Rogue Diamond (13 page)

She hugged her arms in frustration, thinking of Rosemary's unspoken fears, for she had them too. They were amplified now that she had felt the magnetism of Nick Diamond's kiss and knew of the pas
si
on he aroused in her. She was well aware of the strength of pas
si
on she aroused in Nick too.

Where was he right now? Was he really taking somebody on a tour of the pyramids? And what about tonight? The more she learned about him, the more doubt was cast. Where could he be going overnight? Was he meeting a woman, as Alex originally suspected? Perhaps Lia, with the voluptuous body. Or was he off on a smuggling mis
si
on?

Alex knew
she shouldn't care if he was in
volved in smuggling or other illegal activities. He was
n't the man for her, not a hard-nosed
type like Nick Diamond.
But it drove her
crazy thinking he was
in
another woman's arms
tonight.

What difference did it make? she asked herself. She was only a client to him, regardless of the pas
si
on of his kisse
s. Obviously, he was only inter
ested in getting into bed with her. Why else was he helping her with this search for Jenni? Well, she'd have to make sure that his interest in her remained keen b
ut unsatisfied. Nothing must in
terfere with the search.

Email from
Hermo
si
llo, Mexico

To: Carol W

From: Alex J

Subject: job at risk

Hi
Carol,

Well, I did it! I'm out on a limb by myself
si
nce Rosemary refused
to
si
gn that proposal. The offi
cial protest of
budget cuts to the Early Child
hood Dept. is lying on the Univer
si
ty pre
si
dent's desk at this very moment. It may be one of the dumbest things I've ever done, or the wisest, but it was my only alternative. I figured I may as well go down fighting, stubborn American that I am
.
We should hear something in a week or so.

Of course, I'm
not ready to leave Mexico. Cer
tainly not without Jenni.

So far, no leads.
Nick is pursuing the investiga
tion slowly. Too slowly for me, but he's running this show.

You mentioned Jack in your last letter. No, I do not want to see him
.
Please don't give him my address.

Can you help me find a job in Phoenix? I may need it sooner than I expected.

Love, Alex

Nick had only been gone two days, but the way Alex felt, it could have been two
long, empty week
s. She thought of him constantly and paced the floor and worried
– about him and her darling Jenni
. A
lthough she went through the mo
tions of going t
o work, her mind was often occu
pied by Nick Diamond.
He was her only
reassuring hope of finding Jenni. When he wasn't around, she had none of that assurance. She felt completely alone in her fruitless search.

What if Nick didn't return? What if she was left once again with no one to help her find Jenni? What if she never saw Nick again? Alex tried to stay busy, tried not to think about the what ifs. She was ashamed to admit
to anyone
her obses
si
on with this ruffian, Nick Diamond.

It was after dark when she heard the knock. Cautiously, Alex approached the door. "Quien es?"

"It's Nick, Alex. Nick Diamond," a weary voice rumbled.

Feverishly, Alex flung open the door. "Nick!"

Deep in her heart she felt tremendously relieved to see him, though she tried to hide her feelings.

"Alex, we have to talk." Nick teetered on her doorstep looking
so big and rugged and . . . aw
ful!

"Oh, God, Nick, what's wrong?"

"Does that offer of coffee still hold?" His eyes looked darker than usual, and tired. Gone was the spark she had seen there the last time they were together. Now she saw only fatigue, and that he needed
to talk to
her.

"Of course! Come in!" Instinctively, she reached for his wrist and pulled him toward her into the hall. Then, realizing what she was doing, she released his hand abruptly. "What in the world have you been doing?"

Nick
si
ghed, his
eyes drinking in Alex's refresh
ing beauty. "You wouldn't believe it. Actually, I'm just very tired. I didn't sleep very much in the past two days."

She closed the door behind him. "I thought you . . . might not return, Nick."

"What gave you that idea?"

She shrugged. "I didn't know where you were or
who you were with
."

"You don't have to know those things, Alex. Only that I'll be back." He loomed, rather than stood, in the hallway.

"How do I know that for sure? I don't know anything about you."

"You know that you can trust me, Alex," he said quietly. "That's enough."

She shook her head and her blond hair rustled
around her face. "It isn't enough for me. I want to know more, Nick."

"I thought we
made a deal. You don't ask ques
tions, and I'll help you find Jenni."

She nodded and looked down. "We did. But you haven't exac
tly held up your end of the bar
gain either. We're no closer to finding her."

"Oh yes we are. Investigations take time. We've only been working on this a week. And we're further
along than we were at the begin
ning."

A week? Only a week? It seemed like a year! "Yes, I guess we are. Sorry, Nick. I'm just so
anx
ious to find her. And these last two days have been long." Without you
,
she wanted to add. She gulped and left her feelings unsaid.

"That coffee? I need it, Alex."

"Oh, yes. And I'll fix you a sandwich. You must be hungry too." She turned away from him and started for the kitchen.

Nick followed her. "The reason I'm so grimy is that I just flew back into town tonight. Didn't take time for
a shower or anything before com
ing over here. I'm dead tired, but something has developed and I figured you'd want to know."

