Aliana was waiting outside with Dalton and waved happily when she saw Hunter. It gave his heart a curious jolt. She walked over to him.
“You wear your hair down all the time now. You never used to do that,” he said softly.
“I don’t now, either. But wearing it up right now gives me a headache. I think it’s a side-effect of the concussion.”
“What if I told you I like it down?”
She bit her lip and winced. Then she licked it, and he winced.
“I suppose for the time you’re here, I could wear it down. Except when I’m at school, of course.”
“Of course,” he agreed solemnly.
“We can take my car,” she suggested. She pointed to the little hybrid under her grandmother’s carport.
“I don’t think so. Zed’s cranky enough without asking him to fold into that. We’ll take his rental.”
“Oh, okay,” she smiled. It was then he realized she thought they were going to be riding in Dalton’s truck. He chuckled.
“You ever ridden on a motorcycle?”
“Of course not.”
“After you’re feeling better, we’re going to have to change that.”
“Quit your gabbing. We have to get this show on the road,” Zed said.
“You’re driving,” Hunter said.
Chapter Eight
“Shorinda, this is Hunter and Zed,” Aliana said.
The nurse’s eyes were wide as she stared at the two men who towered over her. She swung her glance back at Aliana.
“Girlfriend, where have you been finding these men? Can I get a subscription? I have a little saved up. I’ve been a good girl.” Then she turned back to look at the two men. “But I know how to be naughty,” she teased with a slow smile.
Aliana knew she was turning forty-seven shades of red, but when she looked up at Hunter, his eyes were sparkling.
“Shorinda, I’m sure you are quite the package, but I’m loyal to my current subscriber.” Holy hell, now she was going to need a fire extinguisher to put out her blush. They all saw it too, and even Zed was grinning at her. Sakra.
“Actually, they’re here to help with the difficulty Maminka and I have been experiencing.”
Shorinda’s eyes went hard. “Don’t think I didn’t notice all these new bruises, little girl. What the hell happened? First, you come in with blood dripping off of you, and now you look like you’ve gone three rounds with Conor McGregor. Boys, you’re not doing your job.”
“We got into town after the bomb,” Zed said.
“Bomb?” Shorinda screeched.
“Shhhhh, keep it down.” Aliana looked over her shoulder to see her mother, her eyes wide open, looking at nothing. Still, just in case something might get through, she didn’t want her to overhear the conversation.
“Bomb? Bomb? What the ’eff? Tell me what’s going on. And you two, tell me how you’re going to keep my girl and her Mama safe.”
“We’ve got a 24/7 watch on Aliana, and we’re here to see what kind of security this facility has.”
“Basically, nothing. Did Aliana tell you about the threats to her mother?”
“Yes. She’s made her confession.”
“Shorinda, that’s old news, okay?” Aliana gave her friend a hard stare. She looked around the new room and saw it was larger. “Does Maminka like the new room? Does it bother her being on the third floor?”
“Honey, she was happy two days ago.”
“Shorinda, if money were no object, where would you put her mom for two weeks while this shit died down?” Zed asked, changing the subject.
“It’s only going to take two weeks for you to get this settled?” the nurse asked.
“If that,” Hunter said.
“Well then, I’d take two weeks vacation, rent a hospital bed, and bring her to my house. It’s a three bedroom bungalow about fifteen miles from here. It’s in a great little neighborhood, and I keep it neat as a pin. You’re welcome to come see it before having your Mama come stay with me. And it’s not a matter of money. I would charge the same amount as this place.”
Then she paused and sighed. “But that’s a pipe dream because there is no way I would make Aliana pay twice’ she’d have to pay for her Mama’s spot here, then pay me. That’s not fair.”
“Done,” Zed said.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Hunter demanded. “I’ve got this covered.”
“Boys,” Aliana said, straightening up. “I appreciate what you’re doing. I really do. But now that I know this is a two-week deal, of course, I have this covered.” She looked over at Shorinda who shook her head.
