Line of Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

menacingly, squeezing the air out of her lungs.
    She lurched into motion as Tex and the safety he represented disappeared from sight. She tripped over her high heels and went down to her knees. Abruptly the panic she’d held at bay until now tightened into a death grip. He couldn’t leave her alone out here, damn him!
    Scrambling inelegantly to her feet, she stumbled toward him. She rounded a big tree and there he was. Waiting.
    Silently he held out his hand to her.
    Disdaining his offer, she brushed the dirt off her skirt.
    He shrugged and turned away, pressing forward into the morass of green.
    She glared at his retreating back. There was nothing she hated worse than a military man who thought he could push her around. First her father and now Tex Monroe. If only she and he weren’t deep in a jungle where she’d get lost in a New York minute, she’d give him a piece of her mind!
    She clamped down on her ire and followed him. Lifting her skirt high above her knees, she climbed gingerly over a giant tree root in her path.
    That root was the harbinger of things to come. She spent the next two hours chasing after Tex. She slogged along the damp floor of the rain forest, scrambling over more roots and fallen logs than she could count. She dodged slimy vines and hanging moss, batted aside giant fern leaves and pushed through more brambles than she ever wanted to see again for the rest of her life.
    She was going to kill her father when she got home. Only a congressman with his clout could have arranged this elaborate a demonstration for a civilian.
    Furthermore, she was going to launch a congressional investigation of the Special Forces that would make their heads spin. She’d nail them for reckless endangerment, kidnapping, misappropriation of funds in running this outrageous exercise…
    As the trek rolled on, she pressed her lips more and more tightly together. Her jaw ached from clenching so tight for so long. It was all she could do to keep from railing at Tex.
    The only thing that stopped her was the realization that throwing a major fit was exactly what the Air Force wanted her to do. A giant tantrum, conveniently caught on hidden cameras no doubt, would totally destroy her credibility with the press and Congress if she tried to complain about this junket.
    And as if this whole stupid chase-through-the-jungle scenario wasn’t torturous enough, she had to go to the bathroom. Bad.
    The day grew warm, moisture dripped from the leaves and humidity hung in the air, sending her smooth hair into waves and curls all around her face. Any semblance of makeup had sweated away long ago. Not that she particularly cared about impressing Tex Monroe.
    Her sweater stuck to her skin in a hot, fuzzy mess. Her feet were killing her, and her ankles hurt from countless falls off her low heels. And to think she’d chosen this pair of shoes for the outing to the firing range because they were sensible!
    Finally her bladder got the best of her resolve never to speak to her lout of an escort again. “Ahem.” She cleared her throat politely.
    He glanced back over his shoulder. The impact of his gaze sent a hot tremor through her. “What?” he asked shortly.
    “I need to make a little stop. Have a bit of privacy…” she trailed off delicately.
    “Why?” he asked bluntly.
    “I need to, uh, relieve myself.”
    “Ah. Okay, but make it fast.”
    She frowned. He wasn’t being the slightest bit helpful, here. She had no idea how she was supposed to go about doing such a thing in the middle of a jungle. He just stood there, staring at her like he expected her to drop her drawers and go for it right in front of him.
    Heat started creeping up her neck. “How do I…How does one, uh, proceed in this sort of situation?”
    “In what sort of situation?” he asked innocently.
    The jerk was enjoying her discomfort. Only her status as a lady prevented her from throttling him. “How does one…do the deed…in a wilderness