The Sheriff Gets His Lady

He really was an extremely good-looking man. More important, he didn’t touch the girl like a lover, but rather the way she thought a caring father would do. Not that she had any experience of her own to base that judgment on. Still, her daughter had a man she called her father. This could be them.

But what if her daughter didn’t know she’d been adopted?

Sky’s heart continued its erratic thumping as she moved again, trying for a view of the girl’s face, silently urging her to turn around.

But the girl turned in the opposite direction to speak to another young woman standing there. Sky watched the sheriff as he hoisted a heavy-looking bag without effort from the carousel. Unlike her former lover Ted, of the sagging middle and soon-to-be flabby forearms, this man had a lean, sleek grace and easy strength that hadn’t come from any gym. He moved with the suppleness of someone who used his body in physical ways.

What would he do if she approached them? What if he denied her claim? What if this wasn’t her daughter?

A large family group walked in front of Sky and came to a halt. Quickly, Sky moved around them, walking closer to where the couple stood. But other than the mass of long, shimmery blond hair, she still didn’t have a view of the girl’s face.

Sky’s body felt brittle from the tension of not knowing.

A little boy broke away from his sister’s hand and darted in front of Sky. The stroller he’d been pushing would have hit her if she hadn’t jumped back in time. The boy’s older sister screamed at him. The child screamed back. An adult stepped into the fray, scolding both children.

Sky tried to move around the group and found her path blocked momentarily. When she looked toward the sheriff and the girl, they were heading down the concourse, away from her. Sky nearly cried out in protest. The girl still had her back to Sky. She flipped her long straight hair over her shoulder and kept up a steady monologue of chatter.

“Ma’am? I think I got them all.”

“What?” She stared blankly at the skycap who’d tapped her shoulder.

“Your suitcases. Is this all of them?”

Reluctantly, impatience beating at her soul, she glanced over the contents of the skycap’s long, flat cart. Her computer case now rested precariously on top and she mentally ticked off the seven bags.

“Yes. That’s all of them.”

The girl and the sheriff were well down the concourse, moving briskly. The family was also on the move. The sister gave her little brother a smack when she thought no one would see. The tyke let out a wail and the group came to a halt again.

Sky exhaled a shaky breath of disappointment and turned away. Maybe it was just as well. This crowded, noisy airport was hardly the best place to meet her daughter for the very first time. Besides, it probably hadn’t been her daughter. The coincidence would be far too incredible.

“You must be plannin’ to stay awhile.”

Looking at the skycap’s pleasant face, she forced a smile in return. “Perhaps.”

She followed him outside, breathing deeply of the temperate weather while she tried to calm her jangled nerves. If only she’d gotten a decent look at the girl’s face.

“Imagine our weather is a nice change after that cold, rainy slush they’ve been saying you New Yorkers are having.”

“What? Oh. Yes.” She tried to focus on her companion instead of the rushing thoughts filling her head. “They are predicting snow for New York City this week.”

He shook his head. “I’ll take Texas weather any day. Taxi, ma’am?”

His warm Texas drawl was a pleasant change from the frequent nasal snarls of busy New Yorkers. Her own voice held almost no hint of the twang she’d grown up with.

“Yes, thank you.”

The car company had suggested she check with them again once she landed, but even if they did have a luxury car available now, she wasn’t up to dealing with driving at the moment. They could just deliver the car as promised in the morning.

“The Grand Hotel, overlooking the River Walk,” she told the cabbie who leaped forward to claim her as a passenger.

The sidewalk was jammed with people and someone jostled her with force. She hit the cart full of suitcases, which were already shifting. Turning indignantly, Sky glared at the offender.

For an instant, her gaze locked with pale-blue eyes spaced too close together. The handsome man from the plane swept her with a chilling stare. Without a word of apology, he strode past clutching a black laptop computer case.

A ghost of unease made her watch as he hurried away. From out of the crowd, a uniformed security person followed quickly in his wake. The two were swallowed by a throng of people intent on their own goals.

