Read Online Blind Ambition by Gwen Hernandez - Free Book Online Page A

inside.
    “Just a minute,” a man called from the back room. Her boss from Hygiea HQ.
    “Troy?” Alexa strode past Dan, halting at the dark bloodstain on the floor. Oh, God.
    The man appeared in the doorway, his eyes widening as recognition lit within them. “Alyssa!” He jogged across the room and hugged her so tightly her ribs protested. “You’re alive.” His voice nearly cracked.
    “Yes. I’m okay.” She extricated herself from his embrace. “What about Garfield?”
    He shook his head and frowned. “He didn’t make it.”
    A sob escaped her mouth before she covered it. Troy reached for her, but she backed up into Dan’s chest, and he gripped her shoulders with warm hands.
    “I’m sorry.” Her boss scowled. “By the time word reached us it was too late.”
    She wanted to sink to her knees and bawl her eyes out, scream against the pain filling her heart, but she couldn’t lose it like that. Not here. Not in front of Troy. She thought of Garfield’s pretty wife Marietta, nine months pregnant. “It’s my fault,” she whispered. He’d tried to protect her and now he was dead.
    “No, it’s not,” Dan said, his voice hard. “Only the rebels get the blame for this.”
    Easier said than done.
    “You can’t blame yourself,” Troy agreed, flipping the sandy hair out of his eyes. He reached toward her face. “Look what those bastards did to you.”
    She flinched from his touch and he dropped his hand with a frown. He was a nice enough man, but she didn’t have romantic feelings for him, and he had never quite gotten the message.
    “I need to see Flore. I put her in the crawl space when the soldiers came, but I need to make sure she got to the orphanage okay.”
    He sighed and swallowed.
    Oh, God. Oh, no. Her stomach heaved. “What’s wrong?”
    His eyes flicked to the window and he hesitated. Alexa’s legs nearly buckled. Not her too . Dan must have noticed her reaction to Troy’s reticence because he held her hips, gently keeping her on her feet.
    “All of the kids are missing,” Troy finally said.

    Dan wanted to hit something. The fuckers had killed her friend and taken the children.
    Alexa’s body went rigid under his hands as she dealt with the latest blow. “They’re gone?”
    Troy caught her gaze. “Jamila—the lady who runs the orphanage,” he clarified, glancing Dan’s way, “said the rebels came back for the children after they raided the clinic.”
    “But why?” Alexa asked. “There’s no one to pay ransom for them, and they’re too young to fight for SIR.”
    For now. Besides, a girl like Flore might be desired for things besides fighting, despite her young age. Dan’s stomach turned sour at the thought.
    “Black market adoption, most likely,” her boss said, his voice laced with regret.
    A sob escaped Alexa’s lips and she twisted out of Dan’s arms, racing into the back room. He followed, shutting the much-too-flimsy door behind him. She stood with her palms against the wall, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
    Moving to her side, he dropped his ruck. “Lys…” She might not welcome his touch, but what the hell? He couldn’t just watch her hurting like this. He stroked along her spine, keeping his touch gentle and platonic. “I’m sorry.”
    Troy had wanted to be the one here with her. That much was obvious, even from their brief introduction. When the man had first held her, Dan wondered if there was something between them, but her reaction to his touch made him think her boss’s interest was not reciprocated.
    That made him happier than it should. After all, he had no claim on her anymore. Probably never had. She could fuck whomever she damn well chose now.
    The image that sentiment produced made his chest hurt. Stupid fool.
    Beneath his hand, she turned to face him. He shifted away as she rested her back against the rough-hewn wallboards and wiped her cheeks. She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.
    “You were right,” she said, her voice shaky with