Defending the Duchess (4 page)

“You couldn’t imagine it
then,
” Linus repeated softly,
hoping she’d clarify.

She did. “The file drawer that was damaged contained the
Seattle Electronics vs. Pendleton
file.”

He swallowed as the significance sank in. “Where’s the file now?”

“In my office back in Seattle.”

Linus tried to put the pieces together, but he couldn’t make them fit. “The guy on the beach said he wanted your file.”

“That’s what I
think
he said,” Julia
said, correcting him.

If the situation hadn’t been so critical, Linus might have laughed at her lawyerlike insistence on clarifying that point. But either way, he couldn’t see the sense in the man’s motive. If Pendleton wanted her file, why would he follow her to Lydia instead of staying in Seattle and taking the file while she was out of the country? Linus shook his head, unable to answer
the many questions that were already piling up. Only one thing mattered for the moment, and that was Julia’s well-being.

“It’s late. I should get you back to your suite.”

Julia reached for him without protest, meeting his eyes just long enough to flash him an appreciative smile before turning her attention to her feet. As her small hand settled on his arm and his free arm wrapped around
her waist, supporting her as he led her back to the hallway, a new fear hit him.

He liked the duchess.

Not that he’d ever
disliked
her. In fact, he’d held her in complete respect from the moment they’d first been introduced. But it was more than that, now. He’d fought for her. Held her—even held her while she cried.

This was new, dangerous territory, and he couldn’t have stumbled
into it at a worse time.

Earlier that summer, the head of the royal guard had conspired against the royal family, nearly ousting them from the throne. Linus and his fellow loyal guardsmen had helped the Royal House of Lydia reclaim the throne, and the former head of the guard had died trying to stop them.

Jason had started his term as new head of the guard by thoroughly investigating
the records and backgrounds of all the royal guards.

Including Linus.

Jason had discovered Linus’s juvenile criminal record, during the rebellious phase he’d put behind him so long ago. Jason understood that Linus wasn’t a threat to the crown, that he’d learned his lesson long ago and would never return to a life of petty crime, but the new head of the guard had also made one thing perfectly
clear when he’d revealed to Linus what he’d learned.

If Linus ever did anything that would require an investigation, Jason would have to share the details of what he’d learned with the relevant authorities, including the royal family. Linus would most likely lose his job—especially if the revelation was prompted by a strike against him.

The solution was simple. Linus could not allow
a single blemish to mar his record in the future, or he might lose everything he’d worked so hard for—his spot on the royal guard, and any shot he ever had at earning his grandfather’s respect. His grandpa Murati had bailed him out too many times when he was a teen, and inspired him to turn his life around. Linus wanted to make him proud by being the best royal guard he could be.

Which was
why the surge of unfamiliar emotions he felt for Julia were as dangerous as the man he’d fought earlier on the beach. Right now, he was ready to track down anyone who might ever hurt her, to head back to Seattle if necessary to make certain she was safe. But was that the best plan, or were his growing feelings fueling his zeal?

Linus tucked his arm more securely around Julia as they made
their way up the stairs to her room. She looked up at him briefly before settling her cheek against the crook of his shoulder.

It was a convenient spot for her to rest her head. It made climbing the stairs easier.

It also sent his heart soaring with emotions he didn’t dare explore.

Julia Miller was Queen Monica’s little sister, and soon to be a duchess of Lydia. Linus had no right
to touch her, except insofar as she needed his help as she did right now. He’d need to get his head on straight and get his emotions under control.

He needed to be the perfect royal guard. Any missteps and he might find himself ousted from the guard. Who would keep Julia safe then?

FOUR

“P
aul, isn’t it?” Julia greeted the guard who’d been assigned to her the morning after the attack. Of course, she’d known that Linus would be off duty now after working the evening before, but she couldn’t suppress the distinct sense of disappointment she felt.

“That’s right. And I’m to stick with you wherever you go today, even inside the palace,” Paul said apologetically.
“Her majesty’s orders.”

