Rogue Diamond (11 page)

Nick was right behind her, his words warm against her ear. "Are you sure you're up to this, Alex?"

"I couldn't leave now, Nick. I have to know." She walked stiffly behind the nurse.

They stopped be
si
de a small, white crib. Alex moved to the
si
de and peered into the face of a child playing with
a doll. Both her legs were con
fined in hard white casts from toes to hips. The
little girl gazed up into Alex's anxious face and immediately broke into loud sobs.

Alex backed a
way and gave the nurse an apolo
getic look.

"It isn't you. She is expecting her mother soon and cries when anyone else comes toward her," the nurse explained.

"I take it that's not her," Nick said softly, as they continued their somber journey.

"Pobrecita," Alex murmured, obviously shaken.

As they moved on, Nick took her hand. The nurse led them to another crib with white metal bars. Nick squeezed Alex's hand as she stepped closer.

The child la
y inert, sleeping peacefully be
neath a clear plastic oxygen tent. A young woman sat be
si
de the bed, lovingly cares
si
ng the tiny brown hand that lay limp on the sheet.

"Pneumonia," the nurse said. "Is this your friend's child, senorita?"

Alex held Nick's hand tightly and shook her head. "No, gracias. This isn't the one, either." She shrank
back, suddenly feeling weak, de
pressed, and saddened by the unhappy little faces she had just seen. They reminded her of Jenni. Alex shuddered and leaned against Nick. He braced her with his strength, putting his arm around her, and ushered her out of the hospital.

"Oh, God, Nick," she breathed when they were out
si
de. "They should be out here, running and playing in the sunshine."

"I thought you said you could handle this," Nick growled.

"I lied. You we
re right, Nick. It was devastat
ing. And I still didn't find my Jenni."

The sky rumbled above and the air felt still and hot.

"Alex, if you don't loosen your grip on my hand, I'm afraid
I’ll
be maimed for life."

"Oh, Nick. I'm sorry." She immediately let go of his hand. "I
... I want to thank you for com
ing here with me, Nick. You knew how awful it would be, but you came anyway. Why?"

"There was a chance she'd be here. There's always a chance."

With a gentleness seemingly uncharacteristic for a man so tough and rugged, Nick helped Alex into the beat-up van. It was a small haven, away from the sadness and disappointment she'd just seen. Perhaps, Alex con
si
dered quietly, being with Nick Diamond was the haven she needed. He climbed into the driver's seat and drove away from the hospital. Alex stared blankly out the window, lost in thought. When he stopped, they were in a part of town unfamiliar to her. They sat for a moment, listening to the rumble of thunder. She looked at him questioningly.

"El Jardin makes a great margarita. Care to join me, Alex?"

"Is this a profes
si
onal courtesy?"

"I con
si
der it my duty, senorita."

"In the line of duty, then." She nodded and smiled.

Just as they started down the street, large
drops of rain began to fall. Instinctively, Nick's arm went aroun
d Alex's shoulders and they hu
rri
ed into the garden restaurant. They sat under a canopy in the garden and watched rain splatter over the brick floor of the uncovered portion.

"Dos margaritas, por favor," Nick told the waiter, then turned his dark eyes on Alex. "You okay now?"

"Better." She smiled, her face fresh from the quick shower. Again, her mascara was a bit smudged at the corners of her intensely blue eyes. "Thanks for being there, Nick. And, for this. Even the rain helps. Helps me forget her for a few minutes. I can't help thinking about her all the time. I wonder if she's getting wet."

"Promise me something, Alex. That you won't go off hunting for Jenni again by yourself. That you'll call me first
. What if you had gone by yours
elf today? I wish you'd leave this investigating to
me.
”

The waiter brought their drinks along with a bowl of crunchy corn chips and a very spicy salsa.

"After all," he continued. "That's what you hired me for. To find her."

Alex slid her
finger and thumb along the nar
row stem of her glass. "Yes, I suppose it is. Is the advice a part of your investigative service?"

Nick stiffened. Damn! She was getting to him. He was only a man, drinking in the beauty of a woman with sad blue eyes. "Strictly bu
si
ness, Alex. Here's to finding Jenni."

Alex tipped the salt-rimmed glass to his and
si
pped her margarita. Nick was only doing a job.

Accompanying her to the hospital, the drinks, maybe even th
e kiss were profes
si
onal courte
si
es. And she'd better not forget it.

Nick's large hand lifted a damp strand of hair from her forehead and smoothed it back. "The rain was later than usual today. Waiting on us. We seem to attract it." He gazed at her, feeling the powerful attraction between them, a charge so magnetic it was difficult to re
si
st. "This is the second time we'
ve had to seek refuge in a down
pour."

Third time's the ch
arm. Alex felt herself
si
nk
ing, swirling, drowning in the safe haven of Nick's dark eyes. "The monsoon season is strange. You ca
n never rely on the weather, al
though it's supposed to rain every afternoon. . . . What's wrong? What are you staring at?"

"Do you mind if I fix your mascara? It's smeared on your cheeks."

