Royal Heist

FOUR

Ruby stepped through the pedestrian gate ahead of the guards and headed toward the royal guard headquarters, a three-story brick building located on the palace grounds across the courtyard from the garages. Before she and the guards reached the building, the vehicle gate opened and a car pulled through.

“That’s Kirk’s car,” Linus noted.

The coupe rolled toward them and Princess Anastasia leaped from the passenger door, rushing at Ruby and embracing her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Ruby felt grateful for the hug, but embarrassed that her friend had interrupted a rare evening out on her account. “You’re supposed to be on a dinner date.”

“We hadn’t ordered our food yet. I was worried about how you were faring, so I asked Kirk to call the guards. They told us what happened. I feel responsible—you came to Lydia at my invitation, and now you’ve been attacked twice.”

“Only once, technically.” Ruby stepped back toward Galen as she explained, “We were chased this evening, but thanks to Galen’s quick thinking, the man didn’t catch us.”

“Unfortunately, we didn’t catch him, either,” Galen lamented.

“No, but we may have learned a few things.” Linus led the way to the royal guard headquarters. “Let’s get those observations on record before either of you have time to forget any details.”

Kirk and Stasi followed them inside. Once they were all seated around a table in the conference room, Ruby and Galen recounted everything they could recall, from the moment Galen spotted the figure smoking outside the studio. But when they reached the point in the story where Galen had tried to radio for help, Linus stopped to clarify.

“What happened with that transmission? The royal guard has been using these earpieces for three years, ever since they hit the market. They’re supposed to be the best of their kind. We’ve never had a problem before.”

Galen shook his head slowly. “I don’t know enough about this technology to guess how they did it. Can we call Simon in here?”

Moments later, the royal guard’s technology expert for the evening shift stood among them, nodding as Galen recounted the trouble with the earpiece kits.

“It had to have been deliberately jammed,” Simon concluded after hearing the facts. “Given that you’d just used it with no trouble, I’d say he waited until his accomplice was chasing you before jamming the signal.”

“It had to be an accomplice?” Ruby didn’t like the thought of a team working against her using sophisticated equipment—especially when she didn’t even know why. “One man couldn’t have jammed the signal while chasing us?”

“Highly unlikely. He’d have to have a transmitter tuned to the same frequency as our receiving equipment, with the same type of modulation and enough power to override the signal at the receiver. I can’t imagine someone coordinating all that while slipping on a mask and running after the two of you on foot.”

Ruby wasn’t clear on all the technical specifics Simon had quoted, but she agreed with the guard’s conclusion. Which left her with one looming question. “Why are these guys after me? What do I have that is worth so much effort?”

“They came after you two nights in a row, even after I fought one of them last night.” Galen looked apologetic for reminding her of the incident as he explained why they had to revisit it. “That tells me that whatever they want, it’s urgent. Under any other circumstances, you’d think they’d lay low for a few days in hopes that we’d lower our guard.”

“We’re not going to lower our guard.” Princess Anastasia crossed her arms with determination. “I’ll talk to the captain of the guard myself if I have to. This issue will have priority status.”

“But your sister’s wedding is next Saturday,” Kirk reminded his fiancée. “I’m certain that’s going to remain our top priority.”

“That’s all the more reason we’ve got to get to the bottom of this.” The petite princess was known for her tenacity. “The guards will need to focus on Isabelle’s wedding. These guys need to be stopped before then.” She turned her attention to Ruby. “Can you think of any possible reason these guys keep coming after you?”

Ruby squinted her eyes shut, thinking carefully, then shook her head. “Nothing.”

“They tried to take your purse last night,” Galen reminded her.

“But there’s nothing in it worth stealing.”

“Can we see?” Stasi requested.

With a shrug, Ruby turned her purse upside down over the table, unceremoniously dumping it out in full view of everyone. Stasi helped her rifle through the sparse contents. “Your keys.” She picked through them. “Do you suppose they wanted your keys to break in to the studio?”

“But why go through Ruby for the keys?” Galen asked. “Why not break directly into the studio?”

“We’ve installed a sophisticated security system,” Kirk noted, “but if they’re clever enough to jam our radio signals, you’d think they could circumvent those defenses.”

Ruby listened to their conversation with half an ear, her attention already focused on three pages of notebook paper she’d carefully folded and tucked away in her purse before leaving the studio that evening.

