Blind Ambition Read Online Free PDF

Now that he knew she was a frigging heiress, it made sense. He was good enough for a fling in the jungle, but not good enough to introduce to Daddy.
    He’d been down that road before. Understood it all too well.
    That she was right didn’t make it hurt any less, but pain was the one thing he would never let her see again. From now on he needed to exude nothing but cool indifference.
    “Look, my job was to spring you from prison and see you safely home. I admire your sense of duty, but it’s not safe here anymore.”
    Her hands curled into fists and she stepped closer to him, bringing along the smell of sweat and fear and dirt that clung to her clothing. “You don’t understand—”
    Dan covered her mouth with his gloved hand. Faint shouts came from inland, probably not more than two hundred yards away, though sound could be deceptive in the rainforest. Dammit. They’d lingered far too long.
    He placed a finger to his lips and waited for a nod from her before removing his hand. They needed to get away from here, but she couldn’t move fast enough on her own, and he couldn’t outrun the other men if he carried her again. The rebels were too close.
    The moon was hardly more than a quarter full, but it still lit up the beach enough to rule out that route. They could dive back into the forest, but he wasn’t yet sure which direction posed a threat. Not to mention that the people they’d heard might not be the only ones out there.
    He did a slow three-sixty, hoping for inspiration. The trees were either too tall, too sparse, or too frail to make a good hiding spot. He’d picked this location for its relative isolation, but now that was turning into a detriment. There were no resorts or homes within easy reach to provide concealment.
    Facing the rocks, he came to a decision.

    Within seconds, Alexa was wading into the surf, biting her lip to keep from gasping at the slap of cool water against her legs. The Caribbean was known for warm waters, but warmth was relative. Anything below eighty degrees was still a shock to the system, and enough to cause unconsciousness within a few hours.
    Dan waded through the shallows ahead of her, slowly and steadily, not fighting the water as he advanced on an outcropping of rocks about fifty yards offshore. The moon seemed to light up their progress as if they were on stage, but he’d told her he was more worried that splashing would alert the rebels to their presence, hence the sloth-like pace.
    The sea rose past her waist, the swells reaching as high as her shoulders if she didn’t rise with them. The wind—so much stronger now that they were out of the protection of the trees—cut through her wet shirt, and shivers racked her body as the cold seeped into her tired bones.
    About twenty yards from the rocks, Dan disappeared. Alexa froze and clapped a hand over her mouth. Her heart beat triple-time as she fought the water to reach him.
    Just as suddenly, he broke the surface, rising slowly from the depths.
    She yelped and then bit her lip in reprimand. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
    He nodded. “It drops off here. I had to lose my ruck and boots. Can you swim?” He wasn’t asking if she knew how. They’d swum together three years ago. He wanted to know if she could swim in her current state, weakened and bruised.
    “Yes.” Whatever it took.
    “Try a sidestroke and aim for the rocks, I’ll be right behind you.” How did he stay so calm? All she could think about was the men with guns who might spot them and start shooting any second.
    She toed off her running shoes, and pushed herself toward their target. The sidestroke was slow going, but mostly kept her head above the waves and allowed her to keep her goal in sight. Her muscles quickly turned achy with fatigue and numb from the cold. It seemed counterintuitive, but she knew that the more they moved, the more body heat they lost. Still, what choice did she have?
    Unwilling to give up, she focused on her strokes and quit