Rogue Diamond (25 page)

"No, not after taking care of her all this time. It isn't likely.
She’s valuable to them.
Now, t
hey might give her a mild sedative to make her sleep. In fact, they might take the most obvious, least noticed route. Just walk across."

"You mean, slip across the fence somewhere remote?"

"No. I mean walk across at a checkpoint with a sleeping child in their arms. Or disguise her in some way like dres
si
ng her as a boy. That's why I don't want us to waste our time going there. We'd never be able to find her."

Alex drew herself up and her indigo eyes flashed like blue diamonds. "I don't know about you, Nick Diamond, but I'd recognize her in any disguise. If I came close to Jenni, I'd know her, and most importantly, she would know me."

"I'm sure you would, Alex," Nick granted. "That could be damn dangerous for both of you. But what if you don't get that close? What if she's already passed through the border and is on her way? What if—"

Alex interrupted angrily, "What if we wait too long and she's sold up the chain, or whatever you call it, and becomes lost somewhere in the States? What if she's sent to Maine or Montana and just disappe
ars? They've done it before, ap
parently. They could do it again, while we wait in Hermo
si
llo! That's what this whole thing is about, isn't it, Nick? Creating a chain that disappears
and is immune to the law because the children are adopted
by people who think they’re doing this
legally!"

"So far they've evaded capture, but believe me, it won't happ
en this time. Jenni won't disap
pear."

Nick seemed so sure of himself, Alex wanted to lash out at him in her frustration. "How do you know?"

"Trust me."

"Trust you? Ha! Nick, I've tried to trust you through all this and there are still questions you refuse to answer. It's damn hard to believe that you'll be able to prevent Jenni from getting away when we're still
si
tting right here in Hermo
si
llo! What can you pos
si
bly do to stop it?"

Nick's voice was a quiet contrast to hers. "I know, Alex. It's a lot to ask."

"Then don't ask it."

"I must," he answered
si
mply.

"Well, with no more explanation than that, it's too much!" She turned away and walked to the kitchen window.
She tried to blink away the tears and
sought the strength and beauty of the mountains in the distance.

Nick approached Alex and stood close without touching her. She was an emotional powder keg right now and he wasn't sure how to deal with her. He wanted to reassure her. Maybe he should tell her, explain what was happening. How much would keep her satisfied? "Alex, I can tell you this much. We're keeping close contact with Customs. As soon as they know something, they'll notify us."

She swallowed hard and took a deep, shaky breath. "What will they do with Jenni when they find her? Take her into custody? She'll be alone and scared. I want to be with her during that
scary time
."

"And I want you to be. I'll fly you there the minute we know something for sure."

"You will?" Alex felt like jelly in
si
de. She was anxious, excited, nervous, bursting with every emotion that could prevent her from thinking straight. Maybe he was right. They should wait.

"You know
, this arguing is getting us no
where."

"The way I look at it,
si
tting here in your kitchen in Hermo
si
llo drinking coffee is getting us nowhere. Meantime, Jenni is heading for the States."

"Look, Alex, you hired me to do a job. That act required trusting me, a complete stranger. Now we're far from strangers. We've come this close to getting her. Trust me a little longer." His hands rested on her shoulders, allowing warmth to radiate from his body to hers.

"Hired you?" She turned to face him and his arms still encircled her shoulders. "Nick, you never let me hire you. You never cashed that check."

He grinned, sli
ghtly off-center. "Well, the in
tent was there, but other things got in the way. Like wanting to help you. Like caring about you
and Jenni. Like the urgency to find her and break the back of this human black-market scheme."

Like love? Alex wondered. "Like us, Nick?"

"From the first, I was interested in this case . . . in you, Alex."

"In the case? Why—"

Nick's
eyes flickered. He couldn't let her know now. They were too near the end, too close to the culmination of all this work. "You're a beautiful woman, Alex. You intrigued me the first time I saw you. And I . . . wanted you, even then. But I promised myself restraint. It just wasn't enough. We belong together. Let me hold you, Alex. Come here. ..."

Almost f
rantically, Alex
crushed herself against his firm
muscled chest, inhaling his masculine scent, absorbing his solid strength. "Nick, I don't think I can be strong much longer."

"Let me be your strength, Alex. I'll be with you . . . all the way to the end."

"Then what?"
She muffled the words, not dar
ing to con
si
der the answer.

Apparently, neither could Nick. "Don't think about that now. Just let me love you."

She clung weakly to him and he lifted her and carried her gallantly to the bed. He undressed her with delicate zephyr
-
like movements. His lavish kisses followed each garment until waves of de
si
re rippled through her, ri
si
ng slowly higher with each
si
lky touch. They made love with a gentl
eness she'd never before experi
enced, a sensuous elegance, a ritual beauty in the
uniting of two bodies.

Alex and Nick merged as two languid mountain streams that join at a fork. There was a gathering of speed and force until the rapid rush when the wild river crashed into the mighty ocean at journey's end. Then they lay in each other's arms as if washed up on a beach after a raging storm.

