Page 6 of Legal Attraction

“Rand is still up there.”

He nodded and whispered so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. “He’ll meet us back home.”

She followed, training her ear above and felt small comfort knowing that so far, there was no sound of any skirmish yet. Possibly, the steps might have even moved further away but she couldn’t be sure and she was now moving in the opposite direction.

Whatever happened to Rand, he saved them by staying up above and closing the door. She was impressed. And she didn’t know anything about him. He wasn’t a royal obviously. American. A friend of Nico’s? She kept walking, distracting herself with thoughts of Rand. It was helpful and harmless as she would probably not see him again after today. If she saw him today. She clenched her hands together. Hopefully he would be fine.

The Palisades. How could this have happened?

They walked for what felt like a long time, but she had no way of knowing, and anything would have felt long in their situation. She didn’t dare turn on her phone. Everyone else was moving in relative darkness until they slowed and the area ahead grew brighter. After a time, they entered a lit hallway which led to stairs.

The security talked into their ear pieces. Nico stepped closer. “Our cars will be here soon. Do you wish to be taken to your parents condo here or would you like to come back to our home here?”

“I want to stay with you. My parents are just becoming aware that I’m even in the country at all.”

“Say no more. I’ll ask my men to communicate your whereabouts and status to them if that is alright?”

“Yes, thank you. And…do you think Rand will join us?” She tried to keep the hope out of her voice, but she’d like to see him again, at least to figure him out. And of course she wanted to make sure he was okay. Nico seemed confident that he would be fine.

He nodded. “I think so. He never got to have his meeting with us for one, And I do think this is the kind of thing everyone gets back together to talk about, you know? He seems like the kind of guy who would make it out of a situation like this.”

She wrapped hands around herself. “What a trip to ditch the security.”

“Could you talk to Lucan about the men following you? I’m sure he will want to see if he can get an ID on any of them.”

“Do you think they’re the same people attacking the Palisades?”

“I’m hoping we get answers to all these questions in the coming days.” Nico turned to have a conversation with his detail, and Coral knew it was time to just follow along and not add more work to anyone.

Her phone started buzzing in her pocket. Sure enough, her parents had heard.

She texted quickly. “I’m still making my way out. We are safe. I’ll call later. Love you.”

Her mom sent a bunch of hearts. “We are so happy you’re safe. I can’t believe you’re here. Will we see you? Oh, yes, you will call. And then answer all my questions. I’m dying to hear!” More hearts and smiley faces followed. Emojis were too much fun for her mother. You’d never know she was the queen of a country by the way she texted.

Coral’s thoughts kept drifting to Rand. She knew she’d feel much better seeing that he was safe. And she admitted the longer she went wondering about him, the more the intrigue surrounding him grew.

ChapterFour

Once everyone had left, Rand crouched in silence for longer than was necessary, but he didn’t want to draw any more attention to that room. When they blew open the door, the men had created such a ruckus, such a cloud of dust and damage to the walls that Rand was able to quickly conceal the trap door opening and then dove behind the far sofa with a curtain behind it. There was no window. But the drapes perhaps added to the homey feeling in the room. He didn’t know why they were there, but wondered what the designers would think about being responsible for saving his life.

The men were soon bored and they moved on but not before Rand made some curious observations. None of them seemed particularly scruffy. They weren’t even scary looking. One of them wore a suit. If he were to guess, he’d say they were lawyers, with machine guns. Though Rand assumed they’d been hiding out in the Palisades as guests so naturally they were well dressed.

He pulled out his phone. Nico had dropped a pin. Maybe he’d get his client meeting after all. He knew he sounded ridiculous. What a cliché lawyer he was turning out to be. Face a near death experience then move on to a client contract signing. Like a boss. He felt like a meme, a living breathing meme.

But he wasn’t going to let the adrenaline dictate his thoughts in the typical I’m bored with my life direction. He would put in the time, save enough money to retire early, and then do what he wanted. His new mantra. Some people did yoga and meditation to help them focus on non-worldly things. Not him. “Focus, Rand.”

He brushed off his suit coat a moment and then realized it was pointless. Powder from the drywall and insulation wasn’t coming off any time soon. Then texted Nico.Coming.

Immediately three dots showed up. Rand was a bit gratified that the king of a country was aware of him.

Coral will be glad to hear it.

Coral? The pretty brunette? His mouth tugged up in the corner. He sent a running emoji and then Nico LOL’d him. Was he a teenage texter now? But he pocketed his phone with a smile. Coral was something else. A man didn’t meet anyone like her very often, if ever.

And just like that, he had something to look forward to.

He stepped carefully out into the room, listening for any sound and then decided against making his way through the Palisades. He slid the furniture over just enough to get the trap door open a body-sized crack, slipped down inside and closed it again over the top of him.

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