Legacy of the Highlands (40 page)

“For the reason you just said. He was smart
enough to have a contingency plan. Don’t forget that he had a lead
of several hours from the time he left the hotel until MI-5 broke
down his door. If it were me, I’d have a disguise, cash, fake
papers and small boat ready to take me to one of the islands or
even Ireland. They may never find him.”

“Shit. So it’s not finished.” Diego scrubbed
his face with his hands. “There’s still a threat to Alex.”

“Not just to Alex you idiot!” Serge bellowed.
“You’re the one they’ll be after, not her!” He’d wanted to beat
Diego senseless ever since he’d disobeyed explicit orders and went
to Mackinnon’s store. “Why the hell did you shoot off your mouth
about being a Cameron? And leaving the DNA report was really
stupid. These people have long memories and aside from Graham still
being out there somewhere, none of them will get a life sentence.
Hell, they may not even be convicted. This eye for an eye thing
could go on indefinitely like some chess game, especially once they
tie us to what was done last night. So I can’t say that either of
you is out of danger. But that’s why you keep me around.”

Diego lowered his head into his hands as he
considered the ramifications of everything Serge had told him.
“You’re right. I am a fucking moron. So there’s a chance...?” He
was afraid to complete the question, but Serge understood.

“A remote one...but there is, yes.”

Diego nodded and sighed deeply. “Have some
breakfast before that vodka eats a hole in your stomach and then
get some rest.” He squeezed Serge’s shoulder, then turned and
slowly walked to the aft cabin.

They were halfway across the Atlantic when Alex woke
and became aware of Diego sleeping next to her. His black hair was
tousled and a two-day growth of stubble shadowed his face. There
were dark circles under his eyes, the result of 24 hours without
sleep. She was tempted to wake him, but decided to check on Serge
instead. Her hand had just touched the aft cabin’s doorknob when
she turned and saw Diego’s eyelids flutter as he changed position.
Suddenly, she didn’t care if he needed to sleep. He could do that
later, or tomorrow. Right now, they had to talk.

“You know, I was just thinking...” she
began.

Diego knew that any time a woman began a
sentence that way it usually meant trouble. He could pretend that
he hadn’t heard her, but then she’d use some ploy to wake him, so
he propped a pillow behind his head, crossed his arms and plunged.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Is this about what Serge did last night?

“No, that’s not it. I’m ashamed to admit it,
but I’m really okay with that except that he got hurt doing it. I’m
glad he’s okay.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering
you or did you wake me up so you’d have company?” he said irritably
when she didn’t respond.

“I’m not sure what I want to say. It’s not
about what happened. It’s about us,” she began.

“Us? What about us?”

She hand combed her hair, stalling for time.
She wasn’t sure whether she was ready for this particular
conversation. It might be better to drop it and just wait and see.
She’d been so caught up in grief and adventure and her unexpected
feelings for Diego that she hadn’t considered, until now, that life
would return to whatever her new normal was once the plane landed
in Boston. She could hang out with Francie, catch up with other
friends, shop, cook, work out, do laundry — all the mundane
activities of daily life that had stopped the instant she’d been
told Will was dead. Or maybe she’d get a job, open a shop, take art
lessons or even learn to tango.

She’d changed since her world had turned into
an amusement park thrill ride. Without even realizing it, she no
longer needed to plan for every eventuality, and, if things didn’t
go right, long for a do-over. Events, combined with Diego’s
impulsiveness and zest for life, had loosened her up.

“Well?” Diego snapped. Alex’s behavior wasn’t
helping his foul mood. He was more shaken than he was ready to
admit by Serge’s wound and the news about Graham’s escape. “If
you’ve got nothing else to say I’m going back to sleep.”

“Okay, okay,” Alex grumbled, ending her
self-analysis. “What I want to know is...when we get back to the
States...then what?” She studied Diego’s face as he considered her
question, but his expression gave nothing away. She was afraid that
he would go back to partying in exotic places around the globe when
he wasn’t busy running the Navarros’ various enterprises with his
father. They’d always be great friends, she was sure of that, but
she would also become one more name on the long list of his
ex-lovers. Bloody hell.