She laughed, grateful for something to do, and dug into her purse for a tissue. "Be my guest. I suppose I shou
ld use waterproof mascara, espe
cially if I continue to run around in the rain."

"Do you? Plan to continue running around in the rain?" Carefully, Nick wiped at the corners of her eyes, then le
t
the backs of
his fingers caress each cheek
bone and trail down one cheek. He continued to stroke her
si
lky, soft skin. He'd like to stroke her all over like that, he mused. "There, now. I've needed to do that
si
nce we . . .
si
nce the other rain."

"Needed
?" Alex murmured, somewhat stag
gered at the surge of warmth she felt when he
was so near, his arm brushing her shoulder, his fingertips driving her crazy.

"Uh, wanted. Yes, wanted to touch you."

"Is this part of t
he service to clients too?" Sud
denly she was dry-mouthed and hot.

"Only to you, Alex. I told you before, I've never known a woman like you, not one who takes my breath away. You're very beautiful, you know, Alex. . . ." He whispered her name again, the way he did t
hat day in Teresa's room. "Espe
cially in the rain."

Suddenly she wanted the solace of his cool, reassuring kiss
again, wanted desperately to be
lieve him. Then she remembered Lia, perched so alluringly on his desk, and she knew he was lying. "Did you get it all off? The mascara?"

He surveyed her eyes, touching her cheeks lightly in a mock examination. "Clean. And smooth. Very smooth."

"Would you like to order now, senor?" The waiter stood be
si
de their table.

"They make a very good
mole
. Care to try it?" Nick asked.

Alex shook her head. "I don't think I could choke down a bite."

"Another margarita, then?"

"Dos margaritas ma
s, "Nick answered for both of them, dismis
si
ng the waiter then turning to Alex. He had to be honest with her, to warn her of the risks little Jenni faced and their chances of getting her back. "Alex—" He stopped abruptly. Her eyes revealed the confidence she held in his ability to find the lost child, and he couldn't destroy that trust. Not now. She put too much faith in him, he thought. It wasn't a good
si
gn. Not good at all.

As they
si
pped
the fresh margaritas, Alex fig
ured it was a good time to find out something about this man. "How
long have you been here, Nick?"

“
A year.
”

"Only a year? What brought you here?"

"My bu
si
ness went down the tubes."

She nibbled on a tortilla chip. "That's a strange reason. Not everyone flees to Mexico when their bu
si
ness in the States fails." Why did she use the word flee?
She puzzled.
It sounded like something a criminal would do.

He shrugged. "A friend of a friend offered me something here."

"So you just le
ft everything and moved to Her
mo
si
llo, Mexico?"

"Yep."

"From where? Where was your bu
si
ness?"

"Nevada."

"Vegas?"

"Yep."

"And what was your bu
si
ness?"

"The same thing. Helicopter tours."

"Tours? What did you do? Fly people over the desert? What's to see out there but cactus and sand?"

"Mostly we'd fly over the Grand Canyon. But that was the trouble—not enough bu
si
ness."

Several hours and a
heaping plate of chicken mole with corn tortillas
later, they decided to leave El Jardin. Alex felt as
though she were
floating through paths of flow
ers, buoyed by the sweet fragrance of a thousand gardenias. The
tequila
had a tranquilizing effect on her
and the mole was spicy and flavorful
.
I
t was
all
very nice, indeed.

Nick's hand nudged her back and she leaned willfully against it, enjoying the full pleasure of his nearness.
They had shared childhood stories and laughed over high school embarrassments. They talked of ambitions that brought them both here in Mexico, searching for happiness but finding anguish and disappointment.

Alex
soberly
con
si
dered that Nick might be involved in more
serious trouble than she ever imagined; like gambling, or the Mafia in Vegas. It would be easy to get in trouble with the law in Vegas. Or, worse yet, the underworld. And the perfect solution could be to escape to Mexico for a few years until things quieted down. Oh, who had she gotten herself mixed up with? Who was this El
Capitan
?

Knowing all this, she didn’t understand why she was so drawn to him. Why did she want to linger near him, clinging to his hand as
they st
oo
d at her door in the darkne
ss. The rain left the air smell
ing fresh and her attraction to Nick was stronger than ever. She could hear his heavy
si
gh and felt the power of his maleness, his rugged dominance over everything he touched, including her. "Would you like to come in, Nick? I could fix us some coffee. . . ." She needed coffee to clear her head.

Nick he
si
tated before answering. If he went in her house, he would stay. He would spend the night in Alex's bed and in her arms. There'd be no stopping him. He knew it as surely as he knew his name. His response came in definitive spurts. "I'm supposed to meet
Jose
on bu
si
ness.
I left everything. .
."

"Could we . . . could we meet tomorrow and discuss the investigation? I want to know what the witnesses had to say."

"No, I have a tour to the pyramids. It'll take all day."

Alex thought of the voluptuous Lia and
won
dered if the tour included her. Or some other woman. "Then what about tomorrow night when you get back? I could fix you a bite to eat."

"Not tomorrow night either. I'll be out of town."

"Oh." Her heart fell. Obviously he had other plans, quite likely with a woman. She couldn't expect him not to.