Free Choosing Rena by dakota trace Page B

him as it reared its ugly head. Now isn’t the time, he told his body.
But it didn’t stop his traitorous cock from rising at the mere
brush of her body against his. And the answering catch of her
breath, as he caught her eyes, had him wanting nothing more than to
claim her mouth.
    Amazing as it was, he’d only tasted
her luscious lips once and he was dying for another taste. Not even
during that incredible night in Ireland had he indulged. After
seeing what that well-needed release had wrought, he’d been content
to hold her, his own sexual needs overshadowed by those which were
driven to protect. But that wasn’t now, and he could almost feel
the plump firmness of her lips against his. His head dipped when
there was a clearing of a throat behind him, reminding Jackson they
weren’t alone and indulging in his need was going to have to
wait.
    “You gonna turn that damn thing off,
Levough, before we have half the department over here?”
    He nodded before slowly
stepping back from Rena, careful to keep his back to Sean. As usual
his closeness to Rena had tented his slacks and normally he
wouldn’t care if another man knew he was aroused. In this case
however, he was sure Rena would, so until he had junior a little bit more
under control, discretion was the better part of valor. Punching in
the corporate override code into the keypad next to the door, he
silenced the alarm. “Is that better?”
    “So exactly what were you doing when
you set off the alarm, Ms. MacAllister?” Sean moved closer to
inspect the motion sensor.
    “I needed to see the outside of the
door.” Without giving Jackson as much as a glance, she joined the
detective at the door. “Please call me Rena.” She stepped outside,
her voice coming back muffled. “There’s just not something right
here. According to the police report, it’s assumed the perp came in
through the balcony, but the point of impact is so low…”
    “… that the original
responding officer assumed the perp used a rock found inside to
break the glass near the lock, so they could reach through to
unlock it.”
    “And then triggered the alarm when
they slid the door open.” Rena took out her tape, quickly measuring
the distance between the hole and the lock.
    Jackson joined them on the balcony as
she measured the size of the hole and did some quick calculations
on her tablet. “Okay. We need to take off the plywood, the figures
are definitely not adding up here. They suggest the hole isn’t
large enough for a person to reach the lock without cutting the
hell out themself.”
    “And according to the report there was
no blood found on the glass or floor.” Sean frowned, before
glancing over Rena’s shoulder. “Are you sure about the figures? I
can’t imagine C.S.I. made an error like this.”
    “Dude, I have a minor in forensics
from Berkeley College to go along with my security training. I know
what I’m talking about.” She referenced the file again. “It doesn’t
say here but honestly I’m not sure if they even did the math, or
just made the assumption because of the broken door that it was the
point of entry and by…”
    Understanding dawned on Jackson.
“…unboarding the door, you can see if it’s physically possible or
if the broken glass was just a red herring.”
    “Pretty good, White Boy,” she sassed
him, pushing past him to go back into the condo. “Where does Jude
keep his tools?” Heading for the kitchen sink, she poked under it,
before rummaging through the drawers on either side. She looked up
when neither he nor Sean moved. “Well, what are you waiting for?
Get your butts in here and help me.”
    Sean caught his arm as
Jackson moved to give his woman or
soon-to-be woman a hand. “Is she for real?
Does she realize how many protocols this breaks?”
    A slow grin crossed Jackson’s face.
“Oh, yeah, a hundred percent real.” He leaned forward. “And somehow
I don’t think she cares about your protocols.”
    * * * *
    Standing back as