Defending the Duchess (10 page)

“For the attack against me on the beach?”

“And for everything.” Linus didn’t say Fletcher’s name out loud or mention the
word
murder
. Instead he turned to face her, and his voice sounded tired, even tender. “My job is to keep you safe.”

“To my understanding, you’re supposed to be off duty right now. Sam’s supposed to be guarding me.” Julia took a step closer to him, eager to know why he felt the need to stay at her side even though his shift was over. Did he feel the way she felt? With every new thing she learned
about him, her feelings for him grew.

His gaze lingered on her face for one emotion-filled moment. He spoke in a reluctant voice. “Then I suppose I should be going.” Yet he didn’t make a move toward the door.

Julia summoned up her courage. “What if I don’t want you to go?”

Linus moved closer to her, his gaze never leaving her face. “I need to. You’re the queen’s sister. I’m just
a guard.” In spite of his words, he leaned closer as he spoke.

“You’re more than just a guard to me.” Julia intended her words to encourage Linus to say what he felt, but they also bordered on a declaration of her feelings.

“Julia...” Linus reached toward her face, brushing her cheek with the whisper-soft touch of his fingertips. “I respect you.”

“I respect you.” She felt a hopeful
smile rise to her lips.

“I can’t get involved with you. If I let anything happen between us, it would prompt an immediate review of my record.”

Julia felt her heart plummet. “A review. Jason would share your juvenile record.”

“I can’t ask him to withhold that information. If I’d have realized the old head of the guard hired me without knowing it, I’d have made it known long ago.
But I didn’t know then, and now is the worst possible time for anyone to find out. In the wake of the attacks against the royal family, Jason has instituted strict standards for the guards. I believe in those standards. I can’t ask him to make an exception for me.”

Julia regretted the fact, but she understood where Linus was coming from. “If he makes an exception for you, he’d set a precedent
of making exceptions. And that could ultimately lead to a breach of security that would endanger my sister’s family.”

“I’m glad you understand.” Linus still held his fingers alongside her face, and now cupped her cheek in his hand. “I care deeply about you. But I also care about the safety of your extended family.”

Julia couldn’t repress a smirk. “That only makes me like you more.”

Linus smirked back and leaned closer. “It’s a dangerous line of work.” He hovered for a moment mere inches from her lips.

Much as she wanted to lean forward and kiss him, she understood why they couldn’t allow themselves that pleasure. Still, she could hardly pull away from him.

“Jason wanted to listen to that—” Sam opened the door, then froze, looking at them.

Linus pulled
back.

Julia looked shamefully toward her feet.

“—phone message,” Sam ended, looking back and forth between the two of them. “Unless this isn’t a good time?”

Linus clapped a hand on his fellow guard’s shoulder. “It’s a perfect time, thank you.”

“And I’m supposed to relieve you,” Sam reminded Linus.

“That’s fine—” Linus smiled agreeably “—but if you don’t mind, I’d like
to stick around for now.”

Sam hesitated and looked at Julia. “Miss Miller?”

“I’m glad to have you.” Julia smiled at Linus, trying not to smirk. “Let’s see if we can learn something from those phone messages.”

TEN

T
hey stepped into the hallway just as Jason came around the corner toward them. “I’ve contacted the cell phone tower authorities. They’re going to help us locate the caller. We’ll listen to the messages first. Then, if we determine it’s safe to do so, we’ll return Scott’s calls. The cell tower authorities should be able to narrow down his location using the strength of his
connection to surrounding towers.”

Julia had heard of cases that used the cell tower pinging method to substantiate a caller’s location. They were often able to pinpoint a location with total accuracy. And all she really wanted to know was whether Scott was in Seattle or Lydia.

Jason led them to a large conference room with a long central table. Wheeled office chairs surrounded the table,
and a pot of coffee was brewing at a small kitchenette station in one corner. “Can I get you anything?” Jason asked.

“I’d take some of that coffee as soon as it’s done. Thanks.” She sat next to Linus and placed her phone on the table in front of her.

A couple more guards entered behind them. One of them had a recording device, and the other fiddled with the settings on her phone.

“I’ve got the volume all the way up,” he informed Jason. “We’re ready.”

Jason brought her a steaming mug of coffee.

Linus leaned closer and whispered. “There’s milk in the fridge.”

It took Julia just a second to realize there was a small refrigerator under the counter, and to put together the fact that Linus had no doubt watched her pour milk into her coffee several times over the
past few days. It was something she did without even thinking about it. But he’d thought about it.

Touched by his gesture, all she could do was nod.

Linus hopped up and brought her the milk, along with a mug of coffee for himself. By the time he’d replaced the carton back in the fridge, everyone was seated.

“We’re ready,” the guard who’d fiddled with her phone explained. “It’s set
to speakerphone so everyone can hear the messages.”

“Okay.” Julia entered her password to retrieve the messages, and Scott’s voice filled the room.

“Hey, Julia, it’s Scott. I wanted to ask you a couple questions. Can you call me back? Thanks.”