“What?” Hunter demanded.
“There’s taking charge, then there’s being a steamroller.” Aliana reached up and pushed back her hair so she could see both of the offenders clearly. “I think you and Tarzan haven’t just crossed a line, I think you ran the race and managed to hit the finish line in the chauvinism race.”
“It’s sad, really,” Shorinda said. “I keep forgetting all those beautiful muscles come with a price tag.”
“How come I feel like I just met Vice Principal Novak?” Hunter asked.
“Welcome to my world Hunter,” Aliana drawled. “I feel like I just met a Jarhead.”
“Hey! Tarzan is acceptable, Jarhead is unacceptable. That’s a Marine. We’re Frogs,” Zed said.
“That’s not manly,” Aliana frowned.
“Just roll with it girlfriend,” Shorinda advised as she patted her arm. “I can take vacation starting tomorrow. I have so much saved up, they’ve been trying to boot my butt for months. This is perfect. I can get the ball rolling to coordinate the hospital bed and everything, and we can have her moved in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. You can arrange to have her signed out for a couple of weeks when you leave this afternoon. Now, go spend some time with your Mama while I entertain your admirers.”
“They aren’t my admirers,” she protested.
“Your protectors then or the hot men who are standing here in front of me. I don’t care what the hell we call them, let me talk to them while you talk to your Mama.”
“Shorinda, I think it would be best if you don’t objectify them. You should refer to them as Zed and Hunter.” Aliana was using her professional training.
“Nope, I like being objectified. It makes the day go faster,” Hunter laughed.
“I don’t think Zed appreciates it,” Aliana said primly.
“I bet you’re hell on wheels as a Vice Principal. I sure as hell wouldn’t have predicted this when I saw you sixteen years ago,” Zed’s voice was full of admiration.
“You saw me back then?”
He nodded. That made no sense. She thought back to who she was at twelve and cringed. Hunter must have seen it.
“Let’s go say hi to your Mom,” he said.
She looked over her shoulder at her Mother who currently looked catatonic. Introduce him? What was he talking about? But then again, she always believed part of what she said was getting through, even on nights like these.
“Okay.”
He snuck his arm around her waist.
“Maminka, this is Hunter Diaz, do you remember him?”
She didn’t move a muscle, not even batting an eyelash.
“She’s not always like this. Sometimes she’s asleep, sometimes she’s awake. Sometimes she recognizes me.” She wanted Hunter to understand her mother was so much more than who he was seeing at the moment.
“I know, Cariña.” She saw they had an IV set up. That meant that her mother had either been like this for a while or while she was cognizant, she hadn’t been eating. “Do you speak to her in English or Czech?” he asked.
“Czech.”
“She sings to her,” Shorinda called from across the room. Then she opened up a cupboard and brought Aliana her guitar. She looked at Hunter. “She sings like an angel.”
Just how often could one person blush before their face became permanently red?
Hunter frown
ed. “I didn’t know you played the guitar.”
“Babička taught Maminka how to play, then she taught me. I guess it’s a family tradition.”
“Play one of the songs you wrote,” Shorinda encouraged.
Aliana glared at her friend.
“I’m going to play one of Maminka’s favorite songs, it’s one she danced to at her wedding.”
Aliana plucked at the guitar chords and soon lost herself in the music. She really liked this song, it talked about how the couple was meant to be together in both this life and the one after. She knew how much her mother loved her father, and for her sake, she hoped they would one day meet again, and it would be like it used to be when Aliana was little and her dad was nice and kind. When she finished the last note, she looked down at her mother and saw a single tear dripping down her temple.
“Hunter, do you see?” She grabbed his forearm excitedly. “I think she heard me.”
“I see, mi Cielieto.” She warmed at the endearment. He reached up and touched her flushed cheek. “I love this blush. I know when you have strong feelings. You are a slice of heaven. You know that, don’t you?”