Was security chasing the man from her plane? Come to think of it, she didn’t remember him holding a computer case earlier when he’d offered her that come-on smile. Of course, she hadn’t really paid him that much attention but...no, she was pretty sure his hands had been empty. Suddenly, edgy, she turned back toward her own computer case, only to see the black bag being lifted by the driver.

“Did you want this up front with you, ma’am?”

Sky forced herself to relax and shook her head. “No. You can put it in with the other luggage.” She wouldn’t be working tonight.

She turned back to the skycap, tipping him generously. She allowed him to open the taxi door for her and slipped inside. The unpleasant scent of stale food lingered in the air. Obviously the driver had eaten in here recently. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she was hungry, too. Well, the hotel boasted a five-star restaurant so she wouldn’t have far to go once she checked in.

As she settled back into the seat, attempting to maintain the cool facade she’d perfected over the years, she decided what she needed was a long soak in the room’s Jacuzzi tub to unwind and see if she could get her nerves to calm down. Maybe then she would enjoy room service overlooking the River Walk.

Very soon now, she’d learn what her actions all those years ago had wrought. She needed to stay calm and in control before meeting her daughter for the first time. It would never do to give in to the rising excitement bubbling inside her.

Staying calm and in control soon became her mantra because the hotel was a worse mob scene than the airport had been. The timing of her arrival couldn’t have been worse. Some sort of large business conference was in the process of registering. The place literally swarmed with frenzied people. Sky waited at the curb with false patience for a bellman with a cart to load her baggage and write her a receipt.

“Is it always like this?” she asked him.

“No, ma’am. This is nuts right now. If you need your luggage right away, you’ll have to call down to the bell captain’s desk after you get your room assignment. Give them this number and we’ll send the luggage right up, but we’d appreciate your patience. As you can see, we’re going to be running a little behind.”

Sky tipped the man and nodded, then walked into the lobby to check in. The front desk was efficient, but understaffed for this sort of a rush. Sky waited her turn, accepted the key card, and went straight to her room.

She got through to the bell desk with no problem. They promised her luggage would be sent up as soon as possible. Resigned, she headed for the bathroom, only to discover the toilet hopelessly stopped up. When her call to housekeeping rang unanswered, her calm disintegrated.

Living in New York had taught her many things—including how to get what she needed. Sky took the elevator back down and strode across the lobby, cutting past people still waiting to check in. Politely, but firmly, she expressed her displeasure.

“I’m Skylar Diamond in room 1217. The toilet is unusable and housekeeping isn’t answering their phone.”

The harried clerk grimaced.

“I’m terribly sorry, Ms. Diamond. I’ll call maintenance to your room right away.”

“I would appreciate that.”

As she turned from the desk, her stomach knotted. Despite the crowd, she spotted him at once. The good-looking man from the plane stood to one side, openly watching her. He no longer clutched the computer case, and gone was the male perusal. This was a far different expression altogether. Cold. Hard. Calculating.

Before she could move or speak, he spun and strode across the lobby toward the main entrance. A shudder traveled up her spine. She felt as if she’d just had a close call with danger. Was he stalking her? Sky was certain she’d never seen the man before today. Was it mere coincidence that he’d chosen this hotel, or was he part of this conference checking in?

Feeling paranoid, she considered that he could have overheard her destination when she’d given it to the taxi driver outside the airport. Her apprehension escalated as she realized it was also possible that he’d heard both her name and her room number just now.

Apprehension changed to budding fear. The Grand was by far the most exclusive hotel in downtown San Antonio. The man had flown tourist. While it didn’t automatically mean he couldn’t be staying here, Sky had a bad feeling. Hadn’t security been chasing him at the airport? She was wearing quite a bit of gold and precious stones on her wrist and at her neck and ears. Jewelry was a new passion of hers. Perhaps she should report the man to hotel security.

“And tell them what?” she muttered to herself. “All he’s done so far is glare at me.”

Still trying to decide what to do, she rode back up to her floor. The telephone was ringing when she stepped inside her room.

