A Texas Child. Linda Warren

stressed. When Myra questioned her, Natalie would become defensive, so she’d backed off and let her live her life her way. Looking back, Myra should’ve had the bastard arrested the first time she saw a bruise. Why hadn’t she? She respected Natalie’s privacy. But that counted for very little now.

      “Ms. Delgado,” a nurse spoke from behind her.

      She turned. “Yes.”

      “There’s a man asking for you.”

      “Here?”

      “He’s in the waiting area.”

      “Did he give a name?”

      “No.”

      “Give me a minute.”

      The nurse walked out.

      It had to be Mick. He must have tracked her down, but that was odd for him. “I’ll be right outside,” she said to Stu.

      “Take your time. I just want to look at my baby girl.”

      Myra patted Stu’s shaky hands and went to the nurses’ station. The nurse pointed to the waiting area and whispered, “If he’s single, I want his phone number.”

      Myra was taken aback. Mick was portly and bald. She couldn’t imagine him generating that kind of response. She stopped short in the entrance to the room. The place was empty except for the man standing at the window looking out: tall, broad shoulders, in jeans, boots and a Stetson. Only one person stood that straight with a proud lift of his head.

      Levi.

      She swayed as the blood rushed from her head to her now-wildly beating heart. Had he changed his mind?

      “Levi, what are you doing here?”

      * * *

      LEVI SWUNG AROUND, wondering the same thing. He did what he’d been taught his whole life. He told the truth and didn’t stonewall. “You wanted to hire me. I’m here.”

      “But you said—”

      “I know. I let my anger get the best of me, but I realized I don’t have to work with you. You’re just the middle person. I’ll do my best to find Stu’s grandson and then we’ll part ways again. This time for good.”

      “I see.”

      The hurt look in her dark eyes got to him for a second and then he quickly pushed it away. He wasn’t making this personal.

      “What about Valerie?”

      “She understands my job takes me away from time to time and she trusts me.”

      “Must be nice.”

      “Mutual trust always is.”

      She opened her mouth to say something and snapped it shut. Myra wasn’t known for holding back. Maybe she had matured.

      “If the trail leads to Mexico and the drug cartel, Stu will have to admit it’s a lost cause. There’s no way to guarantee anyone’s safety in that situation.”

      “I’ve already contacted another P.I.,” she said more to herself than to him, it seemed.

      “Good. I just didn’t want to not take this case because of something that happened between us.”

      “He hasn’t agreed to it yet.”

      “Make up your mind, Myra. We’re wasting time.”

      She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and he watched her graceful movements even though he didn’t want to. “Okay. I know you’re the best and, as you said, we’re losing time. Stu is here visiting his daughter.”

      “I know. I’m waiting to see him.”

      She walked away and he blew out a breath. He didn’t quite understand what he was doing here, but he couldn’t discard his code of ethics to help people just because Myra was involved. And it was for Stu. Levi owed the man. His emotions were all over the place and that was odd. He’d been told by more than one woman that he didn’t have any. It seemed one dark-eyed dark-haired woman brought out the worst in him.

      Myra pushed Stu in a wheelchair into the room. His ashen skin and gauntness seemed to have worsened since Levi had last seen him. His heart went out to his friend.

      “Hey, Levi.” Stu held out his weak hand and Levi shook it. “I knew you’d come.”

      “You kind of know me inside and out.”

      “You bet.”

      “But, as I was telling Myra, I have some limitations. I will not get involved with the Mexican drug cartel.”

      “You locate my grandson and I’ll take it from there.”

      “Deal.” They shook hands again. “I’ll need a photo of the baby.”

      “Sure. Myra will get you one.” Stu’s voice was hoarse and now it was more of a wheeze, and Levi could see his old friend was exhausted.

      “My daughter doesn’t know that monster took him. At least, I don’t think she does. Myra and I haven’t mentioned it in case she doesn’t. No one knows what happened in that apartment.”

      “When did the father take the child?”

      Stu had to stop and take a breath, so Myra answered. “It happened on Monday. Natalie has an hour for lunch, and when she wasn’t back in two hours, I got worried. At three, I drove to the apartment and found her in a pool of blood. I immediately called 9-1-1, and an ambulance had her at the hospital in minutes. The E.R. team worked with her and then they took her into surgery. I realized it was time to pick up Daniel from day care, so I called another girl in the office to see if she could get the baby and keep him for a while. In fifteen minutes, she called me back to say Natalie had gotten him at noon.”

      “My grandson probably saw his mother being beaten,” Stu choked out.

      Myra patted Stu’s shoulder to comfort him and Levi stared for a moment. This was a different side of Myra, one he’d never seen. And it was a little jolting.

      He swallowed. “The police have confirmed that Marco Mortez is the assailant?”

      “Yes,” Myra replied. “Nat told me Marco was in town and she was meeting him for lunch.”

      “But she didn’t mention picking up the baby?”

      “No. Marco must have told her to bring him.”

      He caught her eye. “When did you start accepting assumptions for facts?”

      She gave him a heated glance that could melt chocolate in a refrigerator. “There was a call on her cell from him at 12:05 p.m. The last call she took. That’s fact. Jerry Black, who lives in the apartment complex, said he saw her go into her apartment with him and the baby. That’s fact.”

      “Just checking.” He stopped her before she got all fired up.

      “I do my job, Levi. Thoroughly.”

      He let that pass. “You said Marco was in town. Did Natalie live with him?”

      “No. He stays with her when he’s in town. He’s away a lot on family business.”

      “Which is?”

      “As far as I can tell, they restore vintage cars and ship them all over the world. Marco drives a Jaguar. Natalie said some of the cars are worth millions.”

      “What’s his father’s name?”

      “César.”

      “He lives in Brownsville?”

      “Yes.”

      “Anything else you can tell me?”

      “Marco was very secretive and he never let anything slip.”

      “Levi, find my grandson. He has