Risky Business by Nora Roberts

long it’ll take, and I’m not leaving you alone.”
    She lifted a brow. “I have police protection.”
    â€œNot good enough. In any case, you know the language, the customs. I don’t. I need you.” He tucked his thumbs in his pockets. “It’s as simple as that.”
    Liz walked over to turn off the coffee and move the pot to a back burner. “Nothing’s simple,” she corrected. “But I’ll get your list, and I’ll go along with you under one condition.”
    â€œWhich is?”
    She folded her hands. Jonas was already certain by her stance alone that she wasn’t set to bargain but to lay down the rules. “That no matter what happens, what you find out or don’t find out, you’re out of this house and out of my life when my daughter comes home. I’ll give you four weeks, Jonas—that’s all.”
    â€œIt’ll have to be enough.”
    She nodded and started out of the room. “Wash your dishes. I’ll meet you out front.”
    The police car still sat in the driveway when Jonas walked out the front door. A group of children stood on the verge ofthe road and discussed it in undertones. He heard Liz call one of them by name before she took out a handful of coins. Jonas didn’t have to speak Spanish to recognize a business transaction. Moments later, coins in hand, the boy raced back to his friends.
    â€œWhat was that about?”
    Liz smiled after them. Faith would play with those same children throughout the summer. “I told them they were detectives. If they see anyone but you or the police around the house, they’re to run right home and call Captain Moralas. It’s the best way to keep them out of trouble.”
    Jonas watched the boy in charge pass out the coins. “How much did you give them?”
    â€œTwenty pesos apiece.”
    He thought of the current rate of exchange and shook his head. “No kid in Philadelphia would give you the time of day for that.”
    â€œThis is Cozumel,” she said simply and wheeled out her bike.
    Jonas looked at it, then at her. The bike would have sent a young teenager into ecstasies. “You drive this thing?”
    Something in his tone made her want to smile. Instead, she kept her voice cool. “This thing is an excellent mode of transportation.”
    â€œA BMW’s an excellent mode of transportation.”
    She laughed. He hadn’t heard her laugh so easily since he’d met her. When she looked back at him, her eyes were warm and friendly. Jonas felt the ground shift dangerously under his feet. “Try to take your BMW on some of the back roads to the coast or into the interior.” She swung a leg over the seat. “Hop on, Jonas, unless you want to hike back to the hotel.”
    Though he had his doubts, Jonas sat behind her. “Where do I put my feet?”
    She glanced down and didn’t bother to hide the grin. “Well, if I were you, I’d keep them off the ground.” With this shestarted the engine then swung the bike around in the driveway. After adjusting for the added weight, Liz kept the speed steady. Jonas kept his hands lightly at her hips as the bike swayed around ruts and potholes.
    â€œAre there roads worse than this?”
    Liz sped over a bump. “What’s wrong with this?”
    â€œJust asking.”
    â€œIf you want sophistication, try Cancun. It’s only a few minutes by air.”
    â€œEver get there?”
    â€œNow and again. Last year Faith and I took the Expatriate over and spent a couple of days seeing the ruins. We have some shrines here. They’re not well restored, but you shouldn’t miss them. Still, I wanted her to see the pyramids and walled cities around Cancun.”
    â€œI don’t know much about archaeology.”
    â€œYou don’t have to. All you need’s an imagination.”
    She tooted the horn. Jonas saw an old, bent man straighten from