Vixen

“Karina, you don’t have to go into work today. Just stay here with me. Please?” Tristan pleaded.

“I’ve taken too much time off already. I need to go in. I promise later we can have a little alone time.”

Tristan pouted. Karina went up to him and took his face in her hand.

“I promise.”

=====================================================================

An hour later

“Ivy! It’s great to see you!” Karina hugged her best friend as if their lives depended on it.

“How is your leg K? I’m going to guess that Tristan didn’t want to let you come in today.”

“The leg’s nearly healed, and damn right Tristan didn’t want me to come. He tried everything he could possibly think of.”

“I’m sure he did,” Ivy laughed, “but I’ve needed you here. I have a lead on the heist I was telling you about over the phone last week.”

“That’s great Ivy, but what about the case I was working on before that bastard shot me?”

“Sorry K, but there’s nothing. We are just going to have to wait for someone to come in with some inside information.”

Karina scowled at this news. She had been tracking a multi-billion dollar drug organization for the past four months, until all of her leads were suddenly cut off. Her only contact with inside the organization had been found dead in a trash bin three weeks earlier. They knew she was onto them.

She stalked over to her desk and began pulling up the case files on her computer.

Emilio Vargas. Dead.

Roberto Pagioli. Dead.

Michael Cannes. Dead.

Samuel de la Vega. Missing.

The list went on for about four pages. Every person she had ever discovered within the drug cartel was either dead or missing. She had nothing.

“I know you’re frustrated K, but maybe it’s best if you leave this one alone for a while. I could use some help tracking this heist.”

Karina nodded and made her way to Ivy’s desk.

“What have you got that’s interesting?”

“Well, I think it might require a visit to a contact of mine in Jamaica.”

“What a shame.” They both smirked.

=====================================================================

“So, does Tristan actually think that the two of you are there on couple’s getaway?” Ivy chimed over the phone.

“Yeah, but I’m not really lying when I say that. When I’m not hunting down your friend, who happens to be an hour late, he and I are having a great time together.”

“Where is he right now?”

“Back at the hotel sleeping. I kind of wore him out last night if you know what I mean.”

Ivy laughed.

“You would.”

“Well Ivy, I think I’m going to try and hunt down your contact again. If he doesn’t show within twenty minutes, I’m going back to Tristan.”

“Alright. Call me if anything new comes up.”

“I always do.”

Karina clicked her phone shut and looked surveyed her surroundings once again. The island was beautiful. She admired the clear blue ocean and the palm trees gently blowing in the wind. The native children played barefoot in the white beach sand, making sand castles and screaming as the waves came up and washed them away. Right now, she felt at peace. It was almost as if the events from a couple weeks earlier had been simply erased. She was back in her element, ready to trounce anyone that deserved it.

“Excuse me miss,” a gruff voice awakened her from her daydreams.

“Yes?” She looked up to see a dark-skinned gentleman of about fifty standing patiently in front of her.

“Do I have the pleasure of addressing V?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact you do.”

“Excellent. My name is Julio Juarez. I am your contact here.”

Karina smiled.

“Please sit.”

Julio took the chair across from her and pulled out a manila folder.

“This is the information I have for you.”

An hour after her meeting with Julio, Karina called Ivy and sent her the information she had collected before making her way back up to Tristan. He was sitting up in their bed watching television as she entered the room.

“And just where have you been?” he asked with a slight smile.

“I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I went exploring. I found a beautiful beach a little ways from here that I think we should visit.”

She climbed into the bed and crawled over to sit in Tristan’s lap.

“Is that so?” he asked, rubbing his nose in her hair. His breath tickled her ear. “Well, I think we should just stay here today. I don’t feel like getting up.”

“And is that because I wore you out last night?” Karina asked, suppressing a laugh.

“It might be.”

He kissed her lips softly. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. She pushed him back so he was laying back on the pillows and crawled up to lay on his chest, kissing him one last time.

“In that case,” she said, “we can hit the beach tomorrow.”