Chapter 161 - Fate

Inside the bedroom of his hotel suite, Jackson was showing Halia where she would be sleeping.

"You can share this bed with Amelie. She wakes up at 6am every day and has a shower...oh...and she likes to keep her bedside lamp on," Jackson explained.

Halia looked at the man with curiosity, "How do you know that? Have you slept with her before!"

Jackson quickly wrapped his arms around Halia and chuckled, "We lived under the same roof in France while I was there. She woke me up every day with her loud coffee-making."

Halia frowned, pretending to be upset. "You lived together?" she asked with her mouth open.

"Alexander was there too! Besides, I only had you on my mind the entire time," he said dotingly. "Thinking about you kept me sane."

Of course, Halia trusted her man and wasn't really upset, but it was fun to watch him being fl.u.s.tered.

Halia smiled and pinched the man on the nose, "I better be the only one on your mind."

Jackson grabbed hold of Halia's hand and led her to the bathroom. "You will be sharing this bathroom with Amelie. I have my own bathroom. There are spare towels in the vanity and the hotel has provided all toiletries. We also have a television in the living room with cable TV and Netflix. I'm not sure how long you will have to stay here, but if you get bored, you can watch some TV. I've already requested for no housekeeping, so no one will enter this room without permission," Jackson explained.

He then led her towards the living room. 

But...just as they opened the bedroom door and peered out, they saw Amelie and Alexander kissing passionately on the balcony. These two hadn't seen each other for a couple of weeks and the s.e.x.u.a.l tension was building, so the scene on the balcony was getting quite heated.

Halia quickly blushed and looked away. "Let's give them some alone time," she whispered as she cleared her throat and scurried back into the bedroom. However, in her fl.u.s.tered state, she ended up tripping on her own foot and falling onto the bed, pushing Jackson down with her.

This was a very familiar scene.

Something very similar had happened when they were in the underground lab together. "I miss our time in the lab," Jackson suddenly said as he brushed the woman's hair aside and looked into her eyes longingly. "Even though we were both on our own missions at that time, I felt like we had escaped reality and were in our own world down there. It made me imagine the possibilities of living a normal life with you. It was the first time in 12 years, that I wanted to leave this job and settle down."

"Can we really do that?" Halia asked as she smiled at the thought of a future with Jackson. "Can we really settle down and lead normal lives?"

"Why not?" Jackson replied as he pulled the woman towards him.

As he stared into her eyes lovingly, he slowly and gently pressed his lips against hers.

These lips...he could kiss them forever...

Halia felt her body heat up at the touch of the man's lips. Earlier that day, when Jackson told her he loved her, memories of them flashed through her mind. Memories of their time in the lab, of how he saved her from a serial killer, of him carrying her out of the bar when she was spiked, of the time he rushed her to the hospital when she had an anxiety attack...and...of his cotton candy lips when he saved her from drowning as a child.

Was this what people called fate?

"Do you remember our first kiss?" Halia suddenly asked.

Jackson stared into the woman's twinkling eyes and thought back on the day that he discovered her spiked and disorientated at the bar. They were only acquaintances at the time, but he felt a strong urge to protect her. That was how they ended up in a hotel room together.

He still remembered the way that Halia looked that night: she was beautiful, her eyes were filled with desire and her breath smelled of gin. He remembered the way that she climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck...and the way that she kissed down on his lips.

"How could I forget? You were spiked that day and I was a little drunk, but I remember it clearly. I had never been forcefully kissed by a woman like that," Jackson teased.

Halia blushed a little and flicked the man on the forehead. "Wrong! That wasn't the first time," she said.

Jackson looked at the woman with confusion.

"I was roughly 12 at the time, and you were 15. We were beside the pool in your family's home, there were plum blossoms swaying above our heads...and your lips tasted like cotton candy..."

Jackson smiled and kissed Halia again. His woman was so cute and innocent.

"I love you," he whispered for the second time that day.

"I love you too," Halia replied.

...

The next day, Alexander went about his day like normal. Unlike everyone that was involved with Halia, he had to pretend that he didn't know a thing. After all, he was meant to be a drug trafficker from France who had absolutely no connection to her.

So, he arrived at a private room inside a restaurant with a briefcase of money.

"I want you to help me launder this," he said to the man that was sitting opposite him.

Since it was their first time dealing with an international client, Alexander had successfully convinced Everett to let him meet Rawson in person. Rawson refused at first, but it felt like a shame to lose such a big client. Thus, everyone involved in the money laundering case ended up sitting in the room at that very moment. But, of course, the corrupt police officer that had been helping them get away with their crimes wasn't there. If he didn't know about the corrupt police officer, Alexander would have arrested everyone in the room, right there and then. Unfortunately, his ultimate target was yet to be found.

"Have you heard about a famous killer called Gogh?" Alexander suddenly asked while Everett was counting the money in the briefcase.

"No, I'm not familiar with killers. I only deal with money," Rawson smirked.

"Gogh is a very famous killer in France. He was killed recently. I heard he was working with someone in Hong Kong and Macau. A man by the name of Trojan. Do you know how I can get in contact with this man?" Alexander asked.

Halia's kidnappers had been interrogated by Interpol all night. Although they couldn't provide much information about the man they were working with, they did reveal a name: Trojan. So, this was the only lead that Alexander could go off.

Rawson's eyes twitched a little as he replied, "No, I've never heard of that name before."

Alexander could tell that the man was obviously lying.

"I want to discuss some business with him. If you can somehow get me in contact with him, I can offer you a hefty reward. Perhaps, something along the lines of 5 million Hong Kong dollars..." Alexander said, tempting the man.

Rawson's eyes lit up at the mention of money. "I've never heard of him, but I might know someone who has. I'll ask around for you, but I can't guarantee anything," he said with a greedy smile.