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The house was not a total loss. It appears that only three rooms were very badly damaged by the
fire, and workmen are already on site. By the time you get out of here, they should have
completed the repairs and made it habitable again."
Tonio noted the gleam in his friend's eyes and asked quietly, And my sister?"
Guerra grinned broadly and flashed his white teeth wickedly. Already unhappily set up
in my place in Coldwater Canyon. She fought the idea, but I managed to explain to her that it
was in her own best interests after all, she owes me enough favors that I expect she will agree
to marry me shortly. I may, however, need a prod from you. Agreed?"
"Agreed. What news of the charges against me?"
"What charges? Manuel grinned even more broadly.
Tonio's heart pounded wildly in his chest. Then why the hell am I still in here? he
grated.
"Oh, I expect it just takes time for the paperwork to be completed. In the meantime, I
have a car waiting outside the jail and will be happy to take you anywhere you wish. He glanced
at his watch. I would say the guard should be on his way to retrieve you right now. His dark
eyes crinkled. And if you insist that your sister marries me, all the favors I have done for you will
be erased eh, amigo?"
* * * *
Chris frowned at the nurse who was removing her IV's and cleaning the adhesive off her
arms. When can I go home?"
"As soon as the doctor releases you. The woman smiled at her as she rolled the IV stand
away and removed the heart monitors from Chris chest, ribs, and shoulder. I expect him to
come in as soon as we are done here. She gently rubbed some adhesive remover over the red
areas on Chris skin.
"Are you ready to go home, Mrs. Rodriguez? the intern asked as he stepped inside the
room and jotted release orders on her chart. His brown eyes twinkled at the look on her face.
You have been given a clean bill of health. The nurse will give you the instructions on wound
care. I expect you to visit us in a week to remove the stitches that haven't dissolved away."
Chris was angry and frustrated. But not with her care or the hospital staff. She was angry
that she had been unable to see Antonio for these past three days, and that his home had been
burned to the ground by men who were still on the loose. Men who might come back and try to
finish the job they had started.
Detective Gregory had not answered her calls, nor had Judge Wilhoit. Her husband was
still in jail if they hadn't already shipped him off to Mexico for trial! Not knowing was a thousand
times worse than bad news could ever be. Adriana had come to visit twice with Maria and Jose,
but they seemed to have no news about Antonio.
Her calls to the metro lockup had been fruitless. She wanted information. And by God, she
was going to get some!
After the doctor and nurse had left her to dress and prepare to go down to admissions and
check out, she limped over to the narrow closet where her clothing had been placed and thanked
Maria and Adriana mentally for thinking to bring something for her to wear when she checked
out. As she thought of all the wonderful things Antonio had bought her going up in that fire, she
sank onto the chair beside the narrow bed and wept.
Not for the loss of a few clothes and not for the loss of the things that he had given her.
She wept for the loss of the man she had fallen crazily in love with. The man who might be
forever lost to her in some dank Mexican prison because of the greed of his attorney and his
cousin. And both of those bastards were still out there waiting!
She dressed mechanically, favoring her bandaged leg as she stepped into the trim skirt that
Adriana had brought her. She tucked in the cotton blouse and slipped her bare feet into the shoes
she'd been wearing when they'd been forced to run for their lives. She winced at the blood that
remained on the back of the left shoe. She drew a deep breath and wondered if Jose was going to
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