Rogue Diamond (5 page)

Alex stiffened, wondering what she would do if he wasn't willing to help her. But she preferred not to think of that now. She was desperate.

Pushing the door open, she stepped in
si
de. The interior of the office was hotter than out
si
de, if it was pos
si
ble. There wasn't a breeze stirring, no fan, nothing. Two men sat in straight-back wooden chairs, their feet propped up on desks and sombreros pulled over their faces.

A slow, unreasonable anger that she couldn't quell grew in
si
de her. They seemed so uncaring in their nonchalance. A life was at stake here! The precious life of a child! Perhaps she should have called first so they would be expecting her. A quick glan
ce at the two battered desks re
vealed there was no phone. It was just as well. A phone call wouldn't have the impact that she had planned for this meeting with El
Capitan
.

Alex glanced at the first figure. He was short and stocky and his feet barely reached the desk. His legs were thick and powerful looking, and his broad hands exuded strength. Head turned to one
si
de, he snored loudly.

She turned disdainfully to the other man. He was tall, his body stretching ea
si
ly from chair to desk. His legs were long and his scruffy boots with a hole in the sole caught her eye. Her gaze traveled up his length, past the noticeable male bulge where his legs connected to his torso. She
couldn't avoid the
erotic
si
ght in those loose-fit
ting pants of his. Tanned, long-fingered hands were folded across his flat stomach. Her indigo eyes flickered for a moment, pau
si
ng to admire the bold virility of his phy
si
que, then quickly moved on to the
expan
si
ve chest and the ridicu
lous broad-brimmed sombrero that covered all of his face except hi
s chin, which rested on his col
larbone. He must be the American, she thought.

"Mr. Diamond?" she asked.

Neither man moved or answered.

"Mr. Diamond!" she said more loudly.

As she stood watching him, a strange sensation came over Alex, bathing her with fury, filling her with something akin to hatred for this man who ignored her, ju
st as he ignored the impoverish
ment around him. How could he be so blind? And uncaring! That's the way it was with a man whose total interest was in making money! She had him pegged, all right.

She didn't know what made her do it as she stepped to the
si
de of the desk, placed her hand on the man's shabby boots, and swept them off the edge of the desktop. With a loud noise, they clumped to the floor, and before she had time to utter another scornful "Mr. Diamond!" he was on his feet,
legs widespread, hands reaching
for her.
Alex could feel the close presence of the other man, who was also on his feet and poised. They reminded her of two dark animals, ready to spring.

She stepped b
ack, the rabbit in pursuit, sud
denly frightened by the quick moves of these
two ruffians.
She remembered her friend,
Sam
's words.
Don't for
get you're in a foreign country, and anything can happen. You have no rights!

Alex gave the taller man an innocent gaze. "Sorry to interrupt your
si
esta, but I couldn't get your attention any other way."

"Well, you have it now," he responded angrily as he straightened his broad shoulders. No cause for alarm, Nick thought. Take it ea
sy. Just a woman. And damn good
looking too.

"Are you Nick Diamond?" Suddenly she felt very foolish. Of course he was. The man standing before her was tall, arrogant, more masculine than handsome. A scar deepened the crease on one
si
de of his face, but still, he was appealing.

He nodded, his hard, umber eyes asses
si
ng her in one glance. A
h yes, this was one very attrac
tive tourist. And American, at that. Already they spoke the same language. A devastating smile broke beneath the dark bushy mustache, his straight white teeth clearly vi
si
ble. "Good guess. I'm Nick. And this is my partner in
flight,
Jose
Rios."

She turned to shake hands with
Jose
first. He was just a little taller than her own five feet four but seemed v
ery short be
si
de his tall Ameri
can partner.
Jose
's handshake was gentle yet he exuded a tremendous amount of strength from his great, broad body. His arms and chest were well developed. Alex guessed he probably weighed close to two hundred pounds and had the force of solid steel. But his face was round and friendly, and she couldn't help smiling at
him. His long mustache extended beyond the width of his face and was elaborately groomed. He reminded her of Pancho Villa, the renegade Mexican hero.

"Mr. Rios," she nodded. "
Mi gusto
."

"
Jose
, ple
ase," he answered, speaking par
tially in Spanish. "
A sus ordenes, senorita. Mi gusta
."

When she turned back to the tall American, he gave her his best sales pitch along with his most winning smile. "Where can we take you, miss? Over the devastating volcano, El Chichon? To the Mayan temple of Palenque where
the
lives of the most beautiful young virgins were sacrificed to the gods? How
about the remote beauty of Cop
per Canyon, hidden from the world in the
Si
erra Madres? It's bigger than the Grand Canyon
, so they say
."

Alex stared at him, hating him and his jaunty attitude
,
more and more by the minute. He was everything she
despised in an American on for
eign soil. Arrogant. Foolhardy. Caring for no one or nothing but his own stupid tourist service. And the mone
y he could make doing God-knows
what! She shook her head. "I didn't come here for a tour. I need your help. I was told you could help me if anyone in Hermo
si
llo could."

