Rogue Diamond (6 page)

Jose
ch
uckled. "This is the one, Capita
n."

"Huh?"

"The blond American I told you was looking for a child after that wreck in the market."

Nick paused and narrowed his gaze. "Then she's telling the truth. Maybe the child was stolen, after all.
It's pos
si
ble we're on to some
thing. Another commodity smuggled out of Me
x
ico
.
"

"
Si
,
Capitan
."

Jose
watched Nick tear down the street after Alex. A smile twitched his lips beneath the wide, dark mustache. El
Capitan
was hard- nosed, all right. He had defied the melancholy blue eyes and quiv
ering lips of the beautiful se
norita. Even the sad story about the mis
si
ng baby had failed to break through his steel facade. Then why was he following her? To investigate the pos
si
bility o
f another smuggling ring? Or be
cause he wanted that blond woman called Alex to warm his bed?

Jose
shrugged and walked around to the back of the desk. He bent to open a wooden door near his feet, and with a low grunt, pulled out a hidden phone.

Alex's heels cli
cked on the
si
dewalk as she hur
ried away from Nick Diamond's shoddy office. She wished a cab would come by and whisk her away from this part of town. There were bad memories here.
A clap of thunder rumbled over
head, warning her it would begin raining soon. She didn't care. Right now she just wanted to calm down and decide what to do next, now that El
Capitan
had turned her down.

What should she do? Go back to the police or to Father
Ramon
? Feeling panic growing within her, Alex feared
she was on the
verge
of hyste
ria. A drop of rain hit her arm, and she frantically stuffed the newspaper article deep in
si
de her purse to protect it.

"You're going to get soaked, you know. It'll be pouring soon."

Alex looked up as Nick Diamond fell into step with her. She had been so deeply absorbed in her own thoughts
, she hadn't even heard him com
ing behind her. H
e was impres
si
vely tall, she no
ticed, as they walked together. His shoulders were level with her ears, and that wide-brimmed sombrero he wore made him seem even taller.

She stared ahead and ignored his comment. Right now she didn't care if she got wet, or
anything
about this El
Capitan
, Nick Diamond. She only cared about Jenni and how to find her.

A crazy thought struck Alex. Was Jenni getting
wet this m
inute?
Was she hearing the thunder and frightened by unfamiliar
si
ghts and sounds? Was she hiding nearby? Alex
clamped her teeth to
gether, determined not to cry in front of this arrogant man.

"I'd like to know what happened that day in the marketplace.
Let’s
take refuge in that cantina
.
We could have a cup of coffee and talk," he offered quietly.

She continued walking ahead and raindrops started to pelt her head and shoulders. Was he making a pass? Or was he
offer
ing
to
help? "Are you saying I was wrong about you?" she asked, looking up at him.

"No, your as
sessment of me is about as accu
rate as any. I'
m certainly no hero. And compas
si
onate is not a word used to describe me."

"Then what do you want with me?"

"Well, we could have some coffee and—"

"It's
too
hot for coffee."

"A fruit ice, then. We could talk about—"

Impatiently, she said, "Talk, Mr. Diamond?" She grasped at
a shred of hope that he was con
si
dering her plea. "I need help."

"Look, I . . ." He put his hands in his pockets and hunched his
broad shoulders against the
pelt
ing rain.
At least he was protected some
what by the sombrero. The rain was hitting her unmercifully, and she didn't even flinch. "We could talk about the kid.
I'll see if there's any
thing I can do."

Alex stopped
and faced him. Now he was talk
ing turkey
.
Large raindrops bathed her face and smeared her mascara at the corner of each eye.

"Would you listen to my story? Will you try to help me, Mr. Diamond?"

He gazed down at her, tempted to wipe the smudges from her big eyes. Big, beautiful eyes, he thought. "I'll try. No rash promises, though. We'll talk about the
si
tuation." Her mouth looked incredibly appealing, especially as it was moist from the rain. She opened it slightly in a slow, he
si
tant smile. Her hair hung in tawny wet strands to her shoulders and dripped on her blouse. Nick tried not to notice how the damp blouse clung to the rounded curves of her breasts. Nice breasts.

"Yes! All right! Thank you, Mr. Diamond!" Alex grabbed his hand and pumped it up and down jubilantly. "Thank you for trying to find my child."

He held onto he
r hand a little longer than nec
essary and they stood staring at each other in the rain for a mome
nt. "If we're going to wor
k tog
ether on this, call me Nick."

"Okay . . . Nick." Her eyes crinkled
as she smiled up at him through the raindrops
. "Call me Alex."

Even in the r
ain, with her wet hair now plas
tered to her head, she looked beautiful. At that moment Nick would have done anything she asked him, but what he wanted to do was take her to bed. "Damned monsoons started early this year. You're soaked."

Alex felt a little breathless as she smiled up at him through the rain. "So are you. Sorry about dragging you out in this." The man was a symbol
of strength, a hope she could cling to. Maybe he wasn't completely corrupt, after all. He certainly had an aura of efficiency about him. He would take charge. "Let's get out of the rain so we can talk. You grab a table with an umbrella, and I'll get us the fruit ice."