“You want to know what happens next? I don’t
have a crystal ball, but my guess is that life is going to be
pretty boring for both of us after all of this excitement. But
thank God that part is over.”

“Over? How can you say that? You told
Mackinnon that you’re a Cameron! Aren’t you worried that they’ll
decide to kill you or that his people will eventually retaliate for
what we did?”

“The man who murdered Will is dead and the
men responsible for the vendetta against John Cameron were arrested
this morning. It’s over, Alex. There’s nothing more to fear.”

He had to believe that was true — for now at
least. She didn’t have to know that the threat to them could extend
far into the future. Then he remembered that it was John Cameron’s
over-protectiveness that had contributed to Will’s murder and
realized he’d have to tell her about Michael Graham’s escape...but
not today.

“So we’re safe, are we? Well, I don’t feel
safe. Maybe I never will. When someone you love is fine one minute
and dead the next, all certainty about life disappears.” Her eyes
filled with tears as her gaze shifted from his face to her hands
and the emerald and diamond ring she still wore on the left.

Diego felt a stab of jealousy and chastised
himself for resenting a dead man’s hold on her. And not just any
man — his brother. Alex would always love Will. He’d either have to
accept that or let her go, but the thought of losing her unnerved
him. “So is that it? Is that all you wanted to talk about?” Goddamn
it, he was wiped out and would have liked more sleep.

“No, not really,” she hesitated. “You avoided
my question or maybe I wasn’t clear. What I want to know is what
happens to us, this ‘us’ that we’ve begun? Do I go back to whatever
my life will be in Boston and you go...where will you go? To
Argentina?”

“Buenos Aires is my home. It’s where I was
born and our business is based there...so are my parents.”

“Oh,” she replied, missing him already.

He’d given the same subject a lot of thought.
He’d assumed that what he felt for her was simply physical, but his
desire had intensified instead of burning itself out. She was
smart, brave, unpredictable, funny, and passionate and he enjoyed
every moment he spent with her, even when she exasperated him. And
then there was the extraordinary tenderness he felt for her. His
heart was no longer just his, and he was determined to win hers.
Between him and Serge, they’d be safe from whatever threat the
crazy Scots still posed. He’d hire another bodyguard, or two or
three, a whole army if necessary. That would piss her off, but too
bad.

“I’ve been thinking too, Alex.”

“I can see that,” she said and smiled when
she realized that he was as unsure of what to say as she had
been.

“How old does a man have to be before he buys
a house of his own?”

“A house? I don’t know,” she replied,
completely puzzled by Diego’s question. “Do you really want an
answer?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well, I’ve been on my own since college, but
that’s because my parents died. Will rented until we got married
and his parents gave us the condo as a wedding gift. I’m still not
sure where you’re going with this.”

“I’m thirty-five and I still live with my
parents. Isn’t that pathetic? I can afford to buy a house, but I
never had a reason to do it.”

Alex was still standing near the cabin’s
door. As Diego left the bed their gazes locked and he walked toward
her. He slid his trembling hands up and down her arms, and finally
cradled her face. His usual glibness seemed to have deserted him
and Alex could barely breathe, afraid that the house he planned to
buy would be thousands of miles away.

“Would it be too much trouble for you to help
me find a house in Boston? I think I might like to live in one of
those beautiful Back Bay brownstones.”

All the tension left her body as relief
poured into her. Alex was sure that there was a lot he wasn’t
saying, knew it was too soon to say, but they’d talk about those
things in time. They both needed time. She couldn’t wait to tell
Francie that she’d been absolutely right about her and Diego.

“Would you mind very much if you and I lived
in the same city?” he finally asked.

“No,” she answered and her smile met the one
that lit his face. “I wouldn’t mind that a bit.”