His dark, devil eyes grew sharp, but he folded his arms casually across his broad chest. "Who sent you?"

"It doesn't matter. I was instructed to come to El
Capitan
, and you would help."

He glanced quickly at his partner, then back to Alex. "I'll try. You aren't a tourist, then."

"Hardly. I'm a teacher at the Univer
si
ty. Alexis Julian is my name."

Nick extended his large hand and quickly shortened her name. "Pleased to meet you, Alex. What can I do for you that seems so urgent?"

She took his
hand, the warmth of it penetrat
ing her own clammy palm. But she wouldn't be swayed by his raw masculine appeal—she had a job to do and she would do it, with or without this man's as
si
stance. "You can help me find a mis
si
ng child."

He shook his head. "Sorry. I'm not a private eye. That's a little out of my line. Tourism is my bu
si
ness. And flying."

"Who knows what your bu
si
ness is!" A cold, hard anger mushroomed in
si
de her breast, threatening to ch
oke her if she didn't let it ex
plode. "A child is mis
si
ng, stolen from beneath my nose right on the street, Mr. Diamond, and you
si
t here sleeping!"

"Now, wait a minute—"

Alex rubbed her temple nervously
and glanced at Jose, then back to Diamond
. "
I
'm sorry. I shouldn't take my frustration out on you
. But you see, no one will help me. They don’t even believe me.
I will pay, Mr. Diamond. I
will pay you to find her for me
.
Or for any information you may have.
"

"Hey, you ar
en't suggesting that I know any
thing about this?" His abu
si
ve tone jolted her.

"No," she said quickly. "No, of course not." She really didn't want to offend this man, and didn't want his refusal either. "I thought you might know where I could find her."

He
shrugged broad shoulders
. "I don't know anything about your mis
si
ng child. Or any other kids, for that matter."

His tone was
dismis
si
ve, and Alex was disap
pointed. How could she convince him to help her if the prospect of money didn't work? Alex whipped out a newspaper clipping and flung it on the desk. She tapped the accompanying photo. "This woman's child has disappeared. She's the one I'm looking for."

"This is hardl
y my concern." He lifted the pa
per to look at it more closely. It was a poignant photo, the one that had made the front page of the newspaper the day after the car accident in the market. It showed a young Mexican woman lying lifeless in the foreground, and a blond woman kneeling be
si
de her on the street. In the background was a chaotic scene of overturned wagons, fruit scattered everywhere, and vendors gathered in shock. Nick was unmoved. He had seen worse, much worse. Something familiar flashed back to him, and he murmured, "The wreck in the marketplace last Saturday. Oh, yes."

Alex nodded and proceeded eagerly. "The child's mother was k-killed that day and Jenni has disappeared."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but like I said—"

"
Capitan
—"
Jose
began.

Alex interrupted frantically, "The young woman who was killed in that wreck was my housekeeper."
Choking on the words, Alex swal
lowed convul
si
vely before continuing. "And
now, her child is mis
si
ng. I want . . . I must find her. But I need your help to do it, Mr. Diamond.
I don’t know where to turn.
Please say you'll help me find her!"

He shrugged. "What could I do that the police haven't already done?"

"You have
the resources, Mr. Diamond. Re
sources," she empha
si
zed. "I don't know where to turn. You do. Even though I've lived here two years, I'm still
la
gringa
. A foreigner. But you . . . just look at you. You're like one of them. You dress like them. You act like them. You've even earned a title of respect—El
Capitan
."

Nick Diamond
folded his arms across his broad chest
. "You seem to have a misconception about me. I just run an aircraft tourist service."

Alex slipped the news clipping from his hands with a
si
nking feeling in her stomach. She should have known better than to expect anything from a man like him. "I had two misconceptions about you, Mr. Diamond. I was told that you were something of a hero. That you saved lives. That you had the resources to help me find my mis
si
ng child. And I believe you do, but for some reason, you're refu
si
ng to help me.

"The other misconception was my own fault," she said. "I thought that somewhere in that American heart
of yours was a shred of compas
si
on. Someone who would care about lives torn apart, of people in need. But I was wrong about you. You're a hard-hearted bastard, down here to make a fast buck!" Alex wheeled around and made a fast exit
before she could humiliate her
self by blubbering all over the place.

As the rattl
ing door slammed shut, Nick Dia
mond looked at
Jose
. Their eyes met in an understanding flash.

"D
amn good
looking woman!" Nick said as he moved across the room toward the door. "Check on her story,
Jose
," he clipped, then added with a twinkle in his deep, dark eyes, "I've got to protect my reputation. Can't have her thinking I'm a hero, now, can I?"

"And the shred of compas
si
on in your heart?"

Nick answered
readily. "
Don’t know about compas
si
on, but there’s
plenty of pas
si
on, my man. Pas
si
on
is the key.
"