Blind Ambition

by Gwen Hernandez

  She opened her mouth to tell him that she loved him. That she was done leaving him.

  If he’d have her.

  The truck came to a stop and the back window slid open. “Uh, guys?” Jason said. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re here.”

  Despite his protests, Dan now had stitches in his side, and prescription-strength ibuprofen to take the edge off the discomfort and prevent swelling. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he was feeling every cut, every bruise.

  Alexa had iced her face while she waited with Flore and the guys in the same hospital waiting room where she’d given the girl away to the impostors. Flore had taken it all in stride, swinging her legs while holding an origami swan Scott crafted out of a hospital brochure.

  On the way out of the ER at midday, Jason took Dan aside. “We can’t stick around the island much longer. I think it’s best if the police believe Frederick and Nillin did each other in, don’t you?”

  Dan nodded.

  “What about Flore?” Jason asked.

  “Before we leave the island, we’re going to pay an unscheduled visit to Mr. Armeaux. You in?”

  “You even have to ask?”

  First they rented several rooms at a hotel in downtown Sancoins—one of the few that had reopened after the hurricane—so everyone could shower and change into fresh clothing. Jason and Scott ventured out to buy a sundress for Flore at a nearby store while Dan called Tara for information.

  Thirty minutes later—after a quick detour to the man’s office where they learned he hadn’t arrived for work yet—he and Alexa were knocking on the door of Mr. Armeaux’s private residence. The whitewashed, two-story, stucco home with a view of the bay seemed out of reach for a public servant. How many bribes had the man taken?

  “Yes?” A plump, young black woman in a conservative gray dress, complete with a white apron, opened the door to reveal an arched foyer painted blue.

  “We’d like to speak to Mr. Armeaux, please.”

  The woman frowned. “The master is taking no visitors.”

  Dan put his hand on the doorjamb and leaned in. “Tell him we have Flore Vincent. He’ll want to see us.”

  She pressed her lips together, radiating disapproval, but nodded. She started to shut the door, but he blocked it with his boot. The woman scowled and walked away.

  “Good help is so hard to find,” Dan said.

  A minute later Armeaux appeared in the doorway, dressed in a dark blue suit and red tie. “Why are you here?”

  Dan and Alexa parted to show Flore seated in the truck between Jason and Scott. “We know you sold out to Frederick,” Alexa said. “I’m going to give you a chance to make things right.”

  Armeaux inhaled sharply and his eyes widened. Looking behind him, he closed the door and stepped onto the porch. “I cannot help you. Mr. Jeannot has threatened my family.”

  “Jeannot is dead,” Dan said.

  The man’s eyes turned from frightened to calculating. “And now you want her.”

  Alexa nodded. “She truly has no family here, correct?”

  Armeaux wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Correct. We found no surviving relatives.”

  “Then yes. I want her. And you’re going to make that happen.” She raised her chin.

  He cleared his throat. “There are costs—”

  Motherfucker. The gall. Dan pushed the man up against the door, his arm across his windpipe, ignoring the tug on his stitches. “You already got your money, asshole. This time you’re setting things right. Got it?”

  Armeaux nodded and raised his hands, palms out. “Yes,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Yes. Okay.”

  Dan released him. That was easy.

  The man smoothed his jacket and straightened his shoulders. “I will have to go to my office for the paperwork.”

  “We’ll follow you.”

  Four hours later, they stood in the general aviation building at Hewanorra Airport in St. Lucia waiting for their charter flight to D.C.

  Alexa had Flore’s adoption documents tucked into her bag. All she needed now was the U.S. visa, which apparently required another week in Barbados jumping through hoops with the American consular section, despite all of the preliminary groundwork she’d laid.

  She and Flore had come inside to say goodbye. They were heading back to Barbados with Caitlyn Brevard once the woman’s plane finished refueling.

  Jason emerged from the men’s room and stooped to gather his bags. Dan leaned toward him. “Give me a minute with Alexa, okay?”

