Page 30 of Cross Point

And then she whispered his name.

Only his name.

The soft sound was filled with such warmth and wonder that he snuggled her in closer to him, not wanting them to be separated even by a few inches.

She was his now.

And he swore that he would do everything within his power to keep her.

Chapter Eleven

“Son of a bitch…”

Jackson was seething with jealousy and anger as he pulled up to the front entrance of the Palace Resort and Spa on his motorcycle. He was just in time to watch Trinity get into her sporty little convertible with none other than the resort’s owner himself, Maxwell King.

The last few days had been brutal.

After Trinity had left him standing in the alley, he had gone home to find that sleep had eluded him. He had no clue how things had gotten so screwed up after the mind-blowing sex they’d shared. Okay, so he could see how she had a point that he had gotten a little uptight after they had gotten caught, but still.

He hadn’t freaked out.

Exactly.

He’d finally fallen into a fitful sleep around five in the morning and woke back up a few hours later when his alarm had gone off. He’d spent the following day immersed in work, trying not to think about her, but it had been nearly impossible. He had finally given in and had planned to call her that night but had found himself involved in a clusterfuck of epic proportions instead.

A bunch of teenagers had taken advantage of the beautiful weather and arranged a party out on the beach. There had been the usual fare of underage drinking and smoking, but a recent flood of a new designer drug on the island had made this particular party a deadly one.

The drug was called Euphoria, a small blue pill with a stylized “4” stamped on it. The drug had appeared a few months ago in Miami and was quickly spreading throughout the rest of the state. Like ecstasy, Euphoria had a dreamlike effect that made it attractive for stupid teens to use.

A boy named Terry Clark had been the host of the party while his parents had been on the mainland for the night, and he had bought a large quantity of drugs from another kid, George Timmins. Terry had distributed the drugs around to the partygoers, with fatal consequences. Several teens had overdosed, and one poor girl, Amanda Murray, had died.

The island community was in an uproar about the death of the young girl, and there were still a few other teens in the hospital that they hoped would still see graduation in a few months.

He had spent the last few days dealing with the fallout of that party. There were meetings with the chief of police and the mayor, who happened to be husband and wife. Jackson would rather have a hot poker shoved into his eye than be stuck in a meeting when his chief and the mayor had a difference of opinions, so it had not been a fun way to spend his time.

The mayor wanted to give the community full disclosure about the drug because she felt more people were at risk. The Chief had demanded to keep key information private since their goal was to track down whoever was bringing the shit on the island and put an end to the whole business.

Ass still sore from the kicking he received from his chief, Jackson had gone back to the station after the meeting and had lit a fire under the detectives in charge of the case. He had two of his best detectives in charge of the case and knew that Carlos and Noah would track down the supplier.

He just hoped there were no more fatalities until they did.

Jackson was fucking tired which wasn’t surprising since he’d only gotten a few hours of sleep over the past few days. Besides the drug case, several others were active in their department. He helped his detectives and officers out whenever they needed it, but sometimes he felt overwhelmed by their inquiries and requests.

He’d just managed to clear enough work off his desk to leave the office when he’d overheard a few of his officers talking about the attempt on Trinity’s life last night. Before he knew what was happening, he’d had the officer up against a wall, demanding the details about what had happened to her.

Cursing, he’d rushed out of the station and jumped on his motorcycle, needing to see for himself that she was all right. What he didn’t expect was to find her going for a fucking joyride with the playboy millionaire hotel owner.

“Katrina!” Jackson called out as he pulled up behind her.

Her head turned, but a big pair of sunglasses hid her eyes from view. That didn’t stop him from getting her message when the little hellcat raised her hand and shot up her middle finger at him, wordlessly telling him to fuck off. He sat there in a momentary stupor as she put the car in gear and took off.

What the fuck?

He revved his engine and took off, following them all the way to the marina while he silently seethed. When he pulled into the parking lot, Trinity and Maxwell were already out of the car. For a brief moment, he had the desire to shoot Maxwell as he saw the man wrap his arm around her waist and kiss her before heading into the office, leaving her alone outside.

Trinity stood with her legs braced apart, holding her elongated black case in her hand while she waited for Jackson to stomp over. His eyes practically burned her alive with the fury in them. So, he was pissed. Good. Although a traitorous part of her was glad to see him again, she was furious that he had disappeared on her.

Speaking of…what the fuck did he have to be pissed about?

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