Chapter 1

The rain slashed furiously at the windshield of her car. If not for her almost panic to get away from the man her father had sent after her, she might have pulled over and waited it out. But that option was out for now. If he caught her, he would force her to go back to her father's villa and be under Sebastian's thumb once more.

Her wipers were on as fast as they would go and they still didn't cut through the rain enough for her to see. Elianna Antonelli felt another spurt of fear. She had to stay away from the man who'd been paid to find her, but the idea of an accident was only just a trifle less of a fear. She slowed just a bit more, cursing when an eighteen wheeler went flying by her, splashing her windshield with a wave of water.

She reached out, wiping at the inside of the windshield with a paper napkin she'd pulled from the glove box. It didn't help so she dropped it to the seat next to her. She felt her car thump over something and she jumped at the unexpected noise. Checking out her rear view mirror, she didn't see anything through the heavy down pour.

Tail lights began to flash ahead of her as cars slowed even more. Elianna tapped on her brakes, trying to slow down too, but the car was hydroplaning. She screamed as she saw the back end of a truck coming at her at a speed that was too fast to avoid. Instead, she spun the wheel, stepping down on her brakes with both feet. The car turned to the side, spinning once before heading toward the guard rail. It hit with a sickening crunch and then a shrill shriek, going airborne and flipping twice. She saw water coming at her and she tried to brace herself for the impact.

She hit nose first, a huge spray coming from the front of her car. She felt a savage burst of pain in her arm and then felt her head hit the windshield. Cold water began to pour into the car and she felt it began to sink.

Elianna reached up, touching her head where it hurt and drawing her hand away covered with blood. She winced even as she tried to make sense out of what was happening around her. Her car was sinking at an alarmingly fast rate. Even now she could see the underside of the water through her windshield and the starred break in the glass from her head. It was creaking alarmingly and Elianna pulled at her seat belt, desperately trying to unlatch the pieces of metal that still held her fast to the seat.

The cold water was rising, the feel of it on her thighs and hips was numbing. She knew she was in danger of hypothermia from the frigid water and she fought even harder against the seat belt that refused to let her go. She cried out, struggling with the belt and then trying to open the window so that she might escape. It was jammed and she beat on the glass ineffectively. Her hands weren't strong enough to break the glass and she pulled her keys out of the ignition, using them to strike at the glass.

But nothing worked and she felt the cold water waving against her ribs. A shudder of fear and helplessness shivered through her and she could feel the first stirrings of the hypothermia stealing her strength and her will. Her tears streamed down her face and she stared around the small interior of the car. She had to get out, somehow, someway, she had to get out.

The thump of a hard boot against the starred windshield had her yelping in surprise. She looked out, seeing the legs and feet of someone in the water, trying to get in to her. She yelped in surprise and then reached out with one hand, pushing at the almost ruined windshield.

Her rescuer looked in at her through the windshield and he made some hand movements that she had a problem with understanding. Then he hit the windshield again and again until it burst and the water flooded into the car, filling up almost immediately.

Elianna had enough forethought to grab a mouthful of air and hold it in even as the man reached through the hole he'd made and grabbed her shoulders. Tugging against her, he pulled her out and he reached back in to grab her purse. Then he was holding her above the water and towing her easily toward the edge of the water and to where his car was pulled.

Elianna clung to him, her hands like tethers as he pulled her out of the water and then swooped her up, carrying her toward his care. He sat her in the passenger seat and then handed her a folded up blanket he'd pulled from his trunk. "Wrap up in this," he said softly to her. "We'll get you somewhere warm soon."

Elianna sat back as she'd been offered and she touched the wound on her head, the one that didn't seem like it would ever stop bleeding. She pressed the side of the blanket again it and used all the pressure she could manage to make the wound clot.

He took her back on the expressway and continued on their way. She managed to see the size of the body of water that she'd been dumped in and even caught a glimpse of her cute little car under the water. "I would have died," she breathed, reaching out and grabbing his arm. "You saved my life."

"I was just doing what anyone would have done, sweetheart. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"So how many people tried to push you aside so that they could save me?"