The coffee pot clattered to the stove and Alex wheeled around. "You found her?"

"No
.
Now, take it easy, Alex. Just listen." He heaved himself into the chair and rested one muscular arm
on the table. Even in his near-
exhausted state, Nick looked so powerful and sexy that Alex wanted to run to him and soothe his tired body.

"F
ather Ramo
n got a tip that an orphaned child might be found at Guaymas, a small fishing village on the co
ast. Now, there is nothing defi
nite about this at all. An anonymous tip. There was no specific information. The child could be ten or two, boy or girl. It might not be a valid tip at all. It might be the first of many wild goose chases. Like the hospital. I thought you'd like to go
with me
and see."

"Of course I'll go! It might be her!" Alex felt a flush of excitement. "This might be it!"

Nick shrugged, dou
si
ng her enthu
si
asm with his nonchalance. "At this point, we can't discount it. But chances are one in a million that we'd find her there. And so soon."

"Soon? My God, she's been gone a week!"

"Alex! Get
a hold
of yourself!" He had a mind to shake some sense into her but instead motioned impatiently at th
e coffee pot. "The coffee? I re
ally need it." Nick
looked at her askance, his usu
ally sharp eyes bleary and dull. Just when he wanted to take
her in his arms, he was demand
ing that she fix him a stupid cup of coffee. He must be lo
si
ng his mind.

"How can you
be so casual about this? So un
caring?"

"I'm not uncaring, Alex. Just tired. And if I'm going to
si
t here and stay awake long enough to talk to you, you'd better give me a little caffeine."

"All right, I'll fix the coffee. You talk." Alex forced herself back to the abandoned task. "Tell me everything. When did Father
Ramon
get this
call? Who made it? Why don't you trace the caller? When are we going to Guaymas?"

"The only question I can answer is the last one. Tomorrow morning."

"Tomo
rrow? Why not tonight?" Alex de
manded, her e
motions playing havoc with soar
ing highs and plummeting lows in a matter of minutes. "What if she's there now?"

"If she's there tonight, Alex, she'll be there tomorrow. Any
way, I'm in no shape to fly any
where tonight. I have to get some sleep."

"The claim on your door says you fly anyone anywhere," Alex accused, slapping packages of ham and cheese on the counter. "If you can fly tourists to the pyramids, why can't you fly me to Guaymas now?
You fly that . . . that Lia any
where she wants to go. I've hired you too!"

He ignored her jealous outburst. "I want you to meet
Jose
and me at the airport tomorrow around ten. There's a little yellow building off to the right
si
de
where we keep the chopper.
Jose
and I have to go over the mechanics and gas it up. Then we'
ll check out this rumor. And re
member, Alex, that's all it is, a rumor."

Alex spread mustard on the bread and dug out lettuce and pickles
, ham and cheese.
Why was he doing this to her? Building her hopes up only to kick them down. The rich aroma of strong coffee filled the room, and she placed a plate of sandwiches and a steaming cup before Nick. "If that doesn't keep you awake for at least thirty minutes, nothing will."

"Thanks. I'm starved." He dove into the first sandwich without another word.

Alex fixed herself
a cup of coffee and sat oppo
si
te him. "You don't think she's there, do you?"

"I don't know. I told you the odds. But it's pos
si
ble that they would try to get her out of town. Away from Hermo
si
llo."

"They?"

"Whoever has her."

"And you think someone has her? That she's been stolen?"

"Definitely. I think . . ." He paused and looked into Alex's frightened eyes. "I think she's safe. But they probably don't want to ransom her. We would have heard something by now. They want her."

Alex froze. "F-for what?"

Nick took a deep breath. Damn, he shouldn't be telling her this. He was just so tired, he couldn't think st
raight. He jerked to full aware
ness when she gr
ipped his arm fiercely. Her fin
gernails pricked his skin and he felt the sting all the way to his soul.

"Tell me! What do you think, Nick? Why do they want her?"

Nick's eyes hardened and he wrenched his arm from Alex's frantic grasp. His angular face grew taut and he rose to pace across the floor. Running a large hand through his dark hair, he turned back to Alex. "Maybe . . . maybe to sell her."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Alex felt as though someone had stabbed her in the stomach. She stared horrified at Nick. "Sell? Sell Jenni?" Her voice was shrill as her emotions pitched and rolled with another of those roller coaster surges. "Oh, my God, no! Surely not! It just can't be!"

"Oh, hell! I did
n't intend to tell you my suspi
cions so soon, Alex, but I guess it's time you knew—"

"When were you going to tell me? After she was sold . . . when it was too late?"

Nick gripped her arms and shook her roughly. "I didn't intend to tell you because I didn't want a hysterical woman on my hands
. Like now.
For God's sake, calm down!"

"How did you expect me to react when you told me something so ... so outrageous!" Her eyes were like blue flames, dancing with panic.

"Alex, the only way we're going to see this thing through and get Jenni back is by calmly calculating the actions of the enemy. We will get nowhere by lo
si
ng control
.
"