Page 3 of Trial By Fire
Looking back, Trish sat on the bed, staring out her window as she thought back to that night. They had a last-minute call out for a case that resulted in a shooting. When she showed up, she had a few bruises where she’d gone hand to hand with one of the perps they had surprised in their mini raid.
She had arrived at Jackson’s roughly two hours later than planned and could tell a difference when he saw her. He took care of her, checked her bruises and cuts, had his roommate Brad stitch one of the cuts up for her since she didn’t go to the hospital and then when Brad left for his date, they had theirs at his place instead of going out.
When they had cuddled after an intense bout of sex, which wasn’t unusual for them, they small talked. Jackson had made a comment about wishing she wasn’t in such a dangerous profession because he worried about her constantly and she told him that she wasn’t quitting her job. She loved what she did, and she was needed.
The next day, he sent her a text that he would be shipping out for a while and that it was best if they took a break and saw other people. That was the last time she heard from him. She had tried to reach out via email and text several times but never got a response back, so she gave up. When she saw him about town, she looked the other way. She gave him what he wanted.
He broke her heart. She saw him at the bar with one of the nurses from the local hospital a while back, shortly after they broke up. She’d heard from one of the guys on the force they were dating now, so she guessed he found a nice, safe chick.
“Earth to Trish. You ready?”
“Yeah. Let’s go have a few drinks. I need to get out of my head after this last case. I have a full weekend to recover.”
CHAPTER
FOUR
Jackson, Brad, and two other men from their team arrived at Bernard’s to see it already hopping with the crowd and music. He walked in and looked around to see if he recognized anyone there. So far so good. Maybe it would be a decent night. Psycho nurse wasn’t there, and neither were any of the other conquests he’d had in the last two years.
Following Brad, Jim, and Connor over to the bar, he found a seat that allowed him and the guys to survey the bar without putting their backs to the open floor. Bernard’s was a popular bar that was owned by a former Green Beret. Lots of military boys and girls came to the club to unwind. The club was also the hot spot for chicks who wanted to bang a military guy.
“Holy fucking bat balls! That chick is fucking hot!” Jim Peters murmured beside him.
Jackson looked in the direction that Jim was looking in and nearly fell out of his seat. On the dance floor was Trish and her best friend Lola. They were dancing and laughing. Trish had her head back laughing at something Lola had said. Not a care in the world.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say she’s off limits, Peters. If I’m not mistaken, that’s Detective Trish Malone. She and the big man here dated for a bit a couple of years ago before he decided to go ghost on her,” Brad outed Jackson, patting him on the back.
“Do we need to leave?” Connor Smith asked, standing up, knowing the whole story.
“No,” Jackson said abruptly, looking away, trying to get his dick to stand down. Now the fucker would show attention without needing assistance.
“Mmm, was that soldier standing at attention for me, tiger?”
Fuck! The last person in the world he wanted to see.
“No, Valarie. What the fuck are you doing here?” Jackson asked through gritted teeth as he stood up to leave.
“To see you, of course. If I remember correctly, we had a thing going until you ghosted me. Silly boy!” Valarie Jenkins commented as she sidled up to Jackson, running her finger from his chest to the top of his jeans.
“There’s a reason I haven’t contacted you, Valarie. I fucked you once. Forgot about you the minute I walked out of the alleyway that night. I am not, nor have I been, interested in anything more with you than a quick meaningless fuck. Now, since I know you’re here, I’m leaving so I don’t have a bad night.”
Jackson pushed past Valarie, ignoring the gasp from the woman who screeched and stomped her foot. He halted when Brad put his hand on his arm.
“Dude let’s just take that table over there. I’ll let Gomez know what is going on. Maybe he can have the bouncer keep an eye on her to keep her away from us.”
Jackson stared at Brad for a few moments before nodding. He headed to the table that Brad had pointed out, followed by Jim and Connor. Sitting down at the table, he put his back tothe wall, looking out at the dance floor, ignoring the daggers that Valarie was sending his way.
Brad returned shortly after he’d walked away with a pitcher of beer and four glasses for the men. Sitting down, Brad disconnected the line of sight that Valarie had of Jackson.
“The bouncers are going to keep an eye on her. Apparently, she’s a problem child they are well aware of. She just hasn’t done anything to warrant them banning her from the bar just yet.”
“What’s the deal with her? She’s hot!” Jim cracked, looking over towards her, winking.
“Eh, if you like sloppy seconds! Have a go,” Jackson fired back, shaking his head at the new kid.
“Sloppy seconds?” Jim laughed, looking over at Jackson.
“Yeah, seems when the big man here was going through his broken heart phase, he fucked everything that looked his way, trying to fuck the memory of the one he let get away out of his head. Valarie was one of them. She seems to think that there’s something there and keeps chasing our esteem team leader thinking she’ll change his mind, and he’ll cave.” Connor laughed, throwing a peanut at Jackson when the man flipped him off.
