Page 74 of Cross Point

“You’re thinking of Rio.”

“Ah, that’s right. Now that bomb was a thing of beauty…” Finn sighed.

Jackson stared at the other man with an incredulous look. “What is wrong with you?”

Finn chuckled. “I don’t have time to make a list for you.”

Trinity blocked out the banter and focused on the bomb in front of her. Too much was at stake for her to make any mistakes. She took the blade in her right hand and held up the wire she needed to cut with the left. She knew it was the right one, but still. Anytime she dealt with a bomb, there was a second of hesitation before making the cut. All she needed to do was take a deep breath, then cut.

“You aren’t done yet?” Nikita demanded. “What the hell are you guys waiting for?”

“She took that bomb apart as easy as Legos,” Tony praised.

Trinity gritted her teeth together. That certainly got her competitive side riled.

Three…

Two…

One…

Snip.

The clock on the bomb stopped with two minutes and forty-six seconds to spare. She breathed out slowly in relief. “Disarmed!”

“Aw, shit. I’m last,” Finn complained. “Bomb three, disarmed!”

Maxwell grabbed onto Trinity and kissed her with a passion that rivaled the heat of the sun. It seared her brain and set her body on fire. Before she could reengage her brain, Jackson tore her out of Maxwell’s arms and gave her another mind-blowing kiss.

She threw her head back with a laugh, glad to be alive. She noticed Jackson’s friends studying her like she was a wild animal, while her own friends smiled at her fondly.

“I should kick your asses for staying,” Jackson said gruffly, holding onto her like she was a lifeline as he spoke to his friends. “But thanks.”

“We don’t leave a man behind, Stone. You should know better,” Carlos scolded. “Next time, try to have your shoot-outs when I’m not wearing a suit. I liked this one, and I think I tore a fucking seam.”

Trinity grinned. “I like your friends, Jackson.”

Carlos laughed. “You guys certainly know how to spice up a party. Stone, I have a feeling your lady is going to keep you and Maxwell on your toes.”

Jackson sighed. “You have no idea.”

Epilogue

The days after the shoot-out were filled with procedural bullshit that had Trinity’s nerves grating. Much to the Crescent Island Police Department’s annoyance, the IAD agents had disappeared with Pamela Riviera and the surviving cartel members, leaving Trinity alone to deal with the aftermath.

Tony and Finn had escaped the chaos, flying back to Chicago to start an official investigation on the Azules cartel using the financial information provided by the blonde who was all but singing for a deal.

Too bad for her she wasn’t going to get one.

Since Nikita had no patience to sit through an interrogation or questioning by the police, she’d headed home to Breakers. Before she left, she explained everything she had discovered about the Azules cartel to Trinity, Jackson, and Maxwell. She also handed over a flash drive containing copies of all the information she had gathered.

Resigned to her fate, Trinity sat through a long ass debriefing with Jackson’s boss, Chief of Police Henry Simmons. She liked the gruff older man as much as she enjoyed his wife, Addie. The only problem was the damn man wouldn’t let shit go. She really couldn’t blame him, though. It was his island to protect and, in his position, she would probably do the same.

After a few hours of questioning, she finally gave in and decided to come clean, disclosing exactly who she, Finn, and Tony worked for. She left Nikita’s name out of the mix since she was technically retired, but Trinity figured the chief could probably figure out the truth on his own.

Henry had simply sat back in his chair stroking his chin during the explanation, then he had dismissed her. Later that night, Jackson came home from work and told her that the chief now considered her a consultant to the CIPD as long as she was on the island. She had laughed at that. The wily old man thought he was taking advantage of her, but she was actually pleased about the offer.

It had been two days since the incident at the construction site, and Trinity was nervous about the strain it had put on her connection with Maxwell and Jackson. Although they told her they wanted her to enjoy some downtime, a part of her wondered if their feelings for her had changed since they had seen her in action.