“So Monica knows?”

“She was briefed over breakfast.”

Julia nodded, feeling foolish for rising too late to stop her sister from hearing the bad news. But between her late-evening adventures the night before and the fact that she was still used to Seattle time nine hours later than Lydian time, she’d done well to wake up when she had.

“We can still get
you breakfast, if you’d like,” Paul quickly offered.

“Wonderful.” Julia hopped through the open doorway of her suite, still favoring her injured leg.

Paul offered her an arm, which she accepted gratefully. Though the young man seemed perfectly competent and solidly built, Julia couldn’t help feeling something was missing. When they paused at the bottom of the stairs, she studied his
face.

“Can I help you?” Paul looked worried.

“Just lead me to my breakfast, please.” Julia turned her attention to her feet. She didn’t need to look at Paul any longer to realize what was wrong.

He wasn’t Linus.

That was it. It wasn’t a major flaw. Certainly Paul couldn’t help it. But she felt the difference acutely. Though both men wore the same uniform and both were polite
and eager to help, Paul wasn’t Linus.

Julia tried to think what it was that made the difference. Linus made her feel at ease. Comforted. Protected. Maybe that was all there was to it. Linus had fought off that awful man on the beach.

And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more to her feelings than just that.

“Julia!” Queen Monica breezed up behind her as
she entered the small dining room, and caught her in a sisterly hug. “What happened last night? I can’t believe our guards let you get hurt!”

Julia squeezed back and clarified, “It wasn’t their fault. If Linus hadn’t caught up to me when he did—”

“Caught up to you?” Monica pulled back just far enough to look into her sister’s eyes with confusion. “Wasn’t he with you the whole time?”

“Didn’t they tell you?” Julia hopped the last two feet to the nearest chair and supported herself by holding on to the back. “I snuck out without a guard.”

Monica threw her hands into the air and began questioning her little sister’s intelligence just as she had when they were kids.

Julia watched in disbelief. Monica clearly hadn’t been informed of that little detail, though from
her protests now, she made it clear she knew the rest of the events of the night before.

Linus hadn’t told her that Julia had snuck out? Julia felt her heart warm a little more for the thoughtful guard, who’d tried to protect her from her older sister’s judgment, even at the risk of drawing blame himself.

“It’s okay,” Julia rushed to assure her sister. “I’m okay. It’s over.”

“It’s
not over.” Monica certainly looked upset, which only made Julia feel that much worse. She’d come to Lydia to ease her sister’s stress levels, not increase them. “They haven’t caught the man who attacked you. All they have is a shoe print.”

“Shoe print?” It was the first Julia had heard of it.

“Yes,” Paul explained, “they made a cast. Now they’re trying to match the sole design to determine
what kind of shoe it was.”

“They can do that?” Julia was impressed.

“They can try. So far it doesn’t match any shoes sold here in Lydia.”

Though Paul spoke with a casual air, Julia felt his words like a punch to the stomach. If her attacker’s shoes hadn’t come from Lydia, then maybe the man hadn’t come from Lydia, either. It confirmed her fear that her attacker had followed her
all the way from Seattle. She didn’t like the implications of that possibility.

Monica squeezed her hand. “I know I said we’d go out today and see the sights, but under the circumstances—”

“I’ll stay at the palace,” Julia quickly assured her. “There’s plenty to see and do right here within the safety of the palace gates.” Though she hated missing out on the plans she’d made with her
sister, Julia couldn’t allow Monica to go out with her. What if something happened? The attack the night before had already upset the new queen enough.

“Thank you.” Monica patted her hand, then stood. “I told Peter that we need to come up with some safe activities. I think he’s plotting something with his father involving the back lawn and a garden hose. I should check on them.”

“I’ll
catch up to you after I’ve had some breakfast,” Julia promised.

* * *

“What are you doing here?” Oliver Janko looked up from the security screen in surprise as Linus came through the door. “Your shift doesn’t start for eight hours.”