In a few moments they were huddled
cozily
under a blue canvas umbrella. "Tell me what happened that day. The day of the wreck," Nick began, scooting closer to her
si
de of the table.

Alex
took a
si
p
of her fruit-flavored ice and took a deep breath. This would not be easy, but she knew it was necessary. She would probably have to tell her story a hundred times, but she was willing, if it brought her closer to getting Jenni back. "My housekeeper, Teresa, and I went to the market Saturday. I had planned a party for some friends from the Univer
si
ty that night and wanted to get the freshest fruit. One of Teresa's friends was supposed to keep Jenni, but her mother got
si
ck at the last minute. So, we took
the baby
with us." She stopped suddenly and pressed her fingers against her lips.

"What's wrong?"

"It all seems so in
si
gnificant now. The reasons for going to th
e market, the party . . . every
thing. I'm sorry. I promised myself I wouldn't do this."
She pressed at the outer corners of her eyes to diminish her tears.

He kept his bu
si
nesslike reserve and tried to remain detached. "Take your time." She used the napkin to dab at her eyes, mis
si
ng some of the smudged mascara in the process. He wanted to grab that napkin and finish the job.

"Well," she continued when she was more composed, "a car came around the corner. It was green."

"What make? Did you notice?"

She con
si
dered for a moment. "Chevy, I think. But old."

"You're a good observer. Most people wouldn't remember."

"Are you testing me?
This is the truth as I know it.
"

"No," he laughed. "Just wondered how much you remembered in a time of stress. Go ahead with your story."

"The car crashed into everything in its path, including us. I ... I lost
si
ght of Jenni. Then there was Teres
a, lying on the
si
dewalk, uncon
scious—"

"Were you knocked out too?"

"I don't remember. Maybe for a few seconds."

"When did you start looking for Jenni?"

She pause
d, again remembering. "Five min
utes. Maybe a little longer. I asked one of the bystanders to get her. But she wasn't there."

"Have you talked to her friends? Maybe some member of Teresa's family has Jenni and intends to take care of her."

Alex shook her head sadly. "There is no family. Teresa was from Naranjo, where her mother was killed when the volcano erupted a few years ago. There was no one else. She had no husband. I don't even know the father of her child. I took care of her funeral. Teresa's local friends have been questioned by the police. No one has seen Jenni. She has completely disappeared."

He shook his head tightly. "I just can't buy that. She's somewhere. Someone has her."

"Do you ... do you think she's safe?" Alex asked he
si
tantly, her vulnerable
si
de revealing her real concern. The loving, nurturing part of her, the part that cared deeply for the well-being of this child, wanted reassurances.

Nick didn't fail to notice it. He smiled, sen
si
ng that she needed a po
si
tive answer, deciding to keep his doubts to himself for now. "Of course," he replied.

Alex
si
ghed and squeezed her hands into fists. "I hope so. Oh, God, I hope so. We've got to find her! And soon!"

The urgency in her voice again told him of deeper feelings than one might normally have for a housekee
per's child. "You mentioned ear
lier that you had to find your child. Alex, is she your child?"

She smiled as tears began to fill up her large blue eyes. "No, she isn't mine. But I was there when Teresa gave birth, and feel very close to her. I'm Jenni's godmother. She has always lived with me. She was like my child, and I ... I love her. I must find her
because I want her, want to adopt her
."

Nick nodded curtly and looked away from Alex's tears. "Okay. We'll see what we can do. You understand, though, there isn't much to go on here."

Alex quickly flicked the tears away. Now wasn't the time to get sentimental, not when she was so close to acquiring the help she needed. She had to be tough. "I understand. Where
should we start? Maybe with this." She slid an envelope beneath his tanned fingertips. "I don't know how mu
ch you normally charge for some
thing like this, but I'll do the best I can. Here is a retainer fee, and I'll pay you more later."

"Huh?" Nick's eyes dropped to the table, then angrily sought hers. "I told you, Alex, I'm not a private eye. I don't normally do this sort of thing, therefore, there
is no fee." He pushed the enve
lope back toward her.

"Then we'll negotiate as we go along. I want this to be a bu
si
ness deal, with money exchanged. I'm serious about wanting that child found." Her sharp eyes caught his, level and hard. "I'm hiring you, Nick."

"No money," he asserted. "I can't take money for this."

"Don't get maudlin on me, Mr. Diamond. I know you couldn't pos
si
bly give a damn about Jenni. If I didn't put up the money, you wouldn't be looking for her. I thought you said we had a deal. So far, it seems like you're humoring me. I want someone to work for me. Someone who will use every resource pos
si
ble, including money, to find Jenni."

"The name's Nick, remember?" he said tersely. "We're still at the talking stage. Talk and time are cheap, and that's where we start."

"
Damn it
, we'll never get any further than talk with your attitude. I'm sorry, Mr. Diamond." She reached for the envelope and began to rise. "I want action, not talk. We're running out of time."