She ducked her head. He tilted up her chin.
“Sing another song,” he requested. “You have a beautiful voice.”
Sakra, her blush got hotter. She’d gotten many compliments in college, but none meant more to her than Hunter’s praise. How could he have come to mean so much to her again?
Because he was Hunter Diaz, her heart whispered. He would always mean the world to her.
“We’ve got to go if we want to make it back to the school in time,” Zed said.
She looked over at the other man, she had forgotten he was there. Shorinda was gone. She must have had to get back to other patients.
“School?” Aliana asked.
Zed walked over to them. “We’re going to question Nicolas, and hopefully, he can take us to his sister. Better yet, that scum of a brother.”
Aliana stood straighter. “Nicolas Garcia? My Nicolas? Why in the world would you be questioning him?” she demanded softly. She motioned for the two men to follow her toward the cupboard, so she could put away her guitar and not disturb her mother. She didn’t want to have a knock-down-drag-out in front of her mom.
“Why didn’t you tell us that Mateo was related to one of your students?” Hunter asked.
“I meant to, I just hadn’t gotten to it.” Sakra, how could she have forgotten? “How did you find out?” Then she sighed. “You talked to Lottie, didn’t you?”
“Damn right we did, and it was nice that she was more forthcoming.” Zed said menacingly.
“Back off,” Hunter growled at Zed.
“Quit being so damn soft on her. She’s a big girl. She’s proved it.”
“He’s right, I am. I screwed up not telling you. But really he’s not involved in this, not the way you’re making this sound, Zed.”. I don’t want you questioning him. Full stop, end of story.”
“Lady, you can’t know that. He’s probably part of this gang, so he knows.”
“You’re right, he is. But he’s a good kid. He wants out.”
“And you’re just buying that? You’re naïve.” Hunter and Zed kind of looked alike, with their Mexican heritage, same dark hair, and brown eyes, but Zed’s were looking almost black and cold, while Hunter’s were a warm chocolate. Zed was pissing her off and she glared at him.
“Nicolas is only fifteen. He’s not going to be questioned without a parent.”
Zed snorted. “Let me guess, he’s from a one parent home, and his mother is either working two jobs trying to keep things together, or she’s strung out on drugs. Which is it?”
How the hell did he know that? “Two and a half jobs,” Aliana admitted slowly. “Nicolas is incredible. His paper was a finalist in the Library of Congress literacy contest. That and the scores I expect him to have on his SATs, he’ll be recruited by colleges.”
“Only if a Vice Principal I know happens to be making a lot of phone calls on his behalf,” Hunter teased gently. At least this time, she didn’t blush because dammit, of course, she was going to make those calls. Nicolas deserved it.
“Anyway, he wouldn’t know anything about my townhome being bombed.”
“He has information about his brother, and don’t tell me he doesn’t know anything about Los Demonios,” Zed said.
“He’s a straight-A student,” she hedged.
Zed laughed. “Did I tell you I grew up not fifteen minutes from Bertrum High School? I belonged to a gang. I joined when I was twelve. I got As and Bs. I don’t even want to get into what I was doing by the time I was fifteen.” He sounded sad and bitter.
“I’m so sorry, Zed.”
“I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m trying to explain about gang members. Don’t stereotype us.”
She looked over at Hunter. She’d known him when he was seventeen in a gang. He hadn’t been that way.
“Zed’s right,” Hunter said to her.
“We need to talk to Nicolas, Aliana, he knows things. There’s no way he doesn’t have knowledge if not some sort of involvement,” Zed said. “We also need to talk to his sister.”
She hoped these two men who got out of the life, could do a better job of helping Nicolas out than she had.
“Have you guys read Animal Farm?”
“Huh?” Zed said.
“I think so,” Hunter said.