Genuine alarm flashed through her. No one knew where she was staying. She hadn’t even told her office yet. She’d made all the arrangements herself at the very last moment after speaking with Lily Garrett Bishop yesterday.

Probably the hotel desk was phoning about the toilet. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the receiver. Her hand was steady enough, though her heart thudded more quickly than normal. “Hello?”

A second of staticky silence filled her ear. There was a decisive click as someone hung up.

Sky held the telephone for several long minutes before replacing the instrument on the nightstand. There was no reason to believe the call had come from the stranger downstairs, but she couldn’t stop the apprehension from slithering up her spine.

A loud knock on her door made her jump, her hand hovering over the telephone.

“Who is it?”

“Bellman.”

Unnerved, she crossed to the door and peered through the peephole. She was only slightly reassured by the sight of the smiling young face on the other side.

Taking a calming breath, she opened the door.

“Hold on a second, there!”

A portly man in a maintenance uniform rushed forward before the bellman could step inside.

“Don’t unload the lady’s bags until I have a look. We’ve been having problems with the commode in this room for days. I suspect we’re going to need to move her to another room.”

“Should I take her things back downstairs?”

“Give me a minute first.”

The maintenance man apologized profusely on behalf of the hotel, surveyed her bathroom, tsked once or twice and asked permission to use her telephone.

Sky waited, oddly comforted by the presence of the two men.

He hung up and turned around, shaking his head. “Nobody ever listens. We’re going to be moving Ms. Diamond to another room. Take her stuff back downstairs until they reassign her. I’m real sorry for the inconvenience, Ms. Diamond. I told them there was a problem in here, but someone didn’t relay the information to reservations. We’ll have you resituated immediately.”

Sky sighed. There wasn’t much point in berating either of these two men. And if they switched her room, the man from the plane would no longer know her room number.

The crowd had thinned substantially by the time they got to the main lobby, but luggage was stacked on carts all over. Hers rejoined the others sitting to one side while she waited for the hotel to process a new room.

Sky clutched her briefcase, her gaze constantly roving over the crowd. There was no sign of the man from the plane. In minutes she’d been upgraded, at no additional cost, to a far more luxurious suite on the floor above the original one, with profuse apologies ringing in her ears.

Still, Sky didn’t relax until the bellman stacked her bags inside, set the computer case on the desk, and departed with a smile and a good tip. With a profound sigh of relief, she settled into the spacious new accommodations. She’d requested privacy this time so her dilemma had been solved. The man with the menacing eyes would have no way of tracking her down.

She’d be leaving the hotel before most people were up and about in the morning. Since she planned to have dinner in her room, odds were, she would never see the stranger again.

* * *

IT WAS THE stupid little things that could ruin a perfect reputation after years of work. A guilty conscience made a man foolish.

The man sometimes known as Norman Smith had been so certain that airport security guard was stalking him that he’d switched the computer case with the blonde’s. And all for nothing. The weaselly bastard had been going after a mundane pickpocket, not him.

He needed better control. Much better control. Maybe he was getting too old for this business. Maybe it was time to think about retiring. He had a tidy sum resting in an offshore bank. Not enough to buy him an island perhaps, but there was a location in Hawaii that looked promising, plenty of space and white sandy beaches. He could share an island paradise like that.

Maybe after he completed this assignment, he’d hop a plane to the Islands and have another look around. He could rent a place for a year or so to see how he liked living there. He could still do the odd job or two—unless he was suddenly going to start jumping every time someone looked at him funny.

Business had been brisk of late and he’d grown unaccountably tense. The last two jobs hadn’t gone well. In fact, the last hit had nearly gotten him caught despite all his careful planning. He definitely needed a vacation. Today was a prime example. He shouldn’t have let himself be sidetracked by that blonde. Normally he had better control.

But God, she was something. She carried herself like a movie star. He’d always been drawn to the classy type. They didn’t usually come with such a cold put-down, either.

Anger churned in his gut. Who did she think she was? He could buy and sell her a million times over.

