by Diana Palmer
Her heart skipped again. Stupid organ. It was going to get her in hot water, eventually. “Okay,” she added.
He winked. “I’ll see you, rubia.”
She started to say okay, realized that she sounded like a parrot and laughed out loud. “I’ll see you. John,” she added huskily.
His eyes glittered at the sound of his name on her lips. She made it sound different. It made him warm inside, just to be with her.
She didn’t notice his expression. She climbed down out of the big vehicle, closed the door and waved him off with a smile.
He threw up a hand as he drove off.
She unlocked her door and went inside, her heart swelling with new emotions. It had been a wonderful lunch. She hoped it wouldn’t be the only one. Yes, it was risky. But life was risky. They could be just friends. It would work out.
* * *
She was early for work, shortly after her lunch date, and her young friend was sitting in the canteen, looking as if the world had fallen on him.
She draped her coat over a chair at his table. “Such a long face,” she said gently. “Can I help?”
He looked up and the sun came out again. He smiled. “Not really. But thanks for asking. I haven’t seen you lately.”
“I was working a different shift,” she said. “I traded with another nurse, who needed to be off.”
“That was nice of you.”
“She’s a nice person,” she replied. “How’s school?” she asked when she’d filled a cup with hot chocolate and was sitting across from him.
“It’s okay,” he said. He was sliding his own cup of hot chocolate around on the table.
“Something’s wrong,” she said, noting his expression.
He looked up, surprised. “Sort of,” he said after a minute.
“Would it help to talk about it?”
He let out a breath and sat up straighter. “It’s Rado,” he said heavily. “He beat up a friend of mine.”
She frowned. “Why?”
He grimaced. “He thought David was telling tales about him to somebody,” he said. He looked up at her with sad black eyes. “Broke his arm,” he said worriedly. “David said he laughed while he did it.”
Her face tautened. “He needs to be put away,” she said coldly. “Someplace that he can’t hurt other people.”
“Everybody’s scared of him,” he replied. “Well, except you,” he said, and smiled, remembering her fierce defense of him in the parking lot when they first met.
“Don’t kid yourself. I’m scared of him, too,” she confessed. “I just hide it well.”
“David’s sister had to take him to the emergency room and tell them he fell off a wall,” he said.
“Did she bring him here?” she asked.
“No. Downtown. The old hospital.”
She frowned. That sounded odd.
“She knows a doctor who works there, who’ll treat him and not charge her,” he said. He didn’t add that the doctor was a client of hers. David’s sister was a prostitute.
“I see.”
“He’s the only friend I’ve got, really,” he told her.
“If you spend any time with him, make sure Rado isn’t around,” she advised gently.
“I do. I go when his sister’s there. She and Rado get along. At least, they seem to. He doesn’t do bad stuff in front of her. He caught David after school,” he added quietly. “When nobody but Rado’s gang was around. They held him while...” He stopped and sipped hot chocolate. It stuck in his throat.
“I don’t suppose your friend would talk to the police?”
“No, he wouldn’t,” he said at once. He couldn’t tell her that his father was in law enforcement. He couldn’t take the chance that she might say something and it would get back to Rosa, who worked in the hospital here, and from Rosa to his dad. He didn’t tell his father anything about Rado or David or David’s sister. He was afraid.
She frowned slightly. “Are you in trouble of some kind?”
He grimaced. “Not really. Rado just wants me in the gang. He keeps pestering me about it.”
He knew why. It was because his dad was a Texas Ranger. It would be a strike against law enforcement if he could recruit a Ranger’s son. It would beef up Rado’s rep in the community, too.
“Don’t you do it,” she said.
“I wouldn’t,” he promised. “It’s just...” He sipped hot chocolate. “David just told somebody that Rado knew a guy in the DEA. He didn’t say who or anything. He was just talking, you know. Rado went crazy.”
Her heart jumped. “Don’t you say anything to anybody,” she cautioned.
“I know. I wouldn’t.” He finished the hot chocolate. “I don’t want him to hurt my friend. He told David he’d do worse if he ever opened his mouth again.”
“Can you talk to your father about this?”
“No!” he said at once. He averted his eyes. “He’s never home. It’s always work, work, work. We never talk. If he’s not eating, he’s on the phone, and then he’s off to some...” He started to say crime scene, and caught himself. “Off to some meeting,” he amended. “He only notices me if I do something wrong.”
She pursed her lips and smiled. “So you do something wrong, to get his attention,” she guessed.
He laughed. He looked sheepish. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“You need to tell someone who can do something about Rado,” she said.
“He’d kill me if I talked to anybody about his business,” he began.
“Not if he never knew it was you,” she replied. “I have a friend. He’s a policeman, but he was a mercenary, a professional soldier, before he started working in San Antonio. He’s a great investigator and he’s also a clam. He doesn’t gossip. Suppose I asked him to talk to you?”
His heart jumped. It might save David’s life, if he could tell somebody what Rado was doing. But he was afraid. “If I go to see him,” he began.
“No,” she replied at once. “He can come here, to talk to you.”