Her jewelry design notes from that day’s work. She’d been faithfully toting copious notes back to her apartment every evening, accumulating a file of all the details so that Tate Jewelry could make accurate reproductions. The exclusive rights were a precious gift from her friend Stasi. If the replica jewelry sold as well, and Ruby hoped it might, it amounted to Ruby’s best hope for saving her parents’ business and earning back their trust. The design notes were invaluable to her.

Might they also be valuable to someone else?

Ruby cleared her throat. “What about this?”

“Your design notes?” Stasi’s eyes widened as the meaning of Ruby’s suggestion sank in. “Do you think my designs are that valuable?”

“Darling.” Kirk placed a hand on his fiancée’s shoulder. “You always underestimate the value of your work. Your jewelry is highly sought after, and it’s sure to become vastly more so with all the media coverage of the upcoming royal weddings.”

Stasi blushed at Kirk’s assessment.

Galen didn’t look convinced. “How would these guys know you had the designs in your purse?”

Ruby and Stasi looked at one another thoughtfully.

“We talk about jewelry all the time,” the princess admitted.

“We’ve talked about the designs in public,” Ruby added.

“At lunch the other day—”

“And when we were shopping—”

“Walking home from the studio—”

Linus interrupted them. “I don’t think you should discuss the designs in public anymore. But that said, those are just a few pages in your purse. Wouldn’t they need the rest of your notes for that information to be useful?”

Ruby nodded.

Galen murmured in a low voice, “I’m not one hundred percent convinced this is what those guys were after.”

“Neither am I,” Linus agreed.

“But what else could there be?” Ruby had been pondering the question all day, ever since the attack the evening before, but still hadn’t come up with an answer.

Nor did anyone else at the table posit an explanation.

After a thoughtful silence, the princess concluded, “The most important thing right now is keeping you safe. I hate to restrict your freedom, but from here on out I don’t want you leaving the palace grounds alone.”

Ruby nodded solemnly. Other than traveling to and from Stasi’s studio, she rarely went anywhere without her friend. And Stasi always had a guard—usually her fiancée, Kirk—at her side. The new imposition wouldn’t change much.

“I’m going to look into alternate earpiece communication kits,” Simon offered.

“And I want physical stats on this guy,” Linus cut in. “If he got close enough to the palace to deduce our radio frequency, he’s probably been lurking around. We shouldn’t have to wait for him to come after Ruby again—if we know what he looks like, we can nab him the next time he sticks his head up.”

To her frustration, Ruby didn’t have anything helpful to offer in the way of a physical description. While Galen estimated the man’s height and weight, Ruby pinched her eyes shut and visualized the menacing face she’d seen under the elastic mask the night before. She couldn’t imagine why she’d thought the man seemed familiar. Where would she have seen him before? Lurking around, as Linus had suggested? Had he been watching her, sticking to the shadows as he had that evening at the studio, his cigarette glowing like a lone orange eye?

The thought made her shudder.

“Are you okay?” Galen asked.

Ruby opened her eyes to see Galen’s teddy-bear brows bent upward with concern. He reached for her hand where it rested at the edge of the table, still gripping her notes on Stasi’s designs.

She recoiled at the thought that he might hold her hand. She could still feel the embrace of his strong arms around her as they’d hidden from her attacker. Her heart lurched, torn between reaching for him, and the fear of letting herself share any more connection with a man she wouldn’t see after her job in Lydia ended.

Galen pulled his hand back, no doubt recalling her request from the year before. Or perhaps he’d never meant to take her hand at all. “You’ve had a rough couple days.”

Ruby shook her head. “I’m okay. I was trying to figure out why the man who attacked me seemed so—” she struggled to speak through the complicated feelings that clogged her thoughts “—familiar.” It wasn’t quite the right word, but it was the closest thing she could think of.

“Familiar?” The princess repeated the word with alarm. “Do you think you know this guy?”

“I don’t know.” Ruby wished she could take the word back, even if she didn’t know what else to replace it with. “I couldn’t really see his face. Maybe I imagined it.”

“Familiar how?” Galen quizzed her. “What does he remind you of?”

