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Lara nodded. “She did, Malcolm. Thank you for going after her.”
He nodded, then left as silently as he’d come. Odd that Malcolm hadn’t even questioned her acceptance of Deidre’s return. Usually, the man was full of questions. But then, this whole affair had taken on a strangeness that didn’t set well with Lara. Not a good way to start out her time here in New Orleans.
Lara took a deep, settling breath. “And as for you, Gabriel Murdock—”
Gabriel moved toward her like a panther stalking a dove. “You can’t be serious. Do you actually believe her?”
“Yes, I certainly do. She’s young and afraid and confused. I believe she got scared out of her wits and wanted to go home to her family in Europe. Sometimes, we all just want to go home.”
He stared down at her and nodded, his expression changing to something less forceful. “Am I still on this assignment, Princess?”
She thought about that long and hard, and then she nodded. “Of course. We’re all a little fatigued and on edge. I appreciate you being so diligent, but you need to remember you are not here to do any investigative journalism. You’re only here to do an in-depth study on me. A factual, enlightening study to showcase my work here in New Orleans. Do I make myself clear?”
He leaned close, the scent of something spicy and masculine surrounding him. “Very clear, Princess. I’ll report what I see and I’ll write what I know to be true. But you have to know—this threat is not over.” He hesitated, then rushed ahead. “And you also have to know that I won’t stand by and watch if I think something is about to happen to you.”
She grabbed at her pearls and inclined her head, hoping to distract herself from the way this man seemed to have a natural need to protect her. Maybe that was just the way he was wired, but his actions were somewhat confusing. “We’re all aware now. We’ll watch and wait, and I’m sure between Malcolm and the police, this will soon end.”
He moved toward his equipment bags. “Then let’s get started with your day.”
Lara cleared her mind and tried to focus on the many tasks at hand. But she couldn’t get past Gabriel’s suggestion that Deidre wasn’t being honest.
Especially when she’d noticed how strange her assistant had been acting lately. Was Deidre scared because of all the unsettling things happening around here? Or did the other woman actually know who was behind this?
* * *
Gabriel took another shot, from a different angle. The afternoon sun glistened off of Lake Pontchartrain and cast a golden shimmer around the woman in the stark white sundress.
Lara Kincade was in PR mode. This press conference would announce her intentions of building more Kincade houses in one of the disaster-stricken wards of New Orleans. With the lake behind her and most of the Louisiana press before her, Lara commanded the mike space with a regal elegance.
He wanted to capture that elegance.
So he snapped away with two different cameras and several lenses. He caught her smiling softly. He captured her with a hand lifted in the air, her diamond solitaire a signal that while she might be alone, she still held her marriage as sacred.
“And so, I’m happy to announce that I have a team of contractors and carpenters on standby to finish the work my husband started. I’m very excited and blessed to be able to be a part of this important recovery phase for the city of New Orleans.”
After a round of applause, Deidre—wide-awake and back in control—stepped to the mike. “And now Her Royal Highness will be happy to take your questions.”
Everyone started talking at once. Out of habit, Gabriel turned to snap a few pictures of the crowd. It never hurt to record anything that might become history. It never hurt to get faces that might become assets or foes later, either.
Or in this case, help him to protect the princess even more—the princess who didn’t want to be protected. The woman was a walking target, but she had a job to do. He had to admire her fortitude. But he was also grateful for Malcolm and his expert security team. And having pictures of the crowd could serve as backup later. If anything else happened.
Gabriel had a feeling something else would happen. And soon. With art worth millions hanging around, and a highly visible princess taking up residence in the city, New Orleans was abuzz with intent. Some of it good and some of it bad.
He watched Deidre, too. The girl who’d been so rattled this morning now seemed as polished and cultured as a fresh pearl. Not the same girl who’d cried and played coy earlier. She’d appeared after lunch and just in time for the press conference that Lara had refused to cancel. What was the story with that one, anyway? He could always do a background check on her later, on his own time.
But right now he had to keep at the subject at hand.
He snapped away, his methods unobtrusive, and managed to get some candid shots of both the princess and Deidre.
“How long do you plan to be in New Orleans, Princess Lara?”
“As long as it takes.”
“Are you staying in the Garden District?”
“I’m here and there.”
“Why do you think it’s so important to rebuild houses here?”
“Why wouldn’t it be important? We can’t have a fabulous city without people to contribute. And we can’t bring people back unless they have houses in which to live.”
“What about the Benoit?”
That caught Gabriel’s attention. He whirled to see who’d asked that question. Snapping away, he caught the man’s image in his pictures. Then he turned back to the princess. And saw her skin had gone pale.
“What about the Benoit?”
“We hear you’re having a gala in the Quarter, a private affair with a very high ticket price. Is that because you want to show off the Benoit?”
“I hope to have a nice evening with invited guests. It’s not about showing off. We picked that venue because it allows us to spill out into Jackson Square and it has a nice garden out back. But this event is about raising more money to help our cause.”
The man nodded but looked skeptical and a bit angry.
Bingo. Gabriel’s gut churned and he stopped taking pictures so he could study the reporter who’d asked that question. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, with dark, straight hair and stark, almost black eyes. Was he really a reporter? Or a plant? Part of a team?
Gabriel would have to get his editor to access face-recognition technology and run a search online to find out about the man’s credentials. And he could certainly enlarge the picture he’d snapped to see what the man’s press badge said.
“Thank you all for your time,” Lara said, clearly tired and a bit unnerved by the mention of the Benoit. “I so appreciate all of you coming today. But we have a very busy schedule.”
Only Reporter Man wasn’t finished. “What about the trouble at your Garden District home this morning?”
Lara looked shocked, but she lifted that noble chin and stared the man down. “I have no further comments.”