That might work. He wouldn’t be seen with the policeman. But Rado might find out. He looked up at her. “You’re sure, that he won’t sell me out?”
“I’m very sure. When my family was killed, he was the investigating officer,” she said quietly. “I’ve known him a long time. He’s a good man.”
“Do you like him?” he asked curiously.
She laughed. “Not that way,” she said. “He’s just a friend.” She looked down at her hot chocolate. “I don’t...get involved with men. I like being on my own.”
“You don’t want to get married and have kids?” he asked, wondering why he felt so empty when she said that. His father wasn’t married. Sunny was sweet and kind, not like that stern, unsmiling woman his father had brought home two years ago.
She drew in a long breath. “It’s complicated,” she said finally. “It’s just complicated. Would you talk to my friend?”
“Yes,” he said after a minute.
“Then I’ll call him tonight.”
“Okay.”
Her phone beeped. She pulled it out. There was a text.
New movie. Saturday matinee. 2 p.m. What do you think, rubia?
She brightened. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Okay, she texted back.
See you then, he texted back.
He hung up. She put the phone back in her purse.
“A guy, huh?” Antonio asked, faintly disappointed.
“A guy who’s a friend,” she corrected. “I don’t have boyfriends.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to run. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“I’ll be here.”
“You be careful,” she added as she picked up her empty cup to put it in the trash container. “I’d do anything I could to help you, you know.”
He felt
warm inside. “I’d do the same, for you, if I could.”
She smiled. “See you.”
He nodded. He watched her walk away and he felt scared. She said the policeman would keep his name confidential. He hoped so. He couldn’t tell his dad what was going on, or he’d know that David was in the gang with Rado. He’d forbid Tonio to see his friend again, and that would leave him alone with nobody to talk to. Well, that wasn’t quite true. He had Sunny.
He smiled as he watched her walk away. She was one of the nicest people he’d ever met. So he had two friends now in San Antonio. He just hoped he could keep the youngest friend alive.
* * *
Sunny called Cal Hollister that night when she got home. She knew from experience that he hardly slept at night. He had nightmares from his adventures overseas. He’d let that slip, just once. She had her own night terrors about the loss of her family. It gave them something in common.
“I have a young friend,” she told Hollister. “He has a friend who’s in Los Diablos Lobitos. Rado broke the friend’s arm because he thought the boy was talking about him. I think my young friend would talk to you, if you wouldn’t mind coming over to the hospital one afternoon. He’s afraid of Rado. But I think he may know something about what’s going on with the gang problems.”
“That would be a help, if we can manage not to get your young friend killed in the process. Rado has eyes everywhere.”
Her heart jumped. She was less confident now. “I don’t want him hurt. He doesn’t have much family, just a father who seems to be a very occupied businessman with no time for his son. He says he can’t talk to his father.”
“He can talk to you, though, apparently,” came the amused reply.
“He’s a sweet kid,” she said softly. “I’d like to help him, if I could. Rado’s dangerous.”
“Yes, he is. Would the boy with the broken arm be willing to testify against Rado, if we provided protection?”
“I don’t know, Cal,” she said honestly. “You know what Rado is. He wouldn’t mind killing a child.”
“Not him,” he agreed. “Okay. How about if I show up at the hospital one afternoon? You can tell me what time. I’ll be meeting you there, in case anybody asks.”
She hesitated. It was unlikely that John would be around then. She was uneasy about being seen with another man, and it getting back to him. She wouldn’t be able to tell him the truth, and she didn’t want to lie. She hadn’t realized until then how much John Ruiz meant to her. If he thought she was getting involved with Cal, he might go away and not come back.
“I’ll be asking you about a case,” he continued, having read the hesitation correctly. “You’ve got a case on Ruiz, is that it?” he teased.
She flushed. “He’s just a friend.”
“Sunny,” he said gently, “you’re letting life go by without even trying to join in. You can’t live in the past. It won’t matter,” he added firmly. “You think it will, but it won’t. Not to a man who cares for you.”
She drew in a breath. “I’m too much a coward to want to find out,” she said, trying to make a joke of it. “John is really just a friend. I like him a lot, but it’s not a man-woman thing.”
“If you say so. Okay. When do you want me to show up?”
“Tomorrow’s Friday. How about in the canteen, about three thirty?”
“Will your young friend be there then?”
“He’s there most afternoons. I’m sure he will.”
“Okay. I’ll come talk to you about some nonexistent case,” he said on a laugh.
“That works.” She paused. “You won’t mention it to John? The boy’s really scared, and John might let something slip...”
“He’s a clam,” Hollister returned. “But if you’re that concerned, I won’t mention it. Not unless we hit pay dirt,” he added.
“It would be nice if we could find a way to put Rado behind bars,” she said on a sigh.
“I’ll second that. So, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there.”
When she hung up, she wondered if she should have told Cal that the boy had told someone that Rado knew somebody in the DEA. But it was probably nothing.
* * *
She was at the canteen on time. But Tonio wasn’t. She and Hollister waited for twenty minutes, but she had to go to work and the boy still hadn’t arrived.