  The man sent him a knowing look, and nodded. “Hey, Flore. You wanna check out our plane?”

  The girl bounced onto her toes—amazing what ample food and water, and a secure future, had done for her demeanor—and turned to Alexa. “May I?”

  Alexa smiled. “Of course. I’m going to talk to Mr. Dan and then I’ll come get you.”

  “Okay!” Flore skipped alongside Jason and Scott as they strode toward the small, luxury jet.

  Dan faced Alexa. “She’s a lucky little girl.” He couldn’t help but touch Alexa’s hair. For the last time. His gut clenched. “You’re going to be a great mother.”

  “God, I hope so.” She played with her watch for a second and then dropped her arms as if physically forcing herself to stop. “This isn’t how I wanted it to happen, but I don’t see another way.”

  “You did what you had to do to save her.”

  “But bending the rules to make it happen makes me no better than the black market child traders.”

  “Like hell it doesn’t. You protected her at every step. You made sure you’re not taking her away from her family. You know for a fact that there’s no one willing or able to adopt her in her own country.” He shoved his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t reach for Alexa. “You tried to follow the legal process. It’s not your fault St. Isidore is so damn corrupt.”

  She held his gaze until his resolve not to touch her began to melt like wax under a flame. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. “Is your proposal still on the table?” she asked.

  His head jerked back. “What?” Had he heard her correctly?

  “I realized this morning how badly I want to live, Dan. Really live, not just exist.” She laid her hands on his forearms. “I want to live with you.”

  “Just like that.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I’ve always wanted to be with you. That’s never changed.” The words rushed from her sweet lips. “The difference is that I’m not going to punish myself anymore. I know it seems sudden, but I promise I’m not going to change my mind. The last thing I want to do is hurt you again.” A tear tracked down her bruised cheek. “I did what you said, you know, asking Despina what she thought. Or, at least I tried to imagine myself in her place. And you were right. I think the only thing she would blame me for is wasting my good fortune with a life half-lived.

  “I know I’m springing this on you, and you don’t have to answer me now. There’s a lot to consider. Like Flore. I don’t even know if you’d want to be her dad…” She stepped closer, and he let her take his hands, bringing them together against her breast. “But I love you, Dan. I have since our first week together three years ago.” She kissed his knuckles. “I never stopped.”

  His brain reeled as she slipped her fingers beneath her neckline and retrieved her locket, opening the clasp to reveal two small pictures, curled from water damage. One showed a pretty blonde who had to be Despina. He could see the resemblance to Alexa in the shape of her face and her wide smile.

  The other picture was of him.

  “I cut this from one of the photos of Vinh’s party after your team left the island. I’ve been carrying you next to my heart for three years, Dan, but really, you’ve been inside my heart the whole time.”

  A tremor ran through him. He wanted to believe her so badly it hurt. He was so close to having the woman—and the family—he’d desired for years. If he could just reach out and take what she offered.

  She rose onto her tiptoes and kis
sed him softly, a gentle brush of the lips that ended much too quickly. “I’ll wait. However long it takes for you to be ready,” she whispered. She kissed him again and then held his gaze, pleading with her gorgeous blue eyes. “Don’t you get it? There’s no one else for me. There never will be.”

  Hearing his own words echoed back to him stole his breath. When had he become such a coward? Where was his fucking warrior spirit? He knew better than anyone how few guarantees life offered. Alexa stood before him offering everything his heart desired—begging him just as he’d begged her—and he was hesitating. You’re a goddamned fool, Molina.

  Time to change that.

  He looked into her eyes—captivated by all the shades of blue that sparkled there—and moved closer until he met her luscious, warm, welcoming mouth. Then he gave her the kind of kiss he’d been craving for days. A deep, desperate, soul-baring kiss that left them both breathing hard.

  “Marry me,” he said.