“He finalled in the Literacy Contest with a paper about Animal Farm. The book is about a pig named Napoleon, who is basically Stalin, and the other pig is Snowball, who is a compilation of Trotsky and Lenin. Nicolas compared the current gang leader of Los Demonios to Napoleon and he said he hoped he could be like Snowball and help overthrow the dictator-like leadership. He read this book six months ago. I think he’s been doing things to disrupt the gang for awhile now. He just told me about it.”
“Fuck me,” Zed said.
“We’ve got to talk to him, quick,” Hunter said.
“I know, I’ve tried to talk him out of it, but he’s committed to the idea.”
“We need to get to the school right now.” Hunter put his arm around her waist. He did it gently, cognizant of her bruises. He looked down at her. “Say goodbye to your Maminka.” Her heart melted that he used the Czech term for Mama. They walked over to her bed together. She bent over and brushed a kiss on her mother’s warm, dry cheek.
“I love you, Mama. I’ll see you soon,” she said in Czech.
Hunter led her to the door where Zed was waiting. “We’ve got to hurry.”
Their unease was blowing her anxiety levels through the roof. She felt like an idiot that she hadn’t realized how explosive this situation was. Lottie wouldn’t have made this kind of mistake.
Zed led the way, and Hunter took a moment to whisper in her ear.
“Don’t beat yourself up.”
“Lottie says I judge too much on stereotypes. She says I need to look deeper. I hate this.”
“We all have our blind spots.”
“I’m an educator. If I’m this naïve, maybe I should step down.”
He halted them in the hallway. Zed stopped out of earshot, pointing to his watch. Hunter waved him away. “Are you always this hard on yourself?”
“I suppose.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
“It’s a yes. But Hunter, these kids are important. They’re in my care. Some of them have nobody in their corner. I have to stand up for them. If I’m this blind, then what use am I to them?”
“Are you or are you not helping Nicolas with his academics and a possible way out of East L.A.?”
“Yes, I’m helping him, but what will it matter if he ends up dead?”
“Did you learn from this? Will you have a better understanding of the next Nicolas?”
She slowly nodded.
“Well, there you go then. Cariña, you’re too hard on yourself. It’s a damn good thing I’m here to make sure you don’t beat yourself bloody.”
Aliana huffed out a breath. His words evoked different ways to get bloody, different ways to relieve the pressure, so she didn’t feel like such a failure.
Be strong. You’re past that.
“Alia, are you with me?”
“Huh?”
“You seemed in a daze.”
“Just thinking of Nicolas. We better get going.” They turned to Zed.
“About goddamn time. I’m going to have to do some creative driving in that piece of shit rental to make it. Now, get a move on.”
***
Hunter watched as Aliana put her hair up in an intricate bun. She did it easily, without a mirror and with a few bobby pins she had in her purse. When she was done, it was as if she took on a whole new persona. She was now Ms. Novak. He didn’t know if he was scared or put-off, but one thing was sure, he was sure as hell turned on.
For God’s sake, the reason he had come back was he could no longer stand not knowing why she’d sent him away. She had been his best friend, in some ways, she had been his savior. Now here he was feeling lust? What the fuck? Get it together, Diaz.
They parked two blocks from the school. They all agreed having Zed or Hunter approach Nicolas would freak the kid out. They also thought because of Aliana’s injuries, she couldn’t approach Nicolas either, so she arranged to have Lottie bring him to them.
Nicolas was taller than Lottie by an inch even though she was wearing those ridiculous red heels. He was a good-looking kid. Didn’t have that cocky attitude Hunter had been expecting, instead, he looked curious until he saw Aliana, then his entire demeanor changed.
“Ms. Novak, what happened? Are you all right? Dios Mio, should you be in a hospital? Sit down.”
Right then, he knew he liked the kid. Aliana was standing outside the passenger door, and he opened it for her when he took note of Hunter and Zed. Nicolas ignored them for the moment and gave Aliana his hand to help her into the car.
“Nicolas, seriously, I’m fine,” she laughed.
Her Passionate Hero Page 12