Deidre stepped up to give instructions on where and when the construction would start. They’d need the press there to make sure they got even more coverage. But they would not be answering any more questions right now. Before she left the stage, the girl glared at the intrusive reporter.
Lara stepped down from the podium and met Gabriel behind the portable stage. “Don’t even say it,” she whispered as she moved by him.
He hurried to catch up with her. “Say what?”
“You know exactly what.” She waited for the driver to open the door of the sleek black SUV. “That man asked about the Benoit. And he knows something is going on, obviously.”
“Yes.” Gabriel slid in beside her while Deidre got up front with the driver. “So?”
Lara gave him a quizzical glance. “I guess you wouldn’t know.”
“Know what?” Gabriel waited, wondering what else he didn’t know.
“I haven’t mentioned the Benoit to anyone. The press, I mean. The gala reception is supposed to be a private event and we haven’t published it a lot. Only the people on the guest list know that the Benoit will be on display during the party.”
Gabriel sat up. “Hmm. Now that does make things interesting. So how did that reporter know about the painting being back at Kincade House?”
“I have no idea,” she replied, her voice low. “But this does give me pause.”
“Good. You need to pause and think about the danger of this situation.”
“I’ve thought about that a lot, I can assure you. If I stayed hidden from danger, I’d never leave my bedroom.”
Gabriel could understand her need to keep working, to keep moving. He’d been on his own so long, he’d learned to never be afraid of anything, but right now he had a deep dread inside his heart. “So you’ll allow that something odd is going on. Someone is leaking information, Princess.”
He glanced up front. The driver headed across town and exited off one of the main thoroughfares. Deidre had her nose buried in her smartphone, her thumbs tapping, tapping some sort of message.
Lara’s gaze followed his. “Would you like to stay for dinner again tonight, Mr. Murdock?”
Gabriel couldn’t miss an opportunity to take more pictures and to keep a close eye on the princess. This mystery was growing by the minute. In spite of his better judgment, he had to find out what was going on. He had a story here. A real story. He’d walked away before and that had put him here. It was like déjà vu all over again.
He shot a glance toward the front. “I’d love that.”
“Good.” She looked up again. “I think we have a lot to discuss.”
He nodded, and wondered if the princess had finally seen the light and come to her senses. If so, maybe he could sit back and relax a little bit.
But in the next second, that notion changed. A boom hit the dusk and the SUV started spinning out of control.
“Tire just blew out,” the driver shouted. Deidre screamed and dropped her phone.
Gabriel grabbed Lara, his eyes locked with hers. “Hold on,” he said, pushing her down against the seat.
The impact of the crash set them both up and back down.
He was still holding Lara when the vehicle finally stopped spinning.
FIVE
The silence stretched for a few seconds; then everyone starting talking at once.
Deidre’s sob echoed over the driver’s shouts.
“Everyone okay?” the dazed man kept shouting.
“Good. I think we’re good,” Gabriel said, hoping that was the truth. He searched Lara’s face, his nose inches from hers. “Are you all right?”
She nodded, gulped a breath. “Yes, thank you.”
The rush of adrenaline tapered off while he studied her big, frightened eyes. Ignoring Deidre’s screams and the driver’s foul language, he asked, “Are you sure?”
He didn’t mind holding her in his arms, but he was worried that she’d been injured. Checking closely for blood or bruises, he swept her hair away from her eyes.
“If you’ll please let me up—”
Gabriel sat up and lifted her, his gaze following her every move. “Any pain? Cuts, bruises?”
“I only hit my head, but I think I’m okay.”
Gabriel went into action then. “Driver, are you all right?”
The man nodded, but Gabriel saw a trace of blood slipping down the man’s face. “You need a doctor.”
Before he could check on Deidre, Lara pushed past him to touch the girl on her arm. “Deidre, how are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” Deidre said, crying again. “Just a little wobbly, ma’am.”
“I’ll call for help.” Gabriel opened the door and stared out onto the busy exit ramp. While he explained their location to the 911 operator, he noticed they’d left the freeway and landed on a side street that would take them back to the Garden District. The SUV had rolled up an embankment, probably due to the driver’s expertise. If the tire had blown when they’d been up on the busy thoroughfare, things could have been a lot worse. They might have plunged off the main artery and hit this road head-on.
The princess might have died.
His heart hammered a skittish warning beat that repeated not again, not again, not again. After checking on everyone once more, he found some water and gave it to Lara.
“Drink this,” he gently urged, his eyes locking with hers.
“It’s been a rather exciting day,” she said, her tone shaky but light. “And I told you nothing exciting ever happened to me.”
“You’re nothing but exciting,” he replied, very much aware that she was close to having a hissy fit. He hoped she didn’t go into shock.
But then, this was Her Royal Highness Lara Kincade. She took a dainty sip of the bottle of water, cleared her expression, touched a hand to her hair and then gave him a challenging glance. “May I please exit the vehicle? I need some air.”
Gabriel stepped back, did a visual of the area and then nodded. “Stay near me, please.”
She did the chin-lift thing. “Deidre, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Deidre stayed in her seat, her head down. Every now and then Gabriel heard a sniffle. He handed her a bottle of water, too. But she just held it tightly in her hand.
“I can’t find my phone.”
“I’ll look for it,” the driver said. That busied him and kept Deidre focused.
And gave Gabriel a chance to whisper in Lara’s ear. “I don’t think this was an accident.”
She didn’t even flinch. “Neither do I.”
Gabriel kept checking the noisy highway above them and the streets surrounding them. “They could be watching right now.”
“I’m aware of that, too.”
“What do you want to do next?”
“Right now I want to go home and have a private fit.”
He smiled in spite of his jangled nerve endings. “What exactly happens when you have a private fit?”