"What's going to happen to us, Nick?"

"We'll think about that later. There'll be plenty of time."

"My life is in such an upheaval right now. I feel like it's all piled over there in the corner of your apartment. I don't know where I'll be tomorrow, or next week. It's an unsettling feeling."

"I understand, Alex. I never know either. Maybe it's time for . . ."

Alex puzzled over his answer and waited for him to finish. But he didn't. For once, she didn't ask him to explain. In due time, when he was ready, he would tell her. Alex marveled at her patience. Maybe she was too tired to pursue it. Or was this the beginning of her trusting him? Perhaps. She wanted to trust him, oh, God, how she yearned for that kind of blind confidence. She wanted them to be together in the end. And Jenni? Like he'd said earlier, she wanted them both. Was that too much to ask?

A
knock
interrupted their quiet reverie
.

Nick bounded out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans, zipping as he strode to the door.

"
Jose
again? This is getting to be a habit," Alex snapped. One I don't like, she thought, but, maybe it's about Jenni.

"Something's up." Nick
opened
the door. His conversation
with
Jose
was brief and stac
cato
-
like. This
time, Alex moved closer and lis
tened.

". . . contact from lobo azul. This one's in the other direction. Pick-up at Yuma tonight. Vamos! Right now!"

"What is it this time? Guns?"

"Quien sabe?
Who knows?"

"Damn! Just wh
en this deal with the kid's com
ing down!"

As
Jose
moved away from the door, Alex could see his shadowy form. He was dressed all in black.

Nick turned into the kitchen, looking grim and giving orders. "Make us some coffee
to go
, will you, Alex? Here's th
e thermos." He set the huge con
tainer on the
counter and disappeared immedi
ately into the bedroom.

Alex followed him, privately rebel
l
ing at the orders. "Nick, what's going on? Is it Jenni?"

"No! The coffee, please! We're in a hurry!" He began peeling his jeans down his firm hips and muscular thighs, ignoring her presence and her questions.

Alex
grabbed his shirt, which came down past her knees
and proceeded with her as
si
gned chore, her agitation growing by the minute. She slammed the coffee pot onto the stove and flipped the flame on beneath it. This was worse than serving as a getaway car driver! Worse th
an being secretary to a nonexis
tent bu
si
ness! Make coffee for us and
si
t home and wait. WAIT! She could scream for waiting!

When Nick appeared he
wore dark clothing
, like Jose
. His jeans were jet black and hugged his legs snuggly; his
black
shirt hung loose
ly
over his waist.

"Nick, are you going to explain—"

His hard, dark eyes halted her. His face was taut and angular, his expres
si
on closed. What was he thinking? Feeling? He looked the same, but this was a different Nick, one she didn't know and didn't really like.

This wasn't the man who made sweet, tender love to her, who cared for her feelings and the well-being of a child he'd never seen. Here was a man for hire, a man willing to do the dangerous, the illegal—whatever was necessary to make a buck. From deep in
si
de her being, Alex wanted to cry out. What kind of man was this she loved?

"I'll explain as much as I can. As much as you
need to know," he said vaguely. His stone
expression
revealed his seriousness
.

She nodded, not sure she
w
ould
be satisfied
but realizing it was all Nick was willing to give.

"
Jose
and I have some bu
si
ness tonight. I won't be back for at least twelve hours, maybe a little longer. Here are the keys to the van. I want you to have a
vehicle in case ... in case any
thing happens and you need it." He tossed the keys on the table.

"What about Jenni?"

"Get some rest
tonight, Alex. Nothing will hap
pen before tomorrow, anyway. Maybe later."

"But what if it does?" Alex didn't think she could wait unti
l tomorrow for something to hap
pen.

"Wait for me."

"Wait?" Her nostrils flared. "What if . . ." she paused and finished hoarsely, "you aren't here. What if you don't come back?"

"Then someone else will notify you."

She lifted her chin and murmured, "Nick, I'm scared."

"Don't be." He moved quickly to take her in his arms, holding her close. "I wish I could tell you more."

Alex clasped her arms tightly around his waist, pres
si
ng her face to his chest as if to detect the real Nick beneath those strange clothes. Her hands met on the hard, metal object tucked into his belt. "Nick! What the hell is that?" But she knew.

He tore her arms away and kissed her roughly.

"What are you doing with a gun?" She breathed the question, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"No question
s, remember? I'll see you tomor
row." He winked
then moved toward the cabi
net. "Coffee ready?"

She grabbed his arm but he jerked away and began to pour the boiling black brew into the tall thermos. "Nick, I don't know what you're up to but it's dangerous if you've got a gun! It isn't worth the risk. Nothing is! No amount of money is worth risking your life, Nick, and I don't want you to do this."

He continued to ignore her and tightened the lid on the ther
mos. He started across the room.

S
he latched onto his arm again. "Nick, don't go! Please!"

Her frantic begging did no good. He reached for the door.