  She gave him the brilliant smile he’d missed so much and launched herself into his arms. “Yes.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE FOLLOWING EVENING, DAN SLOUCHED into a plastic chair on the patio of an old South Carolina mansion-turned-bed-and-breakfast and watched Mr. and Mrs. Mick Fury take their first dance.

  It was about fucking time those two were happy.

  And maybe it was his turn. He’d hated to leave Alexa and Flore in Barbados, but he wouldn’t miss Mick’s wedding for anything. So here he was, surrounded by his best friends, just steps from the beach under sparkling lights strung between giant oak trees to create a festive atmosphere for the wedding reception.

  “Hey,” Tara said, settling into the chair next to him. “You seem distracted.”

  Dan grinned and watched Mick dance too close to his bride on the wooden floor the B&B’s event crew had laid over the grass. Jenna’s cheeks were pink, but her smile was huge. “Because you won’t dance with me.”

  Tara laughed and several men’s heads turned. She had that effect on most of the male population. “You’re so full of shit. If you hadn’t walked down the aisle with me, you wouldn’t have noticed I was here.”

  He looked at her then. She was stunning in a clingy, red gown that came up to her neck but had no sleeves. “I’m sorry.” He swirled his glass of bourbon. “I’ve been a bit preoccupied.”

  “Let me guess. A certain strawberry blonde do-gooder with loads of cash.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, if she doesn’t want you, she’s an idiot,” Tara said. “I’d totally be into you if I liked, you know,” she gestured toward him with both hands, “freakishly tall, muscular guys.”

  He laughed. She did like tall, muscular guys. Or at least she had. Her asshat of an ex-boyfriend may have put an end to her affinity for that portion of the population. “I’m five-ten. That’s hardly ‘freakishly tall.’”

  “It is when you’re not even five feet.” She leaned back and took a sip of beer straight from the bottle. Even a few months ago, he would have thought Tara was the kind of woman he should be with. Beautiful, fun, maybe a little messed up—but who wasn’t?—and surprisingly down to earth despite her always-perfect appearance. And hell, she could shoot a gun.

  But now he only had one type. “I appreciate your support. But I don’t need it.” He couldn’t hold back a smile. “I think things are going to work out for me this time.”

  “Good. You deserve it.” She stood and clinked her bottle against his glass. “I’m going to mingle. You should do the same.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  She winked and sashayed over to where Mick’s younger brother Adam stood talking to Kurt.

  Dan stared out over the ocean. The setting sun danced over the waves, shooting off sparks that reminded him of Alexa’s gorgeous hair. He should take her and Flore to meet his grandmother in Albuquerque. Things were looking up, but it had been a rough week, and his grandma had a way of realigning his world that he could really use right now. And she would absolutely adore Flore.

  “Dude, I know you’re not a party guy, but could you try to look at least a little bit interested in my wedding?” Mick plopped down in the seat Tara had vacated and set a bottle of IPA on the table.

  “Sorry.” Dan tore his gaze away from the water. His friend hadn’t lost his grin the entire afternoon. Not that anyone could blame him. “I’m happy for you, man. You did good.”

  Mick glanced at his new bride, who was on the other side of the dance floor chatting with guests. “Yeah, I did.”

  Jenna caught his look and smiled back, blushing clear to her neckline.

  “I wish Rob were here,” Mick said, fiddling with the label on his beer bottle, clearly lost in thoughts of his best friend, Jenna’s brother. The man had kept them apart in life, but he’d brought them together in death.

  At least something good had come from their loss.

  “Me too, man.” Dan cleared his throat. Everyone missed Rob. “He would have approved.”

  Mick glanced at him. “That’s what Jenna says. I’m not so sure.”

  “All he wanted was for her to be happy. To be with someone who loved her and treated her well. If he could see you now, the way you are together, he would have gladly given her away today.”

  The new groom nodded and ducked his head. “Thanks.” He gripped Dan’s shoulder with surprising strength, given that he’d been shot only months before. “Now tell me what’s going on.”

  Dan took another sip of his drink and watched the waves roll relentlessly up the beach and back down, in time to the steady beat from the band. “Do you remember Alyssa Drake?”

