked interacting with people a lot, but dealing with T-rex was a whole different story.

Trinity sighed again. “You know, every time I hear those words from you, someone ends up trying to kill me.”

Her friend and fellow IAD agent Tara “T-rex” Toshi had the damn nerve to laugh at that. Even from miles away in Las Vegas, T-rex was still a fucking menace.

“You still can’t be mad about Prague.”

“You ruined my damn jacket! Do you know how hard it is to find buttery-soft, red leather in that style? Impossible. I know because it took me fucking forever to find it in the first place. I shouldn’t have blocked that damn knife for you.”

“You’re blaming me for that? Blame the fucker who tried to slit my throat!”

Trinity sighed. Now, she was just being petty. “Okay, I guess that was worth getting stabbed.”

Tara chuckled, then said, “I guess I never did thank you for taking that hit for me, but you were too busy bitching about the stupid jacket at the time. By the way, I still have it.”

“What? The jacket? Seriously?”

“Hell, yeah. You were right. That jacket is the fucking bomb. You wanted to toss it, but I got it repaired for you. I was waiting until the next time I saw you to give it to you, but who the fuck knows when that will be. I’ll send it to you. The sleeves now have reinforced protective patches on them. I also had them add a protective lining inside, so you can block all the blades you want.”

Trinity laughed. “Thanks.”

“So, about that favor…”

“Fuck me. I’m hanging up now.”

“Don’t!” Tara chuckled. “Listen, it’s not as bad as you think. It’s a totally innocuous situation I need you to look into. No one will try to kill you.” Pausing for a heartbeat or two, she added, “At least, I don’t think they will.”

“Gee, how positively encouraging,” Trinity said dryly.

Both women worked for IAD, a specialized intelligence agency and counterterrorist task force that very few people even knew existed. The International Alliance of Defense was a transnational covert branch in the intelligence community with agents from all over the world. Government agencies regarded the members of IAD with awe, not to mention a great amount of envy. Not that it didn’t piss off those other agencies when they had to defer to IAD agents if the situation called for it.

Then again, they didn’t have much choice.

If IAD were called in to handle a situation, everyone else needed to step the fuck back. That was simply the way it was.

The members of NATO had formed IAD with a policy of “get it done, no matter the cost,” making the agents the ultimate warriors of global warfare. Because of that, IAD handled their own problems and discourses internally, and that was just the way they liked it.

They were the elite, and only the best were chosen to serve.

For the highly skilled members of IAD, the autonomy they were given was a dream come true since most of the agents had been disillusioned with the rules, regulations, and red tape of the regular intelligence branches. Only the highest, most qualified candidates were chosen for IAD, and they were given a kind of worldwide immunity for their actions. With that independence came great responsibility, and that was something none of the members of IAD took lightly.

That was one of the things Trinity loved most about her job…freedom.

Born Katrina Briars, Trinity was an interesting mix of contradictions. At thirty-one years old, she had been through a lot in her life. She considered herself a tomboy at heart, but with her long, light-brown hair, intense hazel eyes highlighted with long, thick lashes, and full pouty lips, she looked more like a supermodel or an actress.

Even so, she would rather play with her guns than go shopping.

An adrenaline junkie to the core, she had found her calling in covert work. Growing up in Chicago, she had never known her father and had been forced to deal with her raging alcoholic mother until she was thrown in jail when Trinity was only five.

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