Cross Point (The IAD Agency #4)

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.

Lost in the foster care system, she had fallen into the wrong crowd until her life changed at thirteen when she tried to steal a car belonging to Homeland Security agent Ben Cross. Ben and his wife, Veronica, had taken one look at the bruised and battered young girl and welcomed her into their home.

From that day on, her life had changed drastically.

Following in her father’s footsteps, Trinity joined Homeland Security after graduating from college early, becoming one of their youngest agents. Although she had specialized in cybercrimes, she had also qualified for sharpshooter status, making her a viable asset to any operation. The problem was that Trinity had never really grown out of her rebellious nature or her disregard for authority, especially when she knew she was right.

Despite her numerous accolades, she’d also held one of the highest number of reprimands in the agency. Equally proud of both, when the chance to work for IAD came along, she jumped at the chance.

And Trinity had never regretted her decision.

Even after the last clusterfuck she’d been through, she still enjoyed every second of being an IAD agent. That said, Trinity had just come off a pretty nasty mission that left her battle-scarred and, in her opinion, slightly mind-fucked, which was not conducive to being a field agent. Taking herself out of the game was killing her, but she would never put her fellow agents and friends at risk.

Until she got her mind right, Trinity had no choice but to bench herself.

However, that was turning out to be a problem since no one was listening to her.

She silently cursed as her interest was piqued, just like her friend knew it would be. Damn her. An interesting case always got her revved, and this was no exception. Still, she knew she shouldn’t involve herself in any IAD missions until she had fully recovered.

“You know, I haven’t even officially been on leave for a full month yet, and you’re already trying to drag me back on active duty.” She paused, then said, “I was even considering retirement.”

Tara laughed so loud that Trinity had to hold the phone away from her ear.

“Bullshit, Trinity. You know you can never really retire from IAD…unless you retire from living. It’s like Hotel California. You clock in, not out. You never stop being an agent until you’re six feet under.”

Damn her again, Tara was right.

“Anyways, you’ve been doing nothing but sitting on your fabulous ass for weeks now,” Tara said. “I thought you could use something to do.”

Trinity hadn’t been sitting around for shits and giggles. She’d been on medical leave recovering from a grueling mission. She had gone undercover in Mexico to help take down a particularly nasty ring of Coyotes, traffickers who took money to help people sneak across the border into the US.

This particular group had a tendency to use those who came to them for help as drug mules. They also ended up extorting more money from them to gain their freedom once they were on American soil. For the pretty young men and women, the outcome was even worse. After they were taken across the border, they were forced into sexual slavery or sold to the highest bidder.

Trinity had positioned herself with a group asking to be taken across the border, as IAD had been trying to track down who the buyers and contacts were on the US side. She had been tagged with a tracking device that had been affixed to her skin and was untraceable to most sensors. The mission had seemed simple enough. She just hadn’t planned on four of the assholes running the smuggling ring to join her in the back of the truck, wanting a taste of her and the other young woman in the group during the trip over.

That had been a serious miscalculation on her part.

With her hands tied behind her back and using nothing but her bare feet, Trinity had stopped the men, earning a couple stab wounds to the side and a bullet graze on her thigh for her trouble. She had also been beaten to shit by the time the truck had arrived at the drop point, but what had done the most damage to her psyche had been being locked in the back of the truck with four dead bodies in the heat and the dark.

The doctor monitoring her recovery had been able to help heal her physical wounds with the aid of an experimental drug, but her mind was a whole different story. Her brain was a minefield that she was told would take time to heal.

Personally, she thought she was fucked.

What the hell kind of agent could she be if she freaked out in the dark?

Unwilling to put her friends at risk, she’d put herself on an extended sabbatical from the agency, only to find that it really was impossible to leave completely. She sighed again and knew, without a doubt, that this was going to be a mistake.

“What do you need me to do?”

Trinity could practically hear her friend’s grin as Tara responded. “Julian’s family is working on an expansion project on an island off the coast of Florida. Seriously, I’d never even heard of the place before he told me about it. They’re expanding the Palace Resort and Spa there, but things have gone FUBAR, and no one can figure out what’s going on. We were going to fly down, but I got called in to help the guys from the LA office and can’t now.”

Damn it.

Julian King was Tara’s fiancé, and Trinity really liked him. He’d basically become a part of the IAD family, and everyone knew that Trinity would do anything for family.

“Give me the basics.”

“The resort is located on an island that caters to the wealthy and elite. It’s one of their most lucrative properties in the US, and they recently bought the land next to the hotel for their expansion project. The problem is that nothing seems to be going according to plan. There have been delays and other problems, especially with the finances of the project.”

“Can’t Julian have one of his minions go down there and bash some heads together?”

“That’s what you are for, sweetie.”

Shit. Now it made sense why Tara was calling in this favor.

“This project has been headed up by Julian’s brother, Maxwell, but he’s been busy handling another issue at their hotel in Monaco. And their mother and sister are handling some big convention in New York. Come on, Trinity. It’s a resort…on a beautiful island. Are you really telling me you don’t want to take a vacation at one of the most exclusive resorts in the world…for free?”

As she glanced over at the rain-drenched windows again, the fantasy of warm weather and white sandy beaches with crystal-clear blue water swayed Trinity. Even though she had naturally golden skin, she was in serious need of a tan.

“Fine. I’ll go, but you’ll owe me.”

“I totally will. We’ll even set you up in the owner’s suite for your stay. Julian tells me it’s huge, and there’s even a private pool.”

“I never understood that. Why do you need a private pool when you’re practically on the beach?” Trinity mused.

“Ah, that’s a good question. Maybe so you can swim naked?”

“But I’d do that on the beach.”

Tara laughed. “That’s why I love you. You’re a wild one, Trinity. Go check this out for us, and you can stay down there as long as you’d like and become a mermaid.”

That made her lips curve in a grin. “See if I don’t. Fine, I’ll do it, but you’re paying for all my shit, room service and everything. And I just might get a massage every day. I think I deserve a little fun in the sun.”

“Exactly! I haven’t been down there myself, but I’ve seen pictures of the island. It’s absolutely beautiful. Trust me when I say I think you’ll totally love Crescent Island. You’ll be able to reach me on my cell, or you can contact Julian directly when you know what’s going on. Go enjoy yourself. And if you end up swimming naked in the ocean, you’ll have to tell me all about it. Especially if there’s a hot guy involved.”

“Perv. You’re engaged now. Doesn’t that mean you can’t think of other men now?” she teased.

“First of all, hello pot, said kettle. And no. I might be engaged, but I’m not dead.”

Trinity was still laughing as she ended the call.

Her mood lifted as she thought about her upcoming trip. Yeah, she could really use a vacation to a sunny, beautiful island where the only thing she had to worry about was what type of drink to order next.

And where no one tried to kill her.

That would definitely be a welcomed change of pace.