Finding Kate Huntley Read Online Free PDF

flap, he walked outside. The thick hot air stuck to his skin. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the brightness. To his right, beneath the shade of giant palm leaves, stood Alourdes, the Voodoo priestess who had called upon the gods to save him. She was busy teaching a group of children some sort of Haitian ritual, her voice nearly drowned out by the steady beat of many drums.
    A breeze touched his face. Haiti was as poor as it was beautiful with its winding rivers, sandy beaches, and lush mountains that fell steeply into the sea. The view from where he stood was breathtaking, but that didn’t stop his thoughts from drifting to the dangerous road that lay ahead. He was going to leave now, call in the troops, and tell Harrison to send him some back-up. He needed to get Kate out of here in one piece. He would go to town without her, make a few calls, and return for her when it was safe.
    Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kate heading his way. “I thought maybe I’d scared you off,” he told her as she approached.
    “I don’t scare that easily.”
    “I’m heading back to town. I’m going to make some calls and get to the bottom of this.”

    Kate peered into Jack Coffey’s blue eyes and figured he had to be the craziest, most foolish man she’d ever met in her life. “You can’t be serious?”
    “Perfectly.”
    “For God’s sake, look at you.” She gestured toward his side. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. You’re still weak. You can’t possibly go to town.”
    “I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”
    “If you go waltzing down that mountain,” she warned, “sooner or later you’re going to run into more trouble than you can handle.”
    He grinned. “Why is it I’m sensing you care about what happens to me?”
    “Ridiculous.”
    His smile broadened. “Whatever you say. I’ll come back for you, Kate. You’re no longer in this alone.”
    She crossed her arms. He couldn’t possibly be for real. But he looked downright serious, bordering on gallant. “Thanks,” she said. “I feel much better now.”
    “Good.”
    She gave him a quick two-fingered salute. “It was nice knowing you, FBI man. Take care of yourself.”
    Before she knew what he was up to, he stepped close, took her hand, and pulled her arm around his good side. Then he kissed her long and hard. Instead of jabbing a knee in his groin, she fell softly into his chest. Something more primitive than the island itself stirred within as his lips awakened a tingling so deep she found it hard to breathe. This time when he let her go, her eyelids felt heavy with desire.
    Without another word, he began his long hike down the mountain.
    “You’re a dead man,” she called out after him, referring to the kiss.
    He stopped and looked over his shoulder. “I’ll miss you, too.”

Chapter 3

    Twenty minutes later, Kate cursed with every step she took down the mountain, kicking up dirt and rocks as she went. “You’re no longer in this alone,” he’d said. Ha! What a joke. Jack Coffey had a death wish.
    Five minutes after Coffey left, she started to worry about him. Fifteen minutes after that, she packed her things and headed after him. His tracks were easy enough to follow, but she never expected him to make such good time. She had to give the man credit. He was tougher than he appeared.
    By the time she reached the bottom of the mountain, the streets were jam-packed with vendors selling everything from dried mushrooms to kitchen implements made from tin cans. The pickpockets and street kids were also out in full force, hitting the streets with a vengeance. After being in the mountains for a few days, the attack on the senses was total. The people of Haiti were loud and raucous and the fetid aroma of spices, rotting fruit, and urine was unusually suffocating today.
    Kate huffed. Where was Coffey, anyhow? Few tourists roamed these streets. Street crime was a fact-of-life around Port-au-Prince and anyone who didn’t take