Page 75 of Keep Her from Them

Without thinking, I reached for her hand, shock stealing over me. “He threatened ye?”

Her gaze clung to mine. “He implied that if I don’t step up, my father will have to. Which is ridiculous with how poor his health is.”

My thoughts collided, and I brushed my thumb over her knuckles. “That banquet that was stressing ye out, did ye tell anyone that ye didn’t want to do it?”

“Sir Reginald. That’s the private secretary. I also mentioned it to the two women who came in with my dresses.”

Fuck. I shot my gaze to Jackson. The grim set to his lips told me he understood and felt the same.

“What did you just work out?” Alex asked.

“Ye rejected the work then someone followed your steps around the palace, freaking ye out. Ye stopped giving them headlines and they tried to create one.”

“You think the private secretary to the king is doing this?”

“What would be his motive? Why does he need ye doing the work in the first place?”

She studied our joined hands. “I don’t know specifically. Other than it’s always in the royal family’s interest to be in the press.”

I forced a soft smile. “Which brings us back to ye creating headlines people love to read. I don’t want to jump to conclusions without evidence, but based on probabilities, that feels like a good fit.”

I tore my gaze off her to regard my team, Valentine and Jackson both appearing convinced.

Ben studied me and dropped his gaze pointedly to where I still held Alex’s hand. “Barrington Bray rang this morning with a demand to talk to ye. I said ye weren’t here—at the point of speaking, ye hadn’t called so there was no lie. He is adamant that I contact him the moment ye show up.”

Alex shivered. “Will you?”

Ben rested his forearms on his knees, his expression one of incredulity. “I don’t answer to him. I imagine he’s concerned either for your health, and I can see you’re fine, or his reputation and his contract, and that’s his problem for not managing his team better. However, I get the sense that ye cannae disappear for long without people worrying. Especially not if they are seeking to use ye. That gives us an opportunity.”

I sat taller. Ben had a way of pulling together information and creating a plan. I was learning from the best.

“First, we need to put to bed some of these assumptions. By now, the police will have tested the drink served last night. If itwas drugged, that shows us the lengths the people behind this are willing to go to.”

Alex shivered. “I could call Riss. It means turning my phone back on.”

Ben asked, “You’ve had it switched off?”

“Raphael told me to last night, which I’m glad about or I’d probably be panicking over missed calls or searching for my name online just to check any headlines.”

My boss’s lips pursed. “It wasnae for that purpose, I’m sure. Tracking phones is child’s play.”

She switched her alarmed gaze to me. “You think they’ll come after me?”

“Better safe than sorry.” I wanted to hug her. Drag her to my side and erase the sadness in her eyes. They’d tried to drug her. Fuck knew what else they’d stoop to.

Jackson pulled out his phone and typed something.

Valentine shook his head. “Don’t turn it on. While it’s not impossible to track a phone that’s off, I’d leave it that way if ye want your peace. We have spare phones. I’ll set up a safe one ye can use.”

Alex managed a small smile.

“No headlines about the incident,” Jackson reported. “Only that ye went to the gala and links to buy knock-off versions of your dress.”

She blinked at him. “No one reported the fact I left early? Or the fuss inside the theatre? I don’t know if anyone would’ve overheard, but they definitely witnessed Raphael leap across from the next box to reach me. They would’ve seen the police turn up, surely?”

Jackson shook his head, though interest shone in his eyes at Alex’s reveal of my acrobatics. My best friend slid his phone back into his pocket and tilted his head at me in silent question I knew I’d have to eventually answer.

But my attention needed to remain fully on Alex. “We left in a hurry, and Riss took the wine with us, so the police would’ve collected it from the palace. At the theatre, I imagine the photographer scarpered, so they might not have carried out a search if they were able to ascertain that, though they would’ve interviewed staff, surely. Let’s find out. I’ll speak to Riss. She’s rang me several times already this morning so she’s obviously desperate.”

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