Rogue Diamond (8 page)

Although her attitude was one of supplication, and her heart repeatedly cried out one particular prayer, Alex's mind raced in many directions.

Was she too trusting with this man she hardly knew? Yet she had to trust someone. She had reached a dead-end in her search very quickly and knew she need
ed help. Both Sam and Padre Ramo
n knew it too. Did she think that just because Nick Diamond was an American, she could trust him? Or because he had been recommended b
y a priest? There had been qual
ifications, even then. What if the things they said about Nick were true?

He didn't look like someone working out
si
de the law, but that's what she had heard. After
only
one meeting, she decided he wasn't a man just out for money. What kind of man was he, though, this Nick Diamond? A local hero? Or a criminal in exile? Neither? Both? Someone to fear or revere? Well, now was not the time to doubt her deci
si
on to seek his help. He was already invol
ved. Al
ready hired.

Maybe it was
the undeniable phy
si
cal attrac
tion between them that swayed her opinion of him. Perhaps his devastating smile made her think he would find her darling Jenni.

Alex's heart wrenched every time she thought of the little girl, alone and frightened now for three days. Nothing would deter her from finding Jenni. She wouldn't stop until the little girl was back where she belonged—in Alex's arms.

"Alex . . ."

She jumped at the sound of the low masculine voice and opened her eyes to the tall dark-haired figure of Nick Diamond. He wore a pale blue shirt tucked into t
ight jeans and looked devastat
ingly masculine. Maybe she s
hould have prayed for restraint.
"I ... I thought you'd changed your mind about coming," she mumbled.

"I
thought y
ou were praying." He looked dif
ferent without the Mexican sombrero to hide his dark hair and canny eyes. Now, thick sable curls capped his head, and daring golden-flecked eyes assessed her boldly.

She shivered involuntarily. Even seated next to her in church
, he reminded her of a
strong
ani
mal ready to spring. Alex could only hope he would apply that energy toward finding Jenni. "I was thinking . . . about what to do if you didn't show."

"Sorry I'm late. Something came up." He wouldn't tell her he had to have time to scout the place out and make sure she was alone. He couldn't trust anyone, especially strange women with beautiful blue eyes. Seductive blue eyes.

"I have a list of Teresa's friends for you, and another picture of Jenni." She fumbled in her purse. "Here's t
he newspaper clipping of the ac
cident."

Nick watched her carefully, his well-trained eyes observing the knotted handkerchief she stuffed in the corner of her purse. He inhaled the
faint flower fragrance of her freshly washed hair, and noticed the way her casual blouse and skirt hugged her slender, very feminine body. His hand brushed hers when he took the items she offered, and he wanted to clasp it and pull her closer.

"Good. This is exactly what I need. Okay. Ready to talk to the priest?"

"P-priest? W
hat are we doing, confes
si
ng be
fore we get started?"

"No," he chuc
kled. "Gathering a little infor
mation."

"From Padre Ramo
n?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

Alex held b
ack. "He conducted Teresa's ser
vices. But he, uh, can't help on Jenni's disap
pear
ance." What would Father Ramo
n say if she trailed in with
the notorious Nick Diamond, es
pecially after he
had warned her not to tell any
one about this man?

"How do you know? Have you talked with him about it?"

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I have. He was no help."

Nick nudged her with his hand at her back. "He's the only one I know who can answer my questions."

Against her better judgment, Alex moved along the aisle with Nick. He was nothing if not determined. Strangely, though, his light touch on her back felt reassuring and she found his dark, dominant presence comforting.

Alex preceded Nick into the priest's office and fumbled with the introductions.

Padre Ramo
n glanced into the hall before quickly clo
si
ng his office door. "Did anyone see you come in?"

"What's wrong, Father?" Nick laughed. "Don't want to soil your good name by entertaining the likes of me?"

"I do have a certain reputation to maintain, you know," Pa
dre Ramo
n countered with a twin
kle in his brown eyes. "What can I do for you?"

Alex had the distinct feeling the two men
knew each other well. Maybe she was being conned
by
one or
both of them.

"We need some information." Nick spread the news photo on the desk. "Can you tell me the names of the people in the background here? They were all witnesses to this accident that claimed Teresa's life. Maybe they saw something that will give us
a clue to the child's disappear
ance."

Padre Ramo
n spent the next half hour relaying individual names, relevant data about families and where they lived. Nick was right. The priest was probably the only one in town who could have given so much information about a group of apparent strangers.

When they lef
t the office, Nick seemed satis
fied. "Now I have a place to start. Perhaps these people saw more than you did, Alex. After all, you were person
ally involved and
were definitely
dis
tracted."

"Makes sense," she said, pau
si
ng out
si
de the church.

"Come on. I'll drive you home." He motioned her toward a battered gray Volkswagen van.

Alex followed him but had other ideas. As she climbed int
o the passenger's seat, she com
mented drily, "Father Ramo
n knows you, doesn't he?"