The thought made him smile. The smile turned into a chuckle. Then he scowled, emerging from the stairwell where he’d donned the stolen, protective camouflage. He started down the hall, his senses alert while his mind probed her reaction to him at the airport.

Cold, snobbish piece of tail. She’d looked at him like he was dirt. Well, he’d teach her some manners. Too bad it was the last lesson she’d ever learn.

He chuckled again, then he quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard him. No, he was still alone in the hallway. The maintenance uniform was a loose fit on his lean frame, but it would serve the purpose. She would see only the uniform and let him in.

He nodded to a couple leaving their room and they nodded back. Emboldened, he lengthened his stride. No one would question his right to be walking around in this outfit. Hadn’t he learned it was all a matter of acting as if you belonged? People always saw what they expected.

He started paying attention to the room numbers: 1213, 1215, 1217. Perfect. He knocked once and called out.

“Maintenance.”

Nothing happened. There was no stir of sound from inside. She’d probably gone out to eat. Or maybe she’d fallen asleep on the bed. That would be even better. He pulled on a pair of thin latex gloves. Removing a set of tools from his pocket, he set to work on the lock.

Inside the darkened room a minute later, he hit the light switch. His gaze swept the place. Instead of the jumble of luggage he’d expected to see, the room was completely empty.

Gone. She was gone!

Fear and fury mingled. Where had she gone? She’d been here when he’d called her room a short while ago.

There was only one reason for her to take off like that. She must have opened the computer case!

Fury all but choked him. Damn her! She’d taken off with his money. She must have thought she’d struck it rich. He’d teach her. He’d teach her good. Snooty Ms. Diamond would pay and pay for this inconvenience. Because that was all he would let it be. He’d get the money back and the C4 explosive as well.

He cursed viciously. Stupid! One stupid moment of panic and his reputation hung in the balance. His fingerprints were all over that case. If she’d taken it to the police—

He calmed his momentary panic. Even if she had, they couldn’t touch him. They wouldn’t have a name to go with those prints, nor would they know where to look. And his career wasn’t ruined yet. Fortunately, he’d removed the client’s instructions in the rest room when he’d picked up the case from the unseen courier.

He patted his hip pocket, satisfied by the crinkle of paper. Unfortunately, now he would have to purchase or steal some explosives himself. Risky. He could make a couple of bombs from scratch of course, but they wouldn’t be as professional as the C4. And this job needed to go right. He pounded his fist in his hand. He had some time. Maybe he could find the bitch and get his case back again. Damn her!

He lifted the lamp from the dresser, yanking the cord from the socket. The lamp shattered satisfactorily against the wall over the king-size bed where he hurled it. Where had she gone? When he’d searched her computer case at the airport, all he’d found was her business address inside. Would she go back to New York once she realized what she had?

Not likely. She’d had too much luggage with her. Hell, with his recent luck she was relocating here in Texas. How was he going to find her? Texas was one big mother of a state. She could have gone anywhere. If he started asking questions, people would remember him. There had to be a way to figure out where she went.

A noise at the door sent him spinning around. There was no time to move out of sight and nowhere to hide. Another man in a maintenance uniform stepped inside, a rack of tools in his hand. His friendly face registered startled shock, then moved to puzzled surprise.

The man sometimes known as Norman Smith smiled at the newcomer coldly.

“Uh, who are you?” Dark features pleated in puzzlement, not yet alarmed. “I was told we’ve got a problem here.”

He waited for the man to close the door to the hall. His fingers wormed their way inside his pocket to the comforting hard steel of the knife that rested there.

He liked knives. They were much quieter than guns.

“It’s unfortunate, but it looks like I’m the man who’s going to make all your problems disappear.”

CHAPTER TWO

THE SUN WASN’T even up when Sky finished dressing, checked her watch, and decided she had time to send her assistant a quick e-mail before she hit the road. The computer case still sat on the desk where the bellman had set it the night before. Spinning it around to open it, she stopped, her heart pounding loud enough to be audible.