  “Queen Alyssa-bitch?”

  Dan smiled. He’d nearly forgotten the moniker Mick had come up with after she dumped Dan three years ago. “Yeah. Turns out she’s actually Alexa Alyssandratos.”

  Mick’s jaw dropped. “She’s related to that shipping mogul?”

  “His daughter.”

  “No shit?” His friend let out a low whistle. “That might explain a few things. How’d you find out?”

  “Kurt sent me to St. Iz this week to rescue her from SIR after she was kidnapped.”

  Mick frowned. “Wow, talk about shitty coincidences. Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. And it wasn’t a coincidence. Her father asked for me specifically. Apparently he’s had a guy watching her for years and he knew our history.” He drew designs in the condensation on his glass with his thumbnail. “Speaking of which, we’re back together.”

  Mick’s eyes narrowed. “You’re letting her do it to you again?”

  “No, it’s good.” He’d known his friends wouldn’t understand. Not yet. “I asked her to marry me. She said yes.”

  “Jesus.” Mick straightened. “You move fast.”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  “Yeah, but I wasn’t burned before.”

  Dan frowned. “You can’t tell me you didn’t use other women to fill the void when you couldn’t have Jenna.”

  His friend scowled but gave him a conceding look.

  “Instead of a whole stable of women, I just picked one and married her. We both deserved better.” And thanks to Alexa’s dad, he was finally out from under that mistake. Dan had been reluctant to take the money, but he didn’t want to start out his life with Alexa on financial footing even more unequal than they already had. At least he’d earned that money. “Alexa’s the only one I’ve ever wanted. Be happy for me, man.”

  “I will be. As long as she treats you right.” Mick took a swig of beer and rose. “I’d better get back to my beautiful bride. But you owe me the whole story.”

  “Deal. We’ll talk after your honeymoon.”

  Three weeks later, Alexa lay next to Dan in the master bedroom of his Falls Church apartment. A quick trip to IKEA had turned his old office into a room for Flore.

  She traced his shoulder and admired his naked body in the golden light of sunrise that filtered through the privacy sheers. They’d spent the last three weeks learnin
g how to be a family. Dan was on leave from Steele until they got settled, and she’d started working with a therapist—as had Flore—determined not to let anything undermine her happy beginning.

  The sessions weren’t easy, but she was already feeling better, lighter, just from talking about her sister. And she’d go to therapy for the rest of her life if it reassured Dan that she wasn’t going to change her mind.

  They were planning a small wedding for early autumn, and making love like there was no tomorrow. Her father even planned to attend. He’d been silent on her choice of husband—which was just fine with her—but she’d seen a tiny spark in him when he met Flore. That slightest hint of a thaw gave her hope.

  And for now, Dan’s lovely grandmother would make up for any lack of affection on Alexa’s side of the family. Grandma Shue and Flore had bonded instantly during a two-night stopover in Albuquerque after the visit to Seattle.

  Every morning, she thanked Despina and reminded herself that it was okay to be happy. By some unknown grace, she made Dan happy too. And he was so good with Flore…

  How did I get so lucky?

  Dan’s eyes opened and he looked up at her. “You waiting for a show?” he asked, his voice scratchy from sleep. He flexed his pecs, alternating between left and right, until she laughed.

  “I’m waiting for you to get up.”

  “I’m up.”

  “Oh, yeah? Let me see.” Sliding one leg over his hip, she straddled him, settling over his erection as she kissed the spot on his neck that turned him into a wild man. “Mmm.”

  “Woman…” He gripped her hips and rocked her against him. “Jesus,” he whispered. “It’s a wonder we ever leave the house.”

  “Speaking of houses—”

  “Shhh.” He lifted her up and entered her, groaning as she sank all the way down.

  She abandoned her train of thought and gave herself over to the joy of being loved by this man, touching as much of him as she could reach, and humming her pleasure at the feel of his hands on her skin.