Gone Tropical Read Online Free PDF

aircraft. “And I’ll bet he said I wasn’t too smart, right?”
    Jake looked away.
    Well, hell . There went the idea of a partnership. She was back to going it alone. Men, they’re all so freakin’ opinionated . She’d buy jeans, shorts, and T-shirts. Maybe a hat or two, and whatever else you needed for roughing it in the rainforest. Bug spray, probably.
    “Where’s the nearest store to buy some gear? I’m figuring camping type stuff.”
    Jake’s eyes widened and his facial expression froze. Sarge pinched his nose and stared at the floor, and Amy knew he was about to howl with laughter. He snorted, or coughed.
    There was a long silence, and then Sarge continued. “Listen, Firth is slippery, but it’s not a complicated case. He’s an embezzler. Not a killer. May have had plastic surgery done in Europe, but nothing we can’t work around.”
    She thought about that. Steven was squeamish. If he’d had anything done it wouldn’t have been extensive. And how did Sarge know all of that stuff anyway?
    “For now we’re traveling as tourists, until we can corner the bastard.” Sarge snapped his fingers and leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “I’ve just had a bloody beaut idea.” He turned to Jake.
    “I can hardly wait to hear it,” Jake said dryly.
    “It’s a perfect cover. We’ll con the con. You two can be tourists. I’ll be your tour guide. I’m leaving the plane at the airport, jeep’s parked there. I’ll borrow a tour guide sign from a bloke in Townsville, and then slap it on the side door, and we’re good to go.”
    Jake rubbed at his top lip again, talking behind his hand. “It could work, but her father wants her out of the picture. She’s been protected, and she wouldn’t know how to rough it—”
    “What?” Amy went slack-jawed.
    “You two would be deep undercover, on your honeymoon.”
    Jake’s expression switched from frozen horror to wild animal trapped in a snare.
    Would he chew off his leg to escape? Amy bit the inside of her lip to hold back her laughter. Honeymoon ? Visions of the Great Barrier Reef, white sandy beaches, cool turquoise waters, and balmy nights danced in her head. This tropical fiasco was starting to sound good. Jake eased back in his seat and averted his gaze. She could only imagine what he was thinking.
    “Um, question,” she said to Sarge. “Not that I’m against going, but would people honeymoon in this place?”
    “Are you kidding me?” Sarge leaned forward slapping both big hands over his knees. “It’s what it’s famous for. You’ve got everything from five star hotels, private estates, and isolated cabins for rent.”
    Hah! Jake had been faking before to put her off. He’d said it was all rough country. Still, she wasn’t fazed by nature, spiders, snakes, or bears. Probably no bears in the rainforest, but there’d be snakes.
    “Her father would never go for it,” Jake said. “I’m to protect her. He demanded that she stay in Sydney. Or better yet, return to the States, which reminds me, we need to drop by the American consulate before we leave.”
    “Hey, over here,” Amy said sarcastically, and pointed to the top of her head. “I am present, remember?”
    She wasn’t a minor, she wasn’t here illegally. She was thirty-five years old, and a tourist, and quite capable of making her own plans. This was an all-out war. She heaved a sigh, put her Louis Vuitton handbag onto the coffee table, and dug inside. “Here, take this. It’s the best and most recent photograph I have of Fray, ah, Firth. I took it in Paris a couple of months ago. Before the FBI arrived, and he escaped.”
    Sarge frowned. “You’re not coming?”
    Jake peered at the photograph for a few moments and seemed to relax. He raised his eyes. “What made you change your mind?”
    She was going north and going alone, and she sensed he knew that. She popped a peppermint into her mouth and sucked on it, then applied lipstick. “I’m not about to upset Daddy. He almost died