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She held up a hand to stop him from saying any more. And to stop herself from punching him in his fucking face. Since that wouldn’t be fair of her simply because she was hurting, the restraint was necessary. That didn’t mean he got to walk away without taking some of the blame.
“I’ve never done something like this before, Jackson. It was wild and exciting, and I loved it, until you ruined it. So, maybe we should just leave it as an experience for us to remember and go our separate ways.”
His brows furrowed in frustration. “I’m not done with you, Katrina.”
“Well, I’m done for now. Call me when you get your head out of your ass.” She walked a few steps, then turned to glance over her shoulder at him. “You know, for a guy that lives on an island known for its kinky shit, you seem to have some very rigid rules you follow. Be careful, or it just might end up biting you in the ass.”
With that, she turned and walked out into the night, leaving him behind.
Chapter Six
Trinity sighed in contentment as she leaned back in the lounge chair on the deck of her suite, propping her feet up on another chair as she enjoyed the view of the setting sun. As the fiery ball began to disappear into the sparkling water, it cast a brilliant display of vibrant colors shooting across the sky.
Despite the relaxing setting, troubling thoughts invaded her mind. It had been three days since she’d last seen Jackson. Though she had just met him, she’d felt an inextricable connection with him. She had thought they had started something exciting and special, but apparently, she’d been wrong since she hadn’t heard from him since she’d walked out of that alley.
Three days equaled three strikes in her book.
So, clearly, they were done.
She had driven back to the resort after leaving him behind in the alley and had taken a hot shower, cleansing his scent and seed from her body. She only wished it was that easy to simply wipe him from her mind. Before crawling into bed, she’d left the light in the bathroom on so she wouldn’t wake in the dark.
That was something she’d started doing ever since her last mission. At first, she’d had to leave every light in her bedroom on just to be able to close her eyes without panicking, but she had gradually reduced it to a nightlight. It was a weakness she was working on completely breaking a habit of, but she wasn’t sure if or when that would actually happen.
When she’d woken the morning after her interlude with Jackson, her shitty mood from the night before had followed her into the daylight. Determined to shake it off, she had put on her bikini and made her way down to the beach where she had spent most of the day soaking in the rays and turning her skin an eye-catching deep, golden bronze.
The resort catered to the wealthy and famous, so she wasn’t surprised to see a few well-known actors and other celebrities enjoying the beach along with her. She had garnered her share of attention from men of all ages, both single and married. She had been asked out for drinks by a beautiful woman with striking red hair and had even gotten a dinner invitation from a lesser member of the Saudi Arabian royal family.
Alas, none of them had interested her, so she’d had to pass. Amusing herself with a little light flirting at the hotel bar had helped pass the time, but she had gone back to her suite alone.
When she arrived back in her room, she’d taken a hot shower, then indulged in a nap. After she’d woken, she checked her secured email to find that Tara had sent all the files on the original construction of the Palace Resort and Spa along with all the updated files on the new construction site that she’d requested. She had rolled her eyes when she noted that Tara had also attached a file on Jackson Stone.
Leave it to T-rex. She was better than a Google search.
Unable to help herself, Trinity had read the file on Jackson first. He had grown up on the island in an alternative household with his mother and two fathers, then he’d joined the army once he had turned eighteen.
The file included information on his time in the military and about his years on the Crescent Island Police Force. What she’d surmised from the information in his file was that he was a good cop with an almost spotless record. Normally, that would have made her suspicious, but since he was such a tight ass about the rules, she figured that was simply due to his dedication to his work.
He had an eye for detail and a meticulous nature that ensured he closed cases and saw that justice was served.
She noted that the men and women under his command seemed to slightly fear him, even though they deeply respected him. From everything she read about him, she surmised that Jackson was a decent man, a dedicated cop, and had very little personal life. It didn’t surprise her, since he seemed to suck at relationships.
Not that she was an expert.
When she was done reading the file, she closed it and moved on to look at the information on the two different construction projects. Halfway through the information, she took a quick break and ordered room service from the resort’s main restaurant, Sinful, and was unsurprised when the food had been excellent. After several more hours of work, she decided to sleep on the data she had gathered to see if the puzzle pieces of information fit themselves together overnight.
The next day, she continued studying all of the construction materials. To help her sort out her thoughts, she connected her laptop to the printer in the office located in the suite and printed out several key documents. Back in the living room, she had taped up several papers so she could compare them side by side.
She’d gone to bed with sorrow in her heart when she hadn’t heard from Jackson. Determined to forget about him, she had gone to sleep early. She’d tossed and turned for a few hours then gotten up to take a swim in her private pool to work off the annoyance she was feeling. She swam laps until she was completely exhausted, took another shower, then fell into bed.
But thoughts of Jackson had followed her into her dreams.
When she woke, she was shocked that half the day was already gone. Once again, she ordered room service and got back to work. After several more hours, she finally found what she was looking for. Now, she had a basic idea of what was going on with the new construction site, but she would need to take a closer look to make sure she was right.
If she was right, it was going to take some more digging to figure out exactly what the problem was and who was involved. Deciding that could wait until tomorrow, she took a swim in the pool, then placed another order with room service. She promised herself that she would quit hiding out in her hotel room and go enjoy herself on the island the following day.
The sun had almost faded into the horizon when she heard her phone signal. From the specific tone, she knew that it was the alarm she had rigged on the entrance to her suite. It was too soon for room service, and they wouldn’t come in without knocking anyway.
No, this was someone entering without permission.