Chapter 2

It was a question that had bothered Elianna as well until she reached the last page of the diary. She reached out, taking the diary from Quinn's hands and flipping the pages to the last one. "She'd had help."

Quinn glanced down at the strange writing, seeing the last stroke of the pen as the diary's owner had been dragged from her hiding spot and taken out and savagely sacrificed. He flinched, staring at that last pen stroke. "They didn't make it easy on her did they?"

"I wouldn't say so," Elianna sighed. "But they got their sacrifice. It was all they wanted."

"But this man," he ran his finger down the text on the page. "This Maricanchi, he saved her?"

"He saved her, hid her and fell in love with her, Quinn. She was waiting for him the day that she was recaptured. She was pregnant and wanted to tell him their joyous news. Instead, she was found as she wrote in her diary and taken to the men who called themselves chiefs of the village."

"Well, at least she didn't die a virgin. But what does any of this have to do with the Ruby Heart? I mean, yeah, it's a great story and all, but how does that get us any closer to where the Heart is?"

"Did you ever talk to your cousin, Dillon, about the Ruby and what it did to him?"

"What it did to him?" His eyes narrowed. "He never told any of the family that it did anything to him."

"Maybe not the rest of the family, but he told Angel. She had a similar experience when she and Aaron went down into the cavern to bring the Heart out."

"What kind of experience?" He sat forward even more, now more curious about the Heart than ever before.

"He touched it and it took him to the cave in Mexico. It showed him the high priestess, the only one who was supposed to touch the Heart. The high priestess tried to have sex with Dillon, she knew what the Heart could do and she wanted to force the Heart into letting Dillon stay with her. Lucky for him, he was already in love with Rylie. Her voice brought him back."

"My cousin Dillon admitted this to anyone?" Quinn scoffed. "Dillon doesn't believe any of that mumbo jumbo crap. I even tried to get him interested in finding the Heart once. I'd never heard him so adamant when he said no." Quinn sat back on the couch, reaching over to hand her the diary.

"So is this all you got?"

"No." Elianna glanced at Quinn and then down into her purse. She wasn't sure if she wanted to show this next bit of evidence to Quinn or not. If he decided to go without her, this little map she had would make her redundant.

"Well..."

"I'm thinking, Quinn. This page I'm not sure if I should show you or not, it tells you what to do with the Ruby Heart to have it show you the way to the treasure."

"You have a page that will do that?" Quinn sat forward again, eager to see this piece of evidence.

"Yeah, and if I show it to you, how do I know that you'll take me with you?"

"I never said I was going to go myself." He shook his head.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Lie to me some more. How can you resist? The Ruby Heart Treasure is unbelievably expansive, Quinn. Tell me how you could resist that?"

"I've never stolen any one's find before, Elianna. I don't have to. I'm not going to duck out on you in the middle of the night clutching a bunch of ancient papers that might mean nothing. Besides, no one knows where the Ruby Heart is now. Not since your father got hold of it again."

"I do," she said softly, before glancing up to see his face. "That might be the most dangerous part of this quest, Quinn. My father is not a man to come up against, especially when it has something to do with the Ruby Heart. He's been transfixed with the idea of owning it since the first time he read about it in any of the diaries and histories of the piece."

"You know where Antonelli is keeping the Heart?"

"Yes. My father wanted someone to crow to. He couldn't do it with either of his ladies, so I got to listen to him. I know exactly where the Heart is and how to get it."

"And you want my help," he added for her, sinking back against the couch again. "You want me to go up against your father, steal his prized possession and then find the Heart treasure all the while he's hunting me."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement of facts.

"And me, Quinn. Besides Angelina, I'm his only daughter. I'm the one that he plans on leaving all of this to when Beelzebub calls him home."

"So why not wait until that happens?" he asked, the corner's of his lips quirking as they heard her words.

"My father is in perfect shape. He works out every day to keep his heart healthy and strong. He's given up smoking and drinking on the advice of his doctor and the man says he'll live until he's a hundred if he doesn't get hit by a car. I'm not patient enough to wait that long. Besides, do you know what it's like being Sebastian Antonelli's daughter?"

Quinn shook his head.

"I'm surprised I managed to get away from him. I know he has men searching for me. He had a chip implanted in my thigh that would send out a homing signal if I were to ever leave his estate."

"Had a chip?"

