Rogue Diamond (16 page)

Nick stuffed a twenty into Ricardo's hand, the one ho
lding the baby, and said to
Raul
, "Tell him to buy his children some milk and bread. Explain about my wife, that we're very sad this didn't work out. And he
re. You take this for your trouble." He gave
Raul
another bill and pushed Alex toward the door.

They left amid a noisy commotion. The men were angry. The child began to whimper, and in the distance, a woman's cries of joy could be heard. Alex's legs, her whole body, were numb. She wanted to scream, to sob hysterically, but she kept a stoic face. They were leaving without her precious Jenni.

CHAPTER EIGHT

"I could ea
s
i
ly
hate you, Nick Diamond, for put
ting me through that. Only, I know you aren't respon
s
i
ble for what happened."

"Thanks a lot. You probably won't believe this, but I hated what we went through too. I wish I could say it won't
happen again, but I can't guar
antee it. It might happen again and again . . . until we catch the bastards." Nick stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked down the street. "Until we find her."

Alex hurried after him,
s
i
mply because there was no other alternative. "Where are we going? Do you plan to walk back to the airport?"

"No. There's a restaurant a few blocks away. I thought we'd—"

"I don't want to eat. I want to go home!"

"Can't."

"Can't? Why not?"

"Have to wait. At this restaurant. I have more bu
s
i
ness."

"Well, I'm tired and emotionally drained, and I'm ready to le
ave this place. . . . What bu
s
i
ness?"

He ignored
her question and continued walk
ing. Alex struggl
ed to keep up with Nick's long-
legged strides.

"Why don't we just take a cab?"

"I need to walk. Need to think. It isn't far."

Nick seemed preoccupied with other thoughts, and when they reached the restaurant, he took a
si
dewalk table without a word. Alex gratefully slumped into a chair oppo
si
te him and didn't protest when he ordered, "Dos cervezas, por favor."

Finally, he spo
ke to her: "I know you're disap
pointed, Alex. So am I. I'm sorry."

"I'm afraid I set myself up for this pain. My expectations were too high." She
si
pped deject
edly at the beer the waiter brought. "I actually thought we'd find her."

"I tried to warn y
ou. At least you aren't hysteri
cal."

Her indigo eyes narrowed. "It's because I'm keeping a tight lid on my emotions. What I'd really like to do is
to
scream at the top of my lungs about the cruelty and injustice of everything that's happened recently."

He took a long swig of beer. "I doubt that. You aren't the
overly-
emotional type, Alex. I think you've been pretty steady through it all."

She leaned forward on the
table. "You're forc
ing me into be
ing the
overly-
emotional type by expo
si
ng me to such heart-wringing
si
tuations. That baby ..." She shook her head helplessly.

He touched her hand in a soft gesture, a gentle caress, then rested his large hand over hers. "I
think you've done very well, Alex. You played your wifely role to perfection and held yourself together at that house. I realize it was tough, especially knowing this child wasn't Jenni."

She snatched her hand away from his. "Don't placate me, Nick Diamond
. They almost sold that child.
"

"What do
you want from me, if not under
standing?"

"I want you to find Jenni!" Her voice rose.

"It isn't the
si
mplest request you could make," he growled. "You never k
now what will come of this.
Raul
may come back with another offer."

"Another child?" She pitched forward and rested her forehead in her hand. "Oh, God, Nick
.
How could he?"

"Maybe another one. Or he may find Jenni."

Alex turned her face away and took a deep breath. "
Raul
was repul
si
ve. Only interested in money."

"Yes, Alex. That's what we're dealing with here. People whose only interest is making money. They're cold, hard-hearted bastards. When are you going to get that through your stubborn head?"

She cast angry eyes at him but said nothing. Alex wanted to hate Nick but she couldn't. She wanted to cry, but tears wouldn't come. She wanted to go home, wanted to do anything but
si
t here and drink beer with him. Yet Nick had other plans, other concerns. She'd never felt so torn apart.

The waiter returned and
Nick asked, "Do you like
fish
? They fix the best
red snapper, pargo a la Veracruzana, that
I've eaten."

"I'm not hungry."

"You need food. We haven't eaten all day." He gave the order anyway and the waiter left.

"Here. I won't be needing this." Alex reached across the table and placed the gold band on the table before him.

Nick's eyes dropped to the ring, then lifted to hers. "We may have to use it again, you know."

"I hope not. I hated every minute of it."

"It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Only the 'my s
weet' part . . . and in the res
taurant, when
you were such an obnoxious bas
tard . . . and at the house, when they brought out the baby."

"I thought I made an understanding husband.
Y
ou were a very convincing wife." Nick smiled for the first time in hours.

Alex softened, ever so slightly, and smiled too. "It just shows that in a pinch, I, too, can act . . . my sweet."

"The act's over now." He matched her sarcasm then glanced around warily. It was a motion he would repeat many times while they sat there.

