Chapter 3

Alejandro looked up as Felipe entered the cave. Not for the first time, the boy stared in shock at the older man, until he remembered that Diego had told his father everything.

"Have you seen Diego?" Alejandro asked.

Felipe signed an answer.

"He went to the tavern? To speak with Victoria?" Alejandro's eyes brightened. "That's wonderful! Since he's not home, and he's been gone for most of the day, I am going to hope that he was able to mend the fences he burned to the ground with her."

Felipe looked more skeptical.

"Oh no, don't even look at me that way. Victoria may be angry at Diego, but I refuse to believe that she does not love him."

Felipe moved closer, hoping to draw some hope of his own from Alejandro. Diego had certainly had none for the last week.

"I've been in town every day this week and Victoria's mood has not changed. If anything, it's gotten worse." Alejandro closed the book he'd been reading. "That is a sign of a woman in love but too angry to admit it."

Felipe sighed, a worried look in his eyes.

"Well, let's hope Diego is able to get her to admit it."

Alejandro nodded as Felipe signed slowly so that he could understand. "Diego's own mood has not made it easy for me to deal with this little secret either."

Felipe hid a smile behind his hand.

"Do you know it took him two days after admitting to me that he was Zorro before he brought me here?" Alejandro shook his head, feigning annoyance. "And to think I had forgotten all about that entrance. I thought it was sealed long ago."

Felipe nodded and pointed toward Toronado's stall, indicating that he had chores to perform before he could continue their conversation.

"Oh, I fed him." Alejandro smiled and winked.

"You're a feisty little vixen, aren't you?" The bandit pushed Victoria forcefully to the ground and glared down at her. His original intent to have a little fun was put temporarily on hold as he rubbed the spot on his neck into which she'd sunk her teeth.

She struggled against the bonds binding her arms and snarled at the smirking bandit. "Keep your filthy hands off me!"

"I'm sure there is someone special who will pay a lot of money to have you back!"

Victoria's quick glance at the still unconscious Diego was not lost on the bandit.

"Ohh, so this caballero is your novio, hmm?" he laughed loudly. "Well, you'd better hope there is someone still at home willing to pay a nice big ransom for your return!"

"Let her go."

The bandit's head snapped downward to where Diego was laying on his side and squinting up at them. Victoria stared down as well, and swallowed hard. It was clear Diego was in pain and there was dried blood on his temple where they had struck him.

"You are in no position to demand anything of me, caballero." Two other bandits stood from where they were watching their leader's exchange with Victoria and pointed loaded pistols at his head.

Diego leaned over and pressed his forehead into the dirt, fighting a wave of dizziness that that threatened to overtake him. When he lifted his head again, his vision was still blurred and he squinted in the waning sunlight. "Let her go. She is of no use to you."

"Oh, I think she will be of plenty use to us!" The leader, Mancho, licked his lips as his eyes traveled over Victoria's slim body.

"Don't you touch her." Diego's voice held a steely edge that Victoria instantly recognized as belonging to Zorro.

She didn't look at him, simply closed her eyes and trembled. The warmth of the sun was descending to the west and as soon as darkness fell, the temperature would drop to chilly temperatures.

"You are in no position to do anything about it!" The man laughed.

Diego glanced at the sky and chose not to further discuss this topic. "It's going to be cold when the sun sets. Could you at least put a blanket over Victoria so she won't freeze?"

The bandit cocked his head and looked at Victoria. "We only have one extra blanket. And I think you're worth a bit more than this little vixen."

Victoria's eyes snapped open and she scowled at the bandit.

"Then tie us together and we can share the blanket," came Diego's quick reply.

The bandit took a moment to think about this and then bent down and yanked Victoria to her feet. "I think I can warm her better than you can!" He pulled her into his arms and placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

Diego sat up instantly, wincing as his head began to spin and the rope pulled at his bruised arms. "If you violate her, there is no place in this world you will be able to hide from me."

The bandit scowled and glanced down at Victoria, who appeared to be in as great a shock as he at Diego's steely, unwavering tone. "What's the matter little vixen, never seen this side of your novio before?" The bandit laughed and shoved her to the ground.

Victoria landed heavily in the dirt next to Diego and struggled against the rope that bound her wrists.

"Watch him." The bandit instructed to his men. He pushed Victoria back against Diego's chest. "You're a lucky man, caballero," the bandit tossed his remaining blanket over Diego and Victoria. "Sleep well. If you can!" He laughed as he went back to the fire his men had started.

As the leader and his men began to discuss what to do with their captives, Diego shifted his head so that he could whisper in Victoria's ear.

But she whispered to him before he could formulate coherent words. "Since there is no Zorro to ride to our rescue this time, what do you suggest we do now?"

The ire in her whisper was obvious and Diego sighed deeply against her neck.

Victoria trembled, more from his warm breath against her skin than from the chill.

"I'm sorry, Victoria," Diego said, daringly brushing his lips against her neck and closing his eyes. "Please, forgive me for wanting to protect you. Everything I've done has been for you, for –"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Diego," Victoria interrupted, staring at the fire. The loud crackling would hopefully keep the bandits from realizing that they were whispering to one another.