Her fellow lawyer’s voice sounded casual—almost forcedly casual, but she was so nervous, she might have projected the forced part. She saved
the message and proceeded to the next.

“Julia. It’s Scott. Did you get my message? It’s actually kind of important that I talk to you, preferably soon. It’s, well, it’s complicated. Call me back as soon as you can, and I’ll explain. Thanks.”

Julia saved the message and the phone proceeded to give the date and time of the message. She wished her phone had offered her a pause-and-absorb-what-you-just-hea
rd option, but it had only offered her delete-and-move-on or save-and-move-on, and she wasn’t about to delete.

They listened to the message Scott had left moments before, after Julia hadn’t answered her ringing phone. Scott’s voice had a higher pitch this time. He sounded nervous, almost jumpy.

Almost like Fletcher Pendleton had the last couple of times he’d called her. It sent a foreboding
ripple down her spine.

“Julia, it’s Scott. I need to talk to you, preferably in person. It may be—” he paused, and she could almost hear his anxious swallow “—it may be a matter of life and death. Yours. Mine. I—I think I got in over my head. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. Please call me back as soon as you can. Bye.”

Julia couldn’t look at the phone any longer. She gulped a little
coffee to take the dry lump from her throat, then looked at Linus, hoping he’d know better than she did what to make of Scott’s message.

Linus met her eyes, but said nothing, only pulled in a long breath.

Jason leaned forward. “Let’s hear those again.”

“Do we have to?” Julia realized the moment she spoke the words that they sounded like a plea from a small child, but she felt very
small and overwhelmed by what she’d heard—especially the eerie similarity to Fletcher Pendleton’s voice, and Scott’s reference to life and death.

Scott wanted to meet with her. Fletcher had wanted to meet with her. She’d refused him until it was too late, and now he was dead.

She reached forward and hit the button to replay the message.

Scott’s voice hadn’t lost its note of desperation.

It may be a matter of life and death. Yours. Mine. I—I think I got in over my head. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. Please call me back as soon as you can. Bye.

Julia pinched her eyes closed and wished the words weren’t real. She opened her eyes to see the guards nodding in agreement around the table.

“What?” she asked, guessing at what the wordless signal meant and fearing she was
right.

She was.

Linus confirmed it. “You need to call him back. The sooner you talk to him, the sooner we find out what’s been going on.”

Julia nodded. Linus was right—she knew it deep in her heart. It would take them forever to sort out Scott’s motive on their own. They’d already admitted to one another that they had very little idea what he was involved in. They might not like
what Scott was going to tell them, but at least they’d finally know something.

One of the guards plugged something into her phone. “This will record the entire conversation and transmit it so the rest of us can hear. We’ll put you in the next room so Scott doesn’t pick up our noises and become suspicious.”

She followed the guard into the next room, wishing she had some excuse to keep
Linus next to her. But no, he needed to be in the room where her conversation was being transmitted, so he could hear everything that was said.

“There’s a window here.” The guard moved a panel to one side, revealing a clear piece of glass through which she could see the guards sitting at the table. “If you have a question, write on the glass.” He handed her a marker.

“Okay.” She absorbed
everything he’d said and gripped the marker in one hand, her phone in the other.

“When you’re ready.” The guard nodded and closed the door behind him on the way out.

Julia looked through the glass, which had a bit of an opaque tinge, so that she could see the guards clearly, and superimposed in front of them, she saw her own reflection.

She looked frightened. She took a gulp and
tried to give herself a reassuring smile.

From beyond the glass, Linus met her eyes and smiled back.

That simple gesture reminded her that she wasn’t alone—not really—even if he wasn’t in the same room with her. He was nearby and he would keep her safe. She closed her eyes and called to mind the words of the Psalm he’d recited.
My God, I trust in you. Save me from my enemies.

Julia
opened her eyes and looked at Linus again. He had a reflective look on his face, and she was hit with the realization that he seemed to be praying—maybe even praying that very Psalm again for her. At the thought, the tension began to ease from her trembling hands. She could do this.

She lifted her phone and dialed.

* * *

Linus watched Julia’s face intently as he listened to the
transmission, which carried through clearly. The phone rang twice before Scott answered.

“Julia?”

“Yes. Scott?”

“Thank you for calling me back.”

“What did you need?”

“Remember when your office was broken into a few weeks ago?”

“Yes.”

“I think I know who did it. I mean, I don’t know their names, but I sort of helped them do it. I didn’t know. I thought I was helping.”
Scott’s words ran together in a panic. “They told me not to tell anyone, not to say anything. They threatened me—my fingerprints were all over the papers. They said I’d go to jail. I’d be their scapegoat. I was stupid. I was scared. I didn’t think.”

“Who? What happened?”

“Two guys. They stopped by the office. I recognized them from when you worked on that Seattle Electronics case. They
seemed legit. Listen, that’s not the important part. The important thing is that I did some looking into it, and I figured out what they’re after. Can I meet with you and show you what I found?”

“Yes.” Julia sounded eager.

“I’m in Lydia. Joan told me you were here. It’s important that we talk in person.”