The waiter brought
the spicy fish
, and they ate in
si
lence. In spite of her protests, Alex found she was starved. She couldn't help wondering if the act was truly finished. Would they have to go through this again in the search for Jenni? Was this whole thing an act for Nick? Even his kisses?

They topped off the meal with coffee and flan. Nick took his time and chatted aimlessly about local customs and history. They had more coffee and he relayed stories about the biggest, longest,
and meanest fish caught in Guaymas. They'd been there about two hours when Alex realized he was dallying.

Finally, before
she could confront him, she un
derstood the reason for the delay. Or part of the reason.

"Are you El
Capitan
?" A boy of about twelve stood by their table.

"
S
ì
." Nick nodded.

The boy handed Nick a slip of paper and was gone in a flash. Nick slid the paper in
si
de his shirt, quickly paid the bill, and ushered Alex away. They took a cab immediately. Digging out the paper, he scanned it then ripped it apart and stuffed it into two different pockets.

"Delayed,"
he muttered. "Damn!" He gave di
rections to the cab driver then turned to Alex. "Plans have changed."

"What plans? I thought—"

"My plans. We'll have to spend the night here."

"What? Why?"

His eyes we
re hard and dark. He glanced be
hind the cab as if checking to see if they were being followed. "No questions, remember?"

A sudden chill went through Alex, and she wondered what in hell she'd gotten herself into. Who was this man be
si
de her? And what was he doing? In all the time she'd spent with Nick, she still couldn't answer the questions she had about him. She still didn't know him.

It was a modest hotel by American standards. Alex walked into the cool, clean-smelling room and pushed
down
on the near corner of the bed. It seemed adequate enough. She peered around curiously. The shower was small, but completely tiled; the walls were white-stucco and decorated with framed charcoal drawings of Mexican women in the marketplace.

At the end of the room a window overlooked a lush courtyard. People milled about, bringing food and arranging decorations. Mu
si
cian
s gath
ered on a small stage, tuning their instruments. Obviously, they were getting ready for a party. Alex turned
away. The thought of gaiety re
pulsed her.

She could hear Nick in the room next door and leaned her body against their adjoining wall as if to absorb more of his sounds. What was it about the man that drew her to him
and scared her at the same time
? Here she was, spending the night in a strange place because of his so-called plans. And she had no idea what his plans were.
H
ow she fit into them
, or even why she was here
.

She heard his door click and realized Nick was leaving the room. Maybe he was coming in here to see her. She waited and listened breathlessly, suddenly aware that that was exactly what she wanted him to do. The sound of his footsteps, however, receded down the hall, and she felt a small, sad pang.

Alex took a deep breath and tried to shake her mounting melancholy mood. Maybe a shower would help. She pulled the blouse over her head, slipped out of the skirt and then her underwear. Standing barefoot on the
cold, Mexican-tiled floor, she looked down at her gently rounded breasts and wondered if Nick liked a woman with a larger bosom. She pressed a palm to her flat stomach and the feminine curve between her hip bones. She wondered what it would be like to have Nick touch her there, and to feel him in
si
de her. Shaking the thoughts away, she adjusted the water and stepped in
si
de. With gratitude for the warm wetness, she turned her dusty face up to the refreshing spray.

Nick made a
quick
call to
Jose
, explaining the delay, then chatted amiably with the hotel manager. There would be a wedding soon, and hotel guests were invited to participate in the celebration
. Feeling dusty and mentally fa
tigued, Nick made his way back down the hall. A brisk shower was what he needed. Then he would tell Alex about the wedding celebration. Maybe it would cheer her to attend.

She was angry with him. He could feel it. Hell, maybe she had a right to be. All he'd done was build her hopes up, only to dash them today in that house with the earthen floors.

Nick stood be
si
de the door to his room and paused. He heard something. The sound came from Alex's r
oom, the mournful sound of some
one crying. He he
si
tated. Should he let her alone? But he couldn't leave her like this.

He knocked softly. "Alex?" He pressed on the latch and the do
or opened. She hadn't even both
ered to lock her door! Nick entered swiftly, prompted by the
si
ght of her sobbing.

She sat against the wall that separated her
room from his,
a towel wrapped around her slen
der body, her hair dripping wet from a recent shower. She hadn't even taken time to dry off and beads of wa
ter glistened on her bare shoul
ders and arms. She gazed, sobbing, at a charcoal drawing of a little girl, a dark-eyed Mexican child with unruly curls.
A child who resembled Jenni.

"Oh
God, Alex." Nick knelt be
si
de her and turned her away from the framed picture. "There, there," he murmured clum
si
ly, not knowing what else to say.

With his arms around Alex, Nick helped her stand up and gathered her protectively to his chest. He pressed her tightly to him and held her there until the two seemed as one, sharing the same pas
si
ons, the same feelings. Without the encumbrance of words, his body told her of his caring.

Alex let Nick hold her, willingly relinquishing her limp body to his encompas
si
ng embrace. Like a child, she bu
ried her face against his shoul
der and cried unti
l she felt a release of frustra
tions and grief that had built up over the last week
. Everything had
reached a dramatic peak today in the little Mexican house.