Nick hopped ea
si
ly into the driver's seat and revved the motor to life. "We've met."

"Knows you well."

"We've worked together a couple of times."

"I feel like an absolute fool. You probably know that he sent me to you for help."

"I'm not surprised."

"With instructions not to mention who sent me. What is he? Your referral agent? Do the two of you split fees?"

Nick's eyes cut sharply to her. "It's imperative that you not mention it to anyone, Alex. You haven't, have you?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then, don't! Don't even say that you and I went to see hi
m today. He shouldn't be associ
ated with me."

"Might sully his reputation?"

"Something like that."

"Or break up your racket?"

His dark eye
s flicked with a
gleam of
wicked
ness. "There is no racket, Alex. And we don't split fees."

"You know something, Nick?" Alex's indigo eyes flashed fire. "I don't even care about that. I
don't care what kind of racket you run or if the rumors about you are fact or fable. I only care about one thing. Can you find my child?"

"No guarantees, Alex. All I can do is try."

She stared at him steadily for a long moment. It wasn't even a question of trusting him. She had no alternative. "Then that's enough for me."

"You'll keep quiet?"

"I won't
breathe
a word to a soul."

He nodded curtly. "Let's get you home."

She reached out and touched his arm. "This may sound presumptuous, but I'd like to go with you, Nick. To interview these people."

"That isn't necessary, Alex." He turned the next corner and drove directly to her small white stucco house.

"But I want to go." She frowned when she realized that he'd known exactly where he was going. "How did you know where I live?"

He grinned and cut the motor. "
Jose
is very handy to have around. He's persnickety about details, especially regarding the company I keep. And, he and I do split fees. We also share the work load, like this interviewing."

"In other wo
rds, you don't want me interfer
ing in your bu
si
ness."

"Actually, I'd like to talk to you about this list." He dug into his pocket for the list of names Alex had given him. "Do any of these people live around here?" He
motioned to the pleasant tree-
lined street.

"Yes. Most of them do."

"Nice neighborhood."

"Too nice for someone who wants to hide a baby," Alex said bitterly.

"You can never tell someone's innocence merely by loo
king at them," Nick warned. "Al
though I agree with you. These people probably had nothing what
soever to do with Jenni's disap
pearance. Can we go in
si
de and talk? I'd like to go down the list with you anyway."

"Sure." She led him into the house with no reservations. Regardless of his sullied reputation or what an association with him might do to hers, Alex's only concern was furthering the search for Jenni.

Nick followed her, knowing
Jose
would be pulling at the curly end of his mustache when he saw them disappear into her house. But Nick needed to know more about this woman, and more about this child she sought. At least that's what he told himself.

Alex motioned toward the tile-floored living room. "Have a seat. I'll have the coffee ready in a minute."

Nick made no move to
si
t where she indicated but followed her
into the kitchen. "Can I do any
thing to help?" His glance swept through the small, neat house as they walked down the hall.

Alex tried to ignore the tall man's domineering presence and we
nt about her task in mock casu
alness. "No, thanks. I can handle it."

Nick leaned ea
si
ly against the door frame. "Nice house."

"Nice house, nice neighborhood," Alex
mocked. "What is this? An analy
si
s? Do you have to report my social status to
Jose
?"

He shrugged off her testiness. "It was just an observation. Do you rent?"

Alex nodded,
instantly regretting her sharp
ness. But this man set her on edge, and she wasn't sure what was going on with him or if she could trust him. Even Father Ram
o
n looked suspicious to her now. She
si
ghed and tried to take a more amiable approach. "The Univer
si
ty provided it when I came here to work. It's only a few blocks from school or town, close enough to walk to either. They also helped me find Teresa." She halted and chewed her lip.

"You have a pretty good set-up here."

"Had," Ale
x amended. "Teresa was an excel
lent housekeeper and a good friend—" Her eyes clouded and she lost count of the number of dips of coffee she had already put in the basket.

"You said you were present at Jenni's birth," Nick probed. "How did that happen?"

"Not by choice, believe me." She smiled softly, remembering
her near panic at the time. "Te
resa was pregnant when I hired
her, although no one knew it. Wh
en it became apparent, some of my friends advised me to fire her, said it was too much trouble to train a maid then have her leave when she had a baby."

"Why didn't you let her go?"

Alex shru
gged and turned up the flame be
neath the coffee
pot. "I don't know. I liked Te
resa from the start. She was a good worker. And she wanted to stay on after the baby was born.
She even talked about going back to the States with me. You se
e, she wasn't married and had no
family. I became the family she didn't have."

"And she became yours?" he posed.

"Yes, I suppose. Working in a foreign country can be a pretty lonely bu
si
ness."

"You're all alone? No friends or, uh, anything?'

She smiled dir
ectly into his eyes. He was ask
ing, rather awkwardly, about her personal life "No one. I left everyone and everything in the States."