Julia didn’t look too surprised to hear that Scott was nearby or that Joan
had told him of her plans. They were no big secret.

“Yes. I’m here. I can meet with you.” From the sound of Julia’s breathless voice, Linus got a sense of the impatience she felt. If Scott had answers for them, if the thugs who’d killed Pendleton were after him, they needed to meet with him as soon as possible to learn what he knew—before Pendleton’s murderers caught up to him.

Somehow
the killers had known Pendleton had made plans to meet with Julia, whether by bugging his house or spying on him or listening in on his phone calls, they’d known. Either that or the time of his murder had been a great coincidence.

Linus didn’t believe in coincidences. Especially not coincidences involving murder.

“Do you know your way around Lydia?” Scott quizzed Julia. “I’ve never been
here before.”

Linus wasn’t sure he believed the man’s claim, but Julia didn’t press for specifics.

“Where are you now?”

Scott listed a downtown Sardis hotel and a room number.

Julia wrote
OK?
on the window.

Linus glanced at his fellow guards. They nodded. He nodded, too.

“I can meet you at your hotel,” Julia agreed. “You don’t have to go anywhere. I’ll get there as
soon as I can. Is that okay?”

“Okay. Thank you, Julia. See you then.”

Julia closed the call and placed the marker in the tray with a shaking hand.

Linus met her in the hallway.

“Is that okay?” Even her voice trembled. “Do you think we’ll be okay?”

“I think we need to get to Scott as soon as we can.”

“I think so, too. He sounded so much like Fletcher. If the same men
are after him who were after Fletcher...”

Linus nodded. “We need to find out what he knows.” He didn’t mention the possibility that it might be a trap. If Scott had been faking it, he’d fooled them all. But even if they were walking into something, they weren’t alone. They had the royal guard behind them this time—enough manpower to take on just about anyone.

No, Julia’s instincts had
been spot-on. They needed to catch up to Scott before anyone else did.

They put their plan together as they moved down the hall toward the door closest to the garages. Simon had placed a call to the hotel the instant Scott had given the name. He’d confirmed they had a guest named Scott Gordon checked in and convinced them to forward him a diagram of the hotel floor plan.

“The cell phone
towers traced the call to the hotel, confirming his location.” Simon grabbed the hotel floor plans from the printer tray as they passed by his office and dispensed them as they trotted toward the cars.

“Scott’s room is 216, second floor, interior balcony overlooking the pool,” Simon briefed them.

“Elias!” Jason trotted over and stuck his head in the guard booth by the back gate. “I need
you to fly the helicopter.”

An older man shuffled out. “What’s the mission?”

“Surveillance. Galen can fly with you. He’ll get you up to speed.”

“We’ll keep a low profile,” Jason told the gathered guards. There were only six of them, plus Galen who’d gone with Elias back into the building to reach the helicopter parked on the roof. “Linus, you know the duchess best. I want you in
the room with her. Got that? She doesn’t go in the room unless she’s with you.”

Linus nodded sharply and cast a glance at Julia to be certain she understood.

Everything on her face said she’d comply. She was too frightened at the moment to do otherwise.

Jason used the map to outline positions for the rest of the men. He’d pulled every man who wasn’t on specific detail, leaving behind
only those guards assigned to members of the royal family, and those with specific duties, such as guarding the gatehouse or overseeing the surveillance cameras. Even at that, he’d left only one man at each station.

Linus wished they had more men, but at least he knew he could trust those few they had with them. Jason had insisted on that as a cornerstone of his hiring policy, given the breach
that had nearly cost the former king his life earlier that summer.

They weren’t many, but they would have to be enough.

Moments later they were buckled into three cars headed downtown as quickly as the narrow roads would allow. Cold fingers slipped into his open palm.

Linus looked down and realized the duchess had taken his hand. He gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. “It’s going
to be okay. We’re going to find out what’s been happening.” He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “You’re supposed to eat with your sister in a little over an hour. I’m not expecting you to be late.”

“Thank you.” The car careened around a corner, and Julia leaned toward him, her eyes still fixed on his.

For an instant, Linus felt the temptation to kiss her. It would be so easy. Her
lips were so close to his already, he’d hardly have to tip his head and turn a little to the side—

He shook off the thought as the car straightened out. He couldn’t kiss the duchess! Why was he even thinking such a thing, when they were so close to making a break in the case? He pinched his lips shut and stared out the window at the passing streets. He needed to get a better grip on his emotions.
But that was a difficult task, what with Julia’s fingers entwined with his.

They pulled to a stop under the hotel porte cochere, and Linus helped the duchess from the car while the other guards piled out behind him. The drivers zipped around the building to the parking lot, then ran back to join them.

“Head on up. Take Sam. He’s in full armor,” Jason instructed him. “We’ll get into position.”

Linus nodded. He could hear a helicopter rapidly approaching and knew that Galen would keep them informed of anything he saw from the sky. If they were walking into a trap, his fellow guards would spot the signs.

Ducking inside the revolving glass doors, Linus took a few steps toward the desk as he got his bearings, quickly recognizing the layout from the floor plan Simon had shared.