She laughed at him as he couldn't answer her. "It's okay. I'm just glad you had the forethought to save me."

"You look like someone I know?' he muttered. "Do I know you?"

His brow furrowed and he kept glancing her way. "We've never met," she whispered. But I feel as if I know you." She paused for a moment before giving her real name. "My name is Elianna Antonelli."

"You're Antonelli's daughter and Angel's sister," he gaped. The surprise on his face was just a little amusing and she nodded her head.

"How do you know Angel?"

"She married my cousin, Aaron." Her eyes never left his face even as she shivered in the cold. He could feel his hands touching on her arm and he gave her more of his attention.

"Which cousin are you?"

He sighed then reached up to cover her hand as it rested against his bicep. "I'm Quinn Hunter, oldest of my part of the Hunter family tree." He didn't mention the three boys and four girls that made up that rather large branch. Instead, he hit his turn signal and carefully pulled off the expressway, turning the wrong way that would get her someplace safe.

"I've heard of you."

"Of me? Who would want to talk about me?"

"Aaron and Angel kept telling me that if I was determined to get information on the ruby heart, you would be the man to talk to. I was heading out toward your house tonight..."

"And what makes any of them think that I do know anything about the Ruby heart? I've never even touched the gem much less studied it."

"Maybe it was the fact that your college career dealt more with finding the different treasures. Of figuring out clues and weeding though the miss mash that was out there. I've heard of you finding The Snake River Opal, and what everyone thinks is the fountain of Youth.

"I was lucky," Quinn said, fighting with the part of him that couldn't turn away from the mysteries of lost gold and jewels. The Ruby Heart was supposed to lead the owner to a place of immense wealth. He could feel that little part of him that always managed to get him into trouble wanting to perk its little head up and offer to help her.

"I can't believe that," Elianna said. "I have the Hunter diaries that show how they found the original spot that held the Ruby heart. I know from there, it would be almost a cake walk to find the gem. She lifted her purse that was large enough to be a suitcase. "I have all the information in here."

"What kind of information?" Quinn was compelled to ask.

Elianna pulled out the plastic wrapped books and letters, all things that she'd found on her own since she'd become transfixed by the ruby. She held up one of the Hunter diaries and showed it to Quinn. "This is your Uncle Donovan's diary. It tells of another opening to the mass of warrens and gullies that are down below us." She lifted up another diary, though this one didn't seem familiar to Quinn. "The young girl who was sacrificed so long ago, her diary has finally shown up. She speaks of a Hunter, no first name, but she does call him a savior. And there's even more information in the rest of these books."

"Do you know what searching for that treasure has done to my family? My cousin Rylie lost a baby. Dillon almost lost his mind. It's just too dangerous, Elianna. I could and probably would get us killed."

"But I would go by my own wishes, Quinn. The heart has been a mystery that I've wanted to solve since I first saw the gem over ten years ago. It's absolutely beautiful. It vibrates when you hold it in your hand."

"I believe someone was bitten by the shiny stone bug." Quinn reached out and flicked her on the nose. "You almost just drowned, Elianna. How about we get you some place safe and get you warm?"

"Then we'll discuss the gem? Can I at least show you what I've found?" Her eyes were on his face and she caught the huge sigh he gave. "Come on, tell me you aren't even the tiniest bit curious about what I've found?"

Quinn shook his head. "How about we get warm and dry and then we can discuss it?"

Elianna glanced around her at the traffic that was moving quicker now that the rain had slowed. She didn't see her father's man anywhere and he wouldn't know that she was in this car anyway. She nodded. "All right, but we will discuss this?"

"Yep, you've got the bug bad, don't you?" Quinn hit his turn signal and pulled off the exit on the expressway, turning left and speeding away from the interstate. He turned left on the first crossroad they'd came to and Quinn barely slowed when the crumbly concrete turned into dirt. The road narrowed but the houses grew nicer, fenced in and gated, most with pools or ponds.

Quinn pulled into a short driveway and then punched a number into a keypad. The gates opened slowly and he pulled through even slower. When he was through, the gates closed on their own, clanging as they locked.