Though she hated revisiting the fear-filled memory, Ruby closed her eyes again and tried to link the man’s image with whatever it was that she felt she recognized. “I don’t know,” she concluded again, frustrated with the whole business. “I don’t know why these guys are after me, or what’s so important to them. I’m not sure if I recognize something about that masked man or if I’m just imagining things.”

“It’s okay.” Galen reached out to her with his words, even as he kept his hands at his sides. “You don’t have to know. It’s our job as the royal guard is to keep you safe.”

Stasi jumped in. “As Kirk is always reminding me, safety means more than just freedom from injury. It means freedom from indirect harm, as well. Stressing about your own safety is bad for your health. Speaking of, have you had anything for dinner yet?”

“No.”

“Neither have we,” Kirk reminded Stasi.

“Let’s head over to the palace,” Stasi suggested. “They’ve always got something prepared over there.” She pulled Ruby to her feet.

* * *

“Galen!” Princess Stasi called back from the doorway. “Come on.”

Surprised by the invitation, Galen declined. “I’m on duty tonight.”

“Which is why you’re coming to supper with us. You’re in charge of guarding Ruby from now on. You’ll need to coordinate your schedule with hers.”

“I’m a sentinel, not a bodyguard.” Galen hated to argue with a member of the royal family, but guarding Ruby around the clock would mean a whole lot more than just walking her home. He’d promised her at the end of the previous summer that he’d keep his distance. How was he supposed to do that if he was at her side all day, every day? He’d been tempted enough to pull her into his arms on the street outside the palace walls earlier, lasting less than an hour before temptation had struck.

Besides, the assignment didn’t fit his job description. The royal guard had three distinct positions for non-officers: detectives, bodyguards and sentinels. Galen’s job description was all about guarding buildings, vehicles, and by extension, all the people inside them. He wasn’t authorized to protect just one person.

“Kirk was a sentinel before he became my bodyguard.” Stasi clearly didn’t see why the difference would be an issue. “He can explain the differences for you.”

“But Captain Selini has to authorize all changes.” Galen felt the futility of his defense as he spoke the words. The captain had already assigned Galen to walk Ruby home. Whatever his cautions about protocol, Selini would most likely agree to Princess Anastasia’s expanded request.

“He’ll authorize it,” Stasi assured him, already headed down the hallway, clearly trusting him to follow. “I’m the one who appointed him Captain of the Guard,” she added with a laugh.

Galen followed, but he didn’t laugh. He couldn’t guard Ruby. That would mean spending time with her, watching her smile, hearing her laugh, fighting the urge to beg her not to leave Lydia again. It would mean resisting, every moment of every day, the urge to pull her into his arms, to be close to her as he’d always longed to be. He’d promised Ruby he’d keep his distance. He intended to keep that promise.

But what other options did he have? Stasi wanted him to guard her friend. The captain had to go along with the royal request. Galen couldn’t challenge it—he was already under threat of losing his job. What if he accepted the assignment only to offend Ruby by his closeness? If she complained, Galen would receive the third strike against his record and be kicked off the royal guard.

But if he wasn’t there to guard her, who would keep Ruby safe?

Ruby met his eyes as they entered the kitchen, passing through the doorway at almost the same moment, her sudden closeness a reminder of those brief moments when they’d huddled together, out of sight of her attacker. She gave him an uncertain look, half fear, half questioning. Galen felt his heart twist, his mind made up. He’d keep Ruby safe, whatever the cost.

Even if it cost his job.

FIVE

While the captain took a phone call, Galen stepped into the hall and quickly dialed Ruby’s number. She answered after the second ring.

“You’re late.” In spite of the accusing nature of Ruby’s words, her tone sounded lighthearted over the phone.

“I’m sorry,” he explained quickly, ready to respond the moment Jason Selini finished with his phone call in the office. “My boss called me in to talk about what happened last night. I didn’t think it would take this long.”

“Do I need to be there?”

Ruby’s question surprised him.

“No, it’s fine. It’s mostly about guard issues.” Like the fact that he might lose his job—something he didn’t want Ruby to find out, if he could help it. Knowing Ruby’s insatiable curiosity, she’d want to know what he’d done to endanger his position. She’d feel terribly guilty if she learned that he was in trouble for rescuing her two nights before, and for going out in the boat two years ago.

Galen quickly adjusted the plans they’d made for that afternoon. “Can you wait at your apartment until I’m done here? It shouldn’t be much longer.”