"We have to work together if we are going to escape." Diego sighed, eyes shifting to the bandits to make sure they didn't hear him.

"Yes, and?"

Diego sighed at her impatience. She obviously couldn't even stand to be near him. Again, he wondered where he'd gone wrong. How he had so destroyed their relationship. "Give me a few moments to gather my rather scrambled thoughts, please."

Victoria winced and lowered her head in shame. He had been hit in the head and knocked out – all because he was trying to help her. He'd been unconscious while she sat and watched over him, hoping the bandits wouldn't choose to shoot him instead of keeping them both alive for whatever ransom they were going to demand.

He deserved some measure of consideration for his brave act but Victoria found herself furiously angry at the situation in which they now found themselves. If he hadn't come into town today, she would not have felt the need to get out of the tavern. If he hadn't lied to her in the first place, perhaps they would be married with children even now, leading a happy and fulfilling life.

As Victoria contemplated everything that had led them to this point in their lives, she realized that perhaps she was being a bit too hard on Diego. He had lied to her, yes. And his lies had kept them apart. Had kept them from leading a normal, happy life.

But the reasons for Zorro's existence were still valid. He was still needed. Because of their argument, Zorro had vanished, leaving the pueblo all but defenseless. But where did that leave her? Could she love a man who was constantly torn between spending time with his family and chasing after some bandit or another?

Did she truly love Zorro? Or did she simply idolize him like every man, woman, and child in the pueblo?

Did she truly love the man behind the mask? Could she love him, trust him, after the lies he had told? What further lies would he tell her when they were married?

The last week had been miserable for her. She'd had got little sleep as she thought about every encounter with Zorro, and then tried to recall Diego. Each time, Zorro invaded her thoughts and she could not so much as remember Diego being anywhere in sight.

She'd been so blind.

A sob escaped her lips before she could stop it as she suddenly realized that she had been the reason for Diego's fears of rejection. She had never paid any special attention to him. Never given him so much as a passing notice. How deeply that must have hurt him. His flamboyant, romantic alter ego had captured her heart from the moment she'd seen him.

A tear slipped down her cheek as she relived every moment of her visit that day to Zorro's cave. When he'd asked her to marry him. He had told her that he was afraid of only one thing – her rejection of the true man who lived behind Zorro's mask. She had quickly sought to reassure him that she would love the man behind the mask, whoever he might be.

But when that final test had come – she failed miserably. She had spectacularly confirmed the very fear he had confided in her that day.

Shame flooded her body and she longed to roll over and apologize. But she didn't want to draw the attention of the bandits so she settled for saying his name. "Diego?"

There was no answer.

"Diego?" she said a bit louder.

She suddenly felt his weight pressing down on her beck, his face buried in her neck. She tried to turn but was again fearful that the bandits would wrench them apart if she moved.

"Diego, answer me!" she hissed, pushing back against him with as much force as she dared.

But there was no answer and Victoria inch, by silent inch, rolled over until she was facing him. By this time, he was lying awkwardly on his back, thanks to his arms tied behind him, and she could barely make out his features in the darkness. She rested her hands on his chest and then brought them to his face. He was warm, but not deathly so.

Then she thought of the blow to his head. It must have been more serious than she thought, and she leaned forward and whispered to him yet again, pleading with him to wake. But nothing roused him and fear gripped her mind as he remained unmoving beneath her.

"Alcalde?" Alejandro stormed into de Soto's office.

De Soto yawned and turned a wary eye on the intruder. "What is it, Don Alejandro?" He'd been on the road chasing bandits for the last week and he was tired, not to mention sore. He had no interest in entertaining this evening.

"My son is missing, and so, I'm told, is Victoria. What are you going to do about it?"

"Missing?" de Soto chuckled. "You son is well known for disappearing for days at a time and Señorita Escalante has not exactly been in her right mind as of late."

"Are you telling me that you will not send out a party in search of them?" Alejandro glared, clutching his gloves tightly to keep from striking out at the infuriating man.

"If they haven't returned by tomorrow, I will send a few lancers out in search of them, yes."

Alejandro's face reddened. "Fine. I will send my own men to look for them." He turned on his heel and strode to the door. As he yanked it open, he turned and hissed, "If something happens to them because of your unwillingness to act, you will pay."

De Soto leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, ignoring Alejandro's departing threat.

TBC

Trollie – I can get more evil. Don't tempt me. You'll see it in the next chapter. :)

Jkl88- Yeah, I rather liked how Alejandro found out in this one too. I was quite happy with it. I'm happy with the next chapter too, but, the readers might not be.

Lwolf – Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking the story. Hope you've seen the series, too! So many people who review haven't and I think it's a shame!

WolfDaughter – I didn't make you wait too long! See! Be happy. Because you're going to hate me when you read the next chapter. :smiles sweetly:

Classic Cowboy – I like evil cliffhangers. The more of my stories you read, the more you'll come to hate me for those evil cliffhangers…:) But, yes, Victoria is warming up – slowly.

Proud-2-b-blonde – Thanks for the review. Glad you hated that cliffhanger. This chapter has another. Heh

Beverly – I do so love to toy with the readers emotions. If a reader feels nothing for the characters, they are less likely to enjoy the story. So, I must endeavor to toy much.