"I dug it out," she said, rubbing her hand over the small scar it had left. "I'm cosseted and spoiled as long as I stay where Sebastian puts me. I'm his darling girl as long as I don't want a life of my own. I'm surprised he hasn't put me in a convent yet." She sighed and it seemed to exhaust her. "I've been on the run since I got the first warning that Sebastian knew I was in Texas. I can't stop running now or he'll find me and I'll never be free of him. Do you know what living a life like that can do to you?"

Quinn felt a spurt of sympathy. He'd grown up with overbearing Cousin Dillon keeping an eye on his every move until he found his first treasure. Now Dillon kept his mouth shut or Quinn ignored him. But being a woman and having that thrust down your throat with nothing to be done ... he shook his head.

"So you want my help to find the treasure so you can ... what? Give it to your father? Shove it in his face?"

"So I can be free from him. I spent my last thousand dollars on buying the car that ended up in the lake last night. I can't do this on my own anymore. I need help, your help. I will do whatever you want me to do, Quinn."

Quinn sighed, tapping his finger against his bottom lip as he thought. His eyes roamed over her, acknowledging her beauty, the soft green of her eyes, the brilliant fire of her hair, her piquant features. There was no doubting her relationship to Angel or to the surge of interest he was feeling toward her. He'd always wished he'd met Angel before Aaron had. He'd always found her absolutely perfect, even when she was nine months pregnant with his cousin's baby.

Now that he'd met Elianna, his interest was more than piqued. It was like God was giving him his own copy of Angel, one with the same beauty and fire, the same strength of will that had always captivated him about Angel. He rose slowly, pacing the floor in front of her for a moment before he dropped to his knees at her feet.

"I have to do this," he whispered softly, reaching out and taking her arms in his gentle hands. He pulled her closer, hearing her gasp and then feeling the heat of her breath against his lips.

Heat hit him first, like someone thrusting a torch into his belly. Then he felt her lips move against his, opening under his and the tiniest of flicker of her tongue against his mouth. He pulled back, his amber eyes opening slowly to stare into the heat of hers. Her hands moved from his chest, rising slowly to touch the nape of his neck, her fingers combing through his too long hair.

"Again," she sighed, lifting her mouth in invitation to his.

"Yes," he moaned, pulling her even closer before rising to sit in her chair and pull her onto his lap. His mouth was relentless, rubbing and teasing hers until she dug her fingers in his hair and pulled him down closer. She arched against him, pushing her breasts, covered only by the softness of his sweatshirt into his chest.

He buried his hand in her hair, holding her still for the possession of her mouth, the other hand pulling her closer, wanting to feel all of her against him.

He finally tore his mouth away from hers, dropping his head back against the cushions of the chair. "Damn," he panted.

Her hands touched his face, exploring his features as if she were blind. Her thumb brushed over the small beard he'd begun growing, then touched his ears, tugging on him to look down at her again.

"What ... what was that?" she managed to stutter. Her insides were still on fire and she could feel her wetness against her thighs.

"A kiss," he said softly, gently stroking her hair away from her face. "I've been thinking about doing that since I first fished you out of that lake."

"And now that you have?" she panted.

"I want to do it again," he moaned, moving closer to her again. He gave her no other warning, just dropped his head far enough to cover her lips, his tongue slipping over the seam of her mouth, to tease it open.

Her hands were on his cheeks and then she wrapped her arms around his neck, opening her mouth to his tongue. She felt him rise but ignored the feeling, too caught up in his taste and his heat. She didn't even glance up when she felt him heading up a flight of stairs and opening a door.

"I want you," he growled against her mouth, laying her gently against the thick coverlet of his bed. "I have to have you."

"Yes," she whimpered, her hands finding their way to the hem of his shirt, tugging it away from his body so that she might find his skin.

"God!" he growled, at the way her hands felt against him. He lifted up enough to pull off his shirt, then bent over her further, swooping down to take her lips once more. It was as if she were some kind of drug and he were addicted, unable to do with out the taste of her, the softness of her lips, the heat of her breath.

"Tell me no now, Elianna."

"Y ... you want me to say no?" she asked, confusion warring with the passion in her eyes.

"No, God no! But if you're going to say no, do it now or else I can't promise I'll be able to stop." He took her mouth again, not giving her time to say anything, his lips frantic against the softness of hers. He pulled away, only long enough to pull his sweatshirt from off of her slender body. His eyes roamed over her bare flesh, amazed at her beauty and at the way she felt in his arms. "I can't stop," he moaned softly, pressing his bare chest against her breasts. "I don't ever want to stop."