“No problem. I have other things I can work on until then.”

“Thank you for being flexible.” Galen watched through the interior window to the captain’s office as Selini hung up the phone. “I’ve got to go.”

“Okay, see you—”

Unwilling to waste even a few spare seconds, Galen ended the call and stepped back into the captain’s office. To his relief, it appeared some of Selini’s initial anger had cooled while he’d been on the phone. Galen felt the faintest twinge of hope.

“Where were we?” Selini ran his hands through his gray-flecked hair. “I’m not happy with how this situation has developed, but at this point, it seems we’ve painted ourselves into a corner. Ruby trusts you. You’re as familiar with these events as anyone. So, while I disagree on principle with the princess’s decision to move you from sentinel to bodyguard, nonetheless, I’m going to confirm it. She moved Kirk from sentinel to bodyguard, and that turned out quite well.”

“Yes.”

“Although I won’t have this case ending like theirs.”

“Sir?”

“Kirk’s engagement to the princess.” Selini scowled with displeasure. “And now Linus Murati, attached to the duchess. I don’t want the royal guard developing a reputation. Don’t get romantically involved with this woman. Your position is precarious enough as it is.”

“Yes, of course.” Galen tried to speak with gusto, to make it sound as though nothing could be further from his mind.

Dismissed, he hurried through headquarters and across the palace lawn to the interior side entrance to Ruby’s apartment building. The ancient servants’ quarters had been beautifully renovated, modern conveniences enhancing the artful stonework and exposed timbers giving the building a high-end feel. Galen paused just long enough to press his thumb to the touch pad and waited for his print to register, illuminating a green light that indicated he was cleared to enter.

He headed up the stairs toward her door, eager to get on with the plans he and Ruby had made over supper the evening before. Given the possibility that her attacker was after the jewelry designs, Ruby wanted to visit the studio again to secure more of her notes and other materials that might benefit someone intent on knocking off the princess’s designs.

As he approached Ruby’s door, Galen steeled his determination. Of course he’d meant every word when he’d assured his superior officer that he wouldn’t get involved with Ruby. He’d reminded himself of the importance of keeping his distance ever since the enjoyable meal they’d shared in the palace kitchen with the princess and Kirk the evening before. Ruby made him laugh. She was a good friend.

And that was as far as their relationship would go. “Friends,” he reminded himself in a whisper just before he buzzed the intercom under her apartment number. “Just friends.”

Then Ruby opened the door, a sincere grin replacing the haunted expression she’d worn the night before. Galen felt a giddy smile rise to his lips.

Just friends had never looked so difficult.

* * *

Ruby felt her heart heave a sigh of relief at the sight of Galen. His face was starting to heal. She felt bad about his injuries.

More than that, she was relieved that he’d arrived to escort her to Stasi’s studio. The more she’d thought about the possibility of someone breaking into the studio, the more she feared she’d left too much information within easy reach of a thief. Papers she still needed could be filed away in locked cabinets. She’d shred anything that was no longer necessary.

The future of Tate Jewelry rested on the success of her royal jewel replicas. If thieves got their hands on that information ahead of time, Ruby didn’t know how she’d salvage her family’s stores. Everything her parents had worked so hard for all their lives would be lost. How would she earn back their respect then?

“Thanks for helping me today,” Ruby said with sincerity as she pulled her apartment door closed behind her.

“No problem.”

But Ruby suspected it might be a problem. “You’re not in uniform.” She’d immediately noticed his green polo shirt and blue jeans. As they trailed through the hall and down the stairs to the door that led out through the back palace wall, she asked, “Are you off duty?”

“Technically I’m supposed to be off today—”

“I can’t impose on your personal time.” Ruby slipped in front of him as he reached for the door handle, as if she could physically block him from heading outside with her. She had enough reservations about spending so much time around him. Certainly she shouldn’t infringe on his personal time.

“It’s fine.” Galen grinned one of his half smiles that was almost a smirk. “Captain Selini didn’t have any qualms about calling me in today. He’s working on his day off, too. Besides, securing these papers is important, right? I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to them. Or to you.” As he spoke, he reached past her for the door handle, his last three words softer than the rest, as though he’d realized at the last second he shouldn’t speak them aloud, but by then they were already spoken.