Chapter 81 - Just Friends

"My father will be getting someone to deliver my invitation to me," Halia explained to Sean.

"Great!" Sean replied. "I'll book your flights and accommodation tonight and we'll fly out tomorrow morning."

"By the way, how are your fighting skills?" Sean suddenly asked.

Halia shrugged. She had passed all the tests in the police academy, but she had never gone through the SPU academy, so she didn't know how she measured up.

"Go grab your gym gear, I want to give you a test while we're here," Sean instructed.

Halia quickly nodded her head. Every member of the SPU was allocated a locker in the building to store their gym gear and they were encouraged to train at the facilities, but this was Halia's first time using it.

After a quick change in the change rooms, Halia stepped out in a set of grey and white workout clothes. The clothes wrapped tightly around her curves, highlighting her fit body.

Sean felt himself blush a little when he saw her. Only a couple of days ago, he had his arms wrapped around this body, but they were inside a dark closet so he didn't actually see what he was touching. Now that he actually saw her body properly, his heart subconsciously sped up.

Sean had also gotten changed while Halia was in the change room, so he had changed into some workout clothes too.

This was the first time Halia had seen Sean in anything but a suit, so it was a little odd. His suit always made him look so serious and proper, but for once, he looked quite casual.

Halia and Sean walked back into the private training room and stood on opposite sides. Then, with a bow, they started fighting.

Halia was quite quick and nimble on her feet, but she had only learned a few self defence moves in the police academy, so she continuously retreated and dodged, but never attacked. Sean was surprised. Normally, SPU agents were skilled in martial arts, especially ones that were selected for undercover work. Was she holding back?

With a serious expression, Sean launched himself forward and grabbed hold of Halia. He then tripped her and pressed her against the gym mat on the floor. It was surprisingly easy. What would have happened if he was a bad guy?

"Were you holding back?" he asked suspiciously. "Why didn't you attack?"

Halia looked at the man with panic. She had joined the SPU purely because of the wire that was attached to her head - the one that allowed her to access other people's memories - she hadn't actually gone through any SPU training. But, Sean did not know this, so how was she to explain herself?

Halia stared into the man's eyes and bit her lip nervously, "I...errr..."

Sean noticed Halia bite her lip and subconsciously glanced down at her mouth. His body was on top of hers and he had her hands pinned firmly against the floor. He felt her soft fingers between his and he could smell the floral scent of her hair in the air. As though he had been charmed by a spell, Sean suddenly forgot the question he asked as his mind wandered off to the kiss they shared in the closet. So much had happened since that day that he hadn't had the chance to clarify things with Halia, but he still remembered how passionate it was, and, most importantly, he remembered that Halia didn't resist his advances. Did that mean she was attracted to him?

"I didn't want to hurt you," Halia finally lied.

Sean stared at the woman that was lying underneath him. Her breaths were quick and her cheeks were a little rosy.

"Do you care about me that much?" he asked.

Halia smiled awkwardly and replied, "Of course."

At that moment, Sean smiled back at her and leaned forward.

Halia held her breath. She quickly realized that the man had misunderstood. Did he think that she liked him?

"Sean, I think..."

Halia wanted to talk herself out of the situation, but Sean kept her hands pinned to the floor and pressed his lips against hers before she managed to say a thing. Halia panicked. She wanted to resist, but just like the kiss in the closet, she once again kissed him back uncontrollably.

...

Meanwhile, in France, Amelie poured Jackson a glass of wine as they sat in the living room.

"Where have you been in the last year?" Jackson asked. "I thought you died."

Amelie giggled as she took a sip of wine. "The Interpol faked my death because my cover had been blown," she explained.

Jackson looked at the woman in surprise. Jackson had first met Amelie 5 years ago, not long after he moved to Marseille. At that time, she was the girlfriend of his boss. Jackson didn't really interact with her in the first year, but as he climbed up the ranks, the boss asked him to protect her on certain occasions. That was when Jackson met Rowan; Rowan actually started off as Amelie's driver.

As they saw each other more and more, Jackson, Amelie and Rowan gradually became good friends.

Jackson even saved Amelie's life a few times.

However, two years ago, Jackson discovered Amelie was actually an undercover Interpol agent, just like him. He confronted her, but discovered their missions were very different. She was investigating something related to the Russians while Jackson was investigating Remy Durand.

Even though their missions were very different, Jackson began to watch out for Amelie even more than before. As a result, Amelie slowly fell for his charms. She confided in him about everything and often found excuses to see him, but Jackson simply treated her as a really good friend.

One day, she gathered her courage and decided to confess her feelings to him. But, to her disappointment, Jackson rejected her and told her they were only friends. Amelie was distraught and left in tears.

After a night of feeling guilty, Jackson decided to look for Amelie and comfort her the next day. But, to his surprise, he received news that she had died in a tragic accident after he saw her the previous night. The death hit Jackson pretty bad. He blamed himself for letting her run off on her own that night and wondered if she would have stayed alive if he didn't reject her.

So, he was really happy to see her again...