"Nick, I ... I love you."

He stopped a
nd looked at her for a long sec
ond. "I'll be back tomorrow, Alex. Believe it. Just trust me."

Then he was gone, a tall, dark shadow joining a
shorter,
bulkier one. They dro
ve away quickly and disap
peared into the night.

Alex stared at the black emptiness long after
Jose
's car vanished. Her mind raced with questions—unanswered questions.

Alex shivered in
si
de Nick's shirt and hugged her arms, trying to draw some warmth from his garment, but she couldn't. The view of him
dressed in black haunted her. She wondered which was real: the cold, hard Nick, the man for hire; or the gentle, compas
si
onate man with whom she had fallen in love.

What was he doing tonight? If he and
Jose
were smuggling, it was something serious. More so than exotic birds. Something serious enough to require a gun.
And that meant the others, who
ever they were, also had guns! Then it occurred to her that whatever Nick was involved in was more important than the search for Jenni. He was willing to leave her stranded midstream, waiting for the Cu
stoms officials to call. And be
cause of her devotion to him, her trust, Alex sat here, waiting. Doing nothing. Just waiting. It wasn't enough.

Nick didn't care for her. He couldn't! Even though he claimed he did, Alex was convinced he wouldn't have left her like this if he loved her. He'd said they were keeping in close contact with Customs, but if neither he nor
Jose
was here, how could they do that? He also said he'd be with her to the end. And where was he this minute? Not with her!

Alex looked out the window. Five hundred miles beyond
the horizon was the Mexican bor
der . . . and Jessup. And perhaps Jenni. Her eyes dropped to the gray van parked below the window. Suddenly, she knew what she must do.

Quickly, she tore off his shirt. After a shower she dressed and threw some extra clothes into a small suitcase.
S
he made a
nother
pot of coffee for herself and
searched out another thermos. It would be a long trip across Mexico, and she prayed th
at Nick’s
rattletrap van would make it.

Digging into her purse, she found a pen and tore off the end of a brown paper bag in the kitchen. The note was brief. It said all she needed to say:
Thanks for everything. Adios.

Alex paused be
si
de the pile of boxes that repre
sented her worldly posses
si
ons. She studied the boxes for a minute then began to dig furiously in one of them. Soon she retrieved the small item and looked at it with a grim smile of satisfaction. She closed Nick's apartment door with Jenni's well-loved, frayed teddy bear tucked under her arm.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Nick halted and leaned heavily on
Jose
. The two men stared at the empty place where the gray van was always parked. "Damn!
Van’s gone.
She's gone!"

"Maybe she
jes’
took a ride,
Capitan
."

"Yeah, all the way to Jessup
on the border
."

"To Jessup? You think she will interfere
? Should we stop her?

Nick laughed sarcastically at the thought of stopping anything Alex set her mind to.
"No, I don't think that's necessary. She'll be too late. The kid's already on her way. I'm almost sure of it." Nick spoke with difficulty and halted to take a raspy breath. "Anyway, it's something Alex had to do. She's damn stubborn,
Jose
."

"Ayee, that
mujer
has a mind of her own! Where will she go if she can't find
la nina
?"

"Hell,
Jose
, who knows what that woman will do next? Maybe she'll go to Phoenix, to
her friend
Carol's." Nick gasped as a wave of pain racked his body.

"Come on,
Capitan
. You're bleeding pretty bad."

Jose
draped a strong arm around Nick's ribs and all but carried him up the stairs. Depo
si
ting the wounded man on the edge of the bed, he quickly checked the apartment. He found the note on the table, and trying to avert his eyes from the scribbled words, handed i
t to El Capi
t
a
n.

Nick read Alex's quickly scribbled words and let it flutter weakly to the floor. "Damn!" His bloodshot eyes had lost their sharp quality. "I don't know how to keep her,
Jose
."

"Do you want to?"

"Hell, yes! God knows why, but I do!"

"We'll find her,
Capitan
. And bring her back."

"Oh, yeah? How? Tie her hand and foot?" He coughed a couple of dry hacks. "
Jose
, I'm in big trouble." Nick sank back on the bed and was immediately engulfed in a pool of blood.

Jose
was never sure if Nick meant he was in trouble because he was lo
si
ng blood or because this spirited woman with a temptress's blue eyes had left him. He had suspected all along that those indigo eyes of hers spelled danger for El
Capitan
.

The moon was a half lemon slice hanging by its tip, illuminating the otherwise black Mexican sky. Its glow was the only light she saw for hours, and it served to lure Alex toward her goal. She stopped twice for gas, saying a prayer each time that the van's fractious engine would restart. It did.

She
bought a bag of stale
corn chips at one of the filling stations
, drank the devil's-brew coffee
she’d brought along. A
nd drove. Drove like a bat out of hell. She was a crusader fighting a holy war
—her own. By dawn she pulled into the border checkpoint at Valencia, the Mexican border town at Arizona's remote southeastern corner.