“I’ve got work to do.” Linus slapped down a notebook that held the precious little he’d been able to learn about Fletcher Pendleton from the internet.
Other than the pages of search results about the case Julia had represented—which told him little more than she had the night before—Linus hadn’t been able to turn up anything helpful about the engineer. “I need to know everything I can about this guy.”

Oliver glanced at the pages. “No problem.”

Linus smiled. Though Linus was more used to working with Simon, who covered the evening shift,
he knew Oliver was just as skilled at accessing information. That was his job. Besides its officers, the royal guard was split between three roles. There were the detectives, like Oliver and Simon, who did investigative work, much of it sitting in front of a computer, though they were trained to work in the field when needed.

Then there were the sentinels—the watchmen who manned the palace
gates, patrolled the perimeters any time the royals attended state functions, and rode ahead when the royal motorcade rolled out on official business.

Finally, there were the bodyguards. Linus and his peers were assigned to specific members of the royal household. They’d been shuffled around significantly with the changes that had taken place following the attacks, but that didn’t excuse
them from knowing their charges well enough to anticipate their needs. Before the recent attacks they had been called upon to rescue the royals from tiring social situations far more often than they were called upon to fight off attackers.

Not that Linus wasn’t prepared for both.

“Got a match on that shoe print from last night.” Oliver handed him a printout with a picture of the dark
cross-trainer and its specs. “Size twelve. Look familiar?”

Linus nodded solemnly as he examined the image and tried to recall what little he’d seen of the man’s shoes in the darkness—only a brief impression as the man had kicked toward him. “Looks like what I saw last night. I’ll share this with Julia when my shift starts later. How’s she doing right now?”

Oliver changed one screen view
to a scene of the back yard. The five-year-old son of King Thaddeus and Queen Monica occupied the center of the large palace sandbox, directing his aunt in sand castle construction while he held a hose, filling a moat.

As Linus watched, Prince Peter gestured excitedly with the hose, knocking a section of the castle into a sopping pile of sand. Julia gasped at him, laughing and waggling her
shovel playfully at her nephew. The image contained no sound, but Linus could imagine their happy shrieks. With an impish grin, Peter moved the stream of water closer to Julia’s toes.

Julia pulled her bare feet away. Though her grin didn’t falter, Monica stepped in to redirect her son.

But Linus’s attention wasn’t on the queen. Julia stood and pulled out her phone, glancing curiously
at the screen before answering an incoming call. As Linus watched, her smile fell. Her hand flew to her mouth just as it had the night before when she’d received the text from Fletcher.

Linus leaped toward the door.

Oliver had been briefing him about the shoes as he’d watched. “Did you hear what I said? The shoes aren’t sold in Lydia. It’s all on the spec sheet—where are you going?”

“Julia.” Linus pointed to the screen, to the clear distress on Julia’s face as she spoke on the phone. “Something’s wrong.”

* * *

“Mary?” Julia could hear the frantic tone in her friend’s voice, but she could hardly make sense of what the woman was saying. Mary was her sweet elderly neighbor back in Seattle. Julia always kept Mary’s cats for her when she was out of town, so Mary
had been happy to volunteer to water Julia’s houseplants once a week while she was gone.

Now Mary was telling her something about her house—something about a break-in? Julia rushed to clarify.

“Mary? What’s wrong? Isn’t it the middle of the night over there?”

“Yes, the cats woke me up. That’s when I saw the light on inside your house and went to take a look.”

“A light on?”
Julia was nearly certain she’d turned everything off before she left.

“That’s right. I don’t know how long it’s been on. I wouldn’t have noticed it during the day, and I’m not usually up in the night. But the moment I saw it I went to take a look.”

Julia didn’t like the idea of Mary stepping out alone in the darkness. “Are you there now?”

“I’m back inside my house with the doors
locked. I suppose that’s silly but it frightened me.”