“This isn’t my case!”

While similar, the case was too light and had some sort of fancy lock on the front. Anger and panic warred within her even as she reached for her briefcase to check on her files. The machine’s files weren’t irreplaceable, the ones in her briefcase were. She breathed again when she found everything where it should be. Then she reached for the telephone.

“I suspect this is a simple mix-up,” the hotel security man told her a short time later. “There’s no identification on the outside, but this is an expensive lock. Someone is going to want this case back.”

“Can’t you open it?”

“No, ma’am. Not with this lock on it.”

“Mr. Ellenshaw, I need my computer. Can’t you break the lock and find out who this case belongs to?”

The earnest young man shook his head. “Sorry, Ms. Diamond, I can’t do that. Believe me, whoever got your computer is going to be as upset as you are over this mistake.”

“I doubt it.”

Especially if that person was from a rival designer’s house. This wouldn’t be the first time another designer had gone to extreme lengths to steal an upcoming series of designs. Sky had been a recent target so she knew firsthand. There was big money in the world of fashion. Theft happened more often than people realized. And there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

“I’m certain we’ll hear from the owner this morning,” he assured her earnestly.

“That’s all very well, but my car is being delivered in fifteen minutes. I have to leave. What am I supposed to do?”

“As soon as your computer is located we’ll have it delivered to you. In the meantime, I have some forms for you to fill out.”

“Of course you do.”

Arguing was pointless. If the competition had her computer, they already had everything on it. Recriminations were useless. She could only hope Mr. Ellenshaw was correct, that in all the confusion yesterday, the bags had been switched by mistake.

“And if no one does complain about having the wrong computer?” she asked as she finished filling out the requisite paperwork to get her laptop computer returned in the event they recovered it.

“Er, then you’ll have to file a claim through the insurance company.”

“Naturally. And what happens to this one?”

“Oh, we’ll hold on to it. It’s possible a guest who checked out might not discover the switch for several days.” At her raised eyebrows he hastened to add, “But I really don’t think that’s going to be an issue here, Ms. Diamond.”

The door flew open. A young woman in a security uniform stood there, a peculiar expression on her face. “Ray, I need to talk to you right away.”

“I’ll be with you in a min—”

“Now! This won’t wait!”

“Excuse me a moment, Ms. Diamond.”

He walked to the door and stepped into the corridor with the agitated woman. The door didn’t close all the way and the woman’s frantically whispered words floated into the room.

“One of the maids just found a maintenance worker downstairs in an empty room. He’s dead. She says his throat was slit. There’s blood all over the place.”

The security man uttered an oath. “Follow procedure. I’ll be right there.”

Sky wasn’t surprised when she was hustled to the front desk. A bellman was summoned to collect her bags and bring them downstairs. By the time she finished filling out the paperwork for the car that was delivered, a surprising number of uniformed police officers were trooping through the lobby. At 5:33 a.m. it seemed highly unlikely the early risers were going to believe the police were here for a conference.

Not her problem. Sky tipped the deliveryman and walked outside, her briefcase firmly under her arm. This time she checked each piece of luggage carefully as it was being loaded into the trunk of the luxury car. Two men she’d bet were plainclothes policemen strode past the unfazed doorman.

“All set, ma’am. Come back and see us.”

Not if she could help it. In her opinion, the Grand’s reputation was highly overrated.

Only after she was inside the car with the engine running did she shrug off the morning’s frustration and allow anticipation to hum through her body. There was nothing she could do about the computer right now. The loss couldn’t override her main reason for being here in Texas.

Somewhere down the road her daughter was waiting, even if the girl wasn’t aware of that fact. In her mind, Sky had held countless conversations with the faceless young woman. She’d rehearsed all sorts of opening gambits. Yet she still didn’t know what she was going to say when the time finally came. More and more she wondered if she was doing the right thing at all. She had no rights here. But even if she didn’t tell her daughter who she was, Sky needed to see her, maybe watch her and hear her speak. It was that simple and that complicated.