“I guess we’ll try again next week,” Hollister said as he got up to go.
“I’ll make sure he’s going to be here, next time. I hope he’s all right,” she added worriedly. “He was really nervous.”
“Do you know who his father is?”
She shook her head. “I don’t even know the boy’s last name,” she said with a rueful smile. “We’ve had snacks together a few afternoons. I saved him from Rado,” she added. “I was scared to death, but Rado was being really mean to him. I hate bullies.”
“So do I,” he returned.
“Rado wanted him to bring drugs into the hospital and pass them to the little patients,” she said through her teeth. “He refused. He was angry about it.”
“Nice kid,” Hollister said.
“Very nice. It’s a shame he doesn’t get more attention at home. His mother’s been dead for some time. I guess his father buried himself in work and just sort of forgot that his son might need him.”
“Don’t be judgmental,” Hollister chided. “You’ve only had one side of the story. There are always two.”
“I guess there are. He’s such a sweet kid. I feel sorry for him. He has a relative who works in the hospital, but I have no idea who it is. It’s a very big hospital. I only know my own ward.”
“He’s secretive about his family, is he?”
“Very.”
“He may have a reason for it. One he doesn’t want to tell you.”
“I got that impression,” she confided.
“Well, we’ll try again next week. And if you hear any gossip, about the patient who was shot, how about getting back to me? John tried to get the psychologist back over there to talk to him, but the boy’s guardian spirited him out of the hospital before he had the chance. We have no idea where to find him. That makes two gang members who’ve given us the slip.”
“I know. The name he gave us wasn’t his real one, apparently,” she said. “Gangs. Why do we have gangs?”
“Why do we have criminals?” he mused. “If you figure it out, please tell me. I’d love to solve the problem.”
“Wouldn’t we all? Thanks, Cal.”
“No problem. See you around.”
* * *
She went on her shift. It was a hectic night. All through it, with two emergency surgeries and one crash cart episode, she worried about Tonio. Surely Rado hadn’t done something to him? She hoped and prayed that he was going to be all right. She wouldn’t see him on the weekend, because he wouldn’t need a ride home after school. She’d have to bide her time until Monday, when she’d hopefully find out where he’d been.
* * *
Tonio was at home. He’d come down with a stomach virus and couldn’t go to school Friday. Adele sat with him, feeding him ice chips while his poor stomach finally began to settle down again. His father had looked in on him, but the phone had gone off almost at once, and John was out the door and gone.
“I wish I had a dad,” Tonio said sadly as Adele placed a tray with soup and crackers in front of him in bed.
“You have a dad,” she chided. “But he’s a lawman. A lot of people depend on him. He saves lives.”
“Yeah. I know.” He sipped soup. “It’s just, he’s never here.” He looked up at her with sad brown eyes. “When Mom was alive, it was different.”
“Your father might marry again...”
“No! I don’t want another woman here,” Tonio said harshly. “He brought that awful w
oman from work. I hated her! She was cold, all business, she didn’t even smile...!”
“He was just dating her, my darling,” Adele interrupted gently. “He wasn’t going to marry her on the spot, you know.”
“I ran away,” he muttered. “I’d do it again, if he brought someone else home. He can’t talk to me about anything, ever. He’s too busy. But he had time to bring her here, didn’t he?”
She frowned. She didn’t know what to say to him. He’d loved his mother. So had Adele. Maria had been unique.
“You can’t expect your father to spend the rest of his life alone, Tonio,” she said, trying to reason with him. “There are nice women in the world. Really nice ones.”
He thought of Sunny. She was nice. If his father had brought someone like Sunny home, it might have been different. But his dad seemed to like brash, blunt, law enforcement-type women, if that one he’d brought home was any indication of his taste.
He didn’t answer Adele. He felt terrible. He was worried about David. He hoped Sunny wasn’t worried about him. Under different circumstances, he could have asked his cousin Rosa to speak to Sunny and tell her that he was okay. But he didn’t want Rosa to know about Sunny, because she knew who David was and he couldn’t afford the risk that she might tell Rosa about Rado and the gang. It would get back to his father, who might send him off to military school. That had been discussed, just before John enrolled him at the alternative school. Tonio tried very hard to stay out of trouble. He was certain that he wouldn’t be able to fit in at a military school. He didn’t want to find out for sure.
“You eat that,” Adele instructed, indicating the soup that was just sitting on the tray. “It will settle your stomach. If you need me, you call, okay?”
He managed a smile for her. “Okay. Thanks.”
She went out, leaving the door open. He finished the soup and lay back down. Maybe he could sleep, and he’d stop thinking about poor David. Rado was a bad man. Really bad. One day he might kill David, and then Tonio would have nobody his own age to talk to.
* * *
John picked Sunny up at her apartment a few minutes before the matinee. He’d told Tonio he had to work on a case. Well, it wasn’t a complete lie. Sunny knew about Rado, so she was technically part of the cold case he was working on. He didn’t want to spook Tonio with fears of another woman. Having him run away and join a gang once was more than enough.