“What did?” Julia felt frightened as well, but she resisted accepting that what her neighbor said was true. Besides that, she didn’t want Peter to pick up on her fear, though he was in the midst of a lecture from his mother about the proper uses of a garden hose.

“Your house,” Mary moaned. “It’s been ransacked.”

Julia gasped.
“And you went there? Oh, Mary, you could have been in danger!”

“No one’s there now—from what I saw I’d guess it happened days ago, maybe even right after you left town. Everything from your freezer was melted in a pile on the floor, and your plants are shriveled up, knocked from their pots. It’s a mess. Do you want me to call the police? I almost called them first, but then I thought I should
call you.”

“I don’t know.” Unable to guess what the proper response might be without seeing the house herself, Julia looked to where Paul had been sitting just in time to see the guard jump up.

Linus was approaching at a trot across the well-trimmed lawn. What now? Julia listened with increasing distress as Mary recounted all she’d observed before fleeing back to her own house. Books
knocked from shelves, cushions torn open, papers strewn everywhere. At the same time, Julia felt a sudden surge of relief seeing Linus, coupled with concern about why he approached her so swiftly. Had something else gone wrong?

“What is it?” he asked in a low voice once he reached her side.

“Just a second, Mary,” Julia said then covered the phone, relieved to pause Mary’s account of
all the things that had been damaged. She met Linus’s eyes. “Why are you here?”

“I saw you on the security screen when the call came in. You looked scared. What is it?”

“My neighbor back home,” Julia explained quickly. “She says my house has been ransacked. I need to figure out what to do. Should I have her call the police?”

Both Paul and Linus urged her to do so.

Julia returned
her attention to Mary, who agreed, and offered to place the call herself. “I’m going to phone them right now. I’ll call you back once I’ve spoken with them.”

“Thank you so much, Mary. Stay safe.” Julia closed her eyes as she ended the call. From what Mary had told her, the cottage she’d so lovingly decorated must be in chaos. But maybe somewhere in all that mess, whoever had broken in had
left behind something that would lead them to the culprit. Was the break-in connected to the attack against her the night before?

It seemed likely. Quite possibly the same person could have committed both crimes. Julia had been in Lydia for two days before the attack. Her house might have been broken into at any time since she’d left for Lydia, the break-in undetected until Mary opened the
door. The intruder could have easily found clues at her house that would have told him she’d gone to Lydia. He could have hopped the next flight and arrived in plenty of time to plan his next attack.

But why? What was so important?

Linus spoke, his low voice cutting short the fear that ran rampant through her thoughts. “Do you want to come with me to the royal guard station? I’d like
to call the Seattle police as well, but I’ll need you with me to fill in the facts.”

As she looked up at Linus and met his eyes, Julia felt the reassurance of knowing that she was in good hands. She thanked God for Linus—for his attentive concern and his skill at knowing just what to do. And then she prayed that he
would
know what to do, and that somehow, the attacks would end.

* * *

As Linus finished explaining the situation to the police in Seattle, he felt grateful for Julia’s confidence in him. He certainly didn’t feel confident. First off, the police had pulled up the file on the office break-in Julia had reported weeks before. Based on their notes in that file, they weren’t too concerned about what might have happened at her house.

Linus assured them that they
needed to be concerned. They agreed to send someone to look at the house and take a statement from Mary.

It was the best he could do from half a world away. He closed the call and looked at Julia apologetically.

“Do you think it’s related?” She looked up at him from the office chair where he’d seated her, afraid after seeing her pale face that she might keel over if she got any more
bad news.

Linus nodded as he turned his chair to face hers, already analyzing the newest twist in the case. All the things that had happened were like pieces of a puzzle, and this new development felt like an odd piece he’d picked up. He couldn’t decide if it fit with the rest or belonged to a different puzzle entirely. Given the proximity to the other events and the previous break-in at
Julia’s office, he felt nearly certain it had to fit. But how?