Jungle of Deceit Read Online Free PDF Page A

this mislaid tomb and its forgotten people, though. The grant supplied by the museum was running out and Phillip indicated that he was powerless to renew it.
    Alex knew better though. It was his doing. If anything, the relationship between her father and she had evolved into professional combat−but in this warfare, Franklin Langley had the connections and money to play dirty. Every grant that came up, he was one step ahead of her.
    Disgusted, she gazed out at the stagnant creek, finding solace in the reflection of the Spanish cedar on the smooth black surface. She sipped her water bottle, frustrated that this morning’s efforts had produced nothing to validate her theories. Her fear was that in the world’s eyes she looked like a little girl, trying to emulate her father’s success. But what the world didn’t see—what seemed like something only she observed, was that Franklin Langley was a mere figurehead of late. He was a man who paid little attention to the dig, but rather stood for the glory at the end. He was not the young man with an enthusiastic glean in his eye anymore, or with the zeal for the hunt that Alex now thrived on. Franklin Langley was a star.
    An archeological superstar.
    Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, Alex listened to the symphony of birds and crickets, and thought that it was a shame her coveted time alone had to end so soon.
    On a sigh, she brought her head down and uttered, “You are about as subtle as a charging elephant, Mr. Hasslet.”
    Alex heard the awkward brush of tree limbs, and felt a presence behind her.
    “ It’s just Mitch,” he grumbled.
    Standing up, Alex brushed her palms together and turned around. Perhaps she had risen too quickly. Her heart beat just a little bit faster, and her breath was a little too shallow.
    Mitch wore jeans, and his short-sleeved shirt stuck to his torso, hinting at the ladder of muscles running up his stomach. Her glance climbed to the unbuttoned collar that exposed bronzed skin, and at the last second she raised her eyes to clash with his.
    Alex cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders.
    “ You’re following me,” she declared. “I presume that’s because you either purposely missed the convoy to the new camp…” her lips forced a smile, “−or they left you behind.”
    “ Maybe I just wanted to enjoy the view on foot.”
    His eyes were like an aphrodisiac, but Alex made sure to ignore them and the languorous sweep they took down her legs. Instead, she went on the attack.
    “ What were you going to do if you lost me? How were you going to find your way to the camp?”
    Alex waited for him to climb down the embankment and fall in beside her and then she added, “I don’t have time to scour the jungle looking for you.”
    “ I stand duly chastised, Doctor, but I’m not exactly helpless. I may look green to you.” He looked away towards the small pond where an umbrella of cedar limbs tried to keep the mist from escaping into the midday sun. “But I’ve had to fend for myself in worse places than this.”
    “ Maybe so.” Alex caught a whiff of him. All rugged man, with a hint of soap leftover from an early morning bath at the creek−an image she quickly dispelled. “But you weren’t in my care then.”
    Mitch was at her side now as he looked down at her. “I like the sound of that.” His voice was soft. “Being in your care.”
    For an impractical moment she liked the idea too, but she chalked that up to too much time in the jungle. She jerked her backpack over her shoulder and turned away, executing a pace much faster than normal.
    A few determined strides later, curiosity got the best of her. Her steps slowed and she turned around, walking backwards, facing Mitch as she asked, “What are you really doing here?”
    “ What do you mean?” His stride faltered.
    “ Why are you here ?” Alex’s hand swept the jungle. “Phillip called down. He told me who you are—I mean, where you’ve been—the turmoil