Page 5 of Raul
A favor for the queen? Baffled, Erica sat on the sofa where Queen Eve indicated. “How may I help you,Señora?”
“Gabriel tells me that you grew up near the Ghost Mountains—sorry, las Montañas de los Fantasmas.” Eve shook her head. “I’m still getting used to the Spanish names.”
The queen’s Spanish pronunciation was surprisingly good, given her American Midwestern accent. Even more confused, Erica nodded. “Yes,Señora.”
“I understand that you regularly go camping there,” the queen continued.
“When I have time,” Erica said. She and her father had often camped together in the mountains before his death. Now it was a way to connect with his memory, as complicated as that was.
“And that you are a certified outdoor adventure guide.”
“That’s correct.” Erica had all the necessary skills and knowledge, so she had taken the certification test just for the fun of it.Where is this leading?
The queen cleared her throat. “The king and I would like Prince Raul to take a short vacation in a place where he cannot be easily reached by the outside world. He needs some time to unplug, and a camping trip is his request. We hope that you might be willing to lead the trip into the mountains. Two of hisbodyguards will accompany you, so they can do whatever heavy lifting you need. But we want him to have an expert guide who knows the area well.”
Erica stared at the queen in astonishment as she tried to form a sentence. “I, uh, of course, I would be happy to do so, but I would not consider myself an expert. I’ve never led anyone on an expedition, other than friends. My camping trips have been mostly personal and recreational.”
If you could call anything her father had done recreational. He had pushed himself hard and expected her to keep up with him.
“Gabriel thinks highly of you. He would not have recommended you if he didn’t trust your competence,” Eve said.
This is why you shouldn’t tell your boss anything about your personal life.One day, when the duke had been waiting for his fiancée to arrive at the airport, Erica had entertained him with the story of her most recent trip to the Ghost Mountains. “There must be other people with more experience than I have.”
“We need someone with the necessary security clearances,” the queen admitted. “And the ability to leave in two days’ time. Gabriel said he would be happy to give you time off from your duties to him. We will compensate you well, of course.”
Did Erica have a choice? A royal request was really a command. But the prospect of being responsible for the Crown Prince of Caleva, even with two bodyguards, was daunting. “I would be honored to be of service,” Erica said, her formal words covering up her reluctance to take on such a responsibility.
Eve’s face lit up. “Wonderful! I will put you in touch with Raul’s assistant, Yvette. You can let her know what supplies you need, and she will make sure you have them.”
“Muchas gracias, Señora.”The area of the Montañas de los Fantasmas where Erica usually camped was closed to the public right now because it was nesting season for the Calevan dragons.However, if the prince wanted to go camping, it would be easy to get special permission to do so. Because Erica knew the area well, she would make sure to avoid the marked nesting sites.
“The king and I are concerned that Raul is working too hard. I don’t know if you saw the news about his collapse at the Medallo de los Lirios ceremony, but it was due to exhaustion as well as dehydration.” Eve’s face was taut with concern.
Erica nodded again. There had been myriad recordings of the prince beginning to fall before one of the medal recipients caught him. That had to have been a terrible public humiliation for the very self-possessed, confident Raul. She had met the prince a couple of times when he had flown on the jet with Gabriel. He had been smooth, charming…and very good-looking.
But being responsible for his safety up in the mountains? That was a terrifying responsibility.
“Will you make sure that he takes it easy on the trip?” Eve asked. “He pushes himself very hard, but this is a time for him to recover. And make sure he drinks lots of water.”
Great. Now she was responsible for his level of exertion and hydration as well as his safety.
“I am trusting you to be subtle about it,” the queen went on. “And please don’t mention this little chat we’ve had to anyone.”
Ay,and now her duties had to be a secret.
Monday morning, Erica stood in an empty gravel parking lot, watching the early morning mists swirl across the trailhead at las Montañas de los Fantasmas, and remembered the queen’s admonitions. DidSu Majestadknow that Raul had requested—which meant commanded—that she include equipment for rockclimbing? Not the most restful of recreational activities—and one that could put at least his limbs, if not more body parts, at risk.
She had agreed only because she and her father had climbed together, and he had pounded the concept of safety into her brain. Also, she had backup in the two bodyguards, one of whom was an experienced climber himself.
She was rubbing the tense muscles in the back of her neck when the crunch of tires sounded on gravel. Three gleaming black vehicles emerged from the mist to park parallel to her dusty blue SUV. Multiple doors swung open at the same time, disgorging a swarm of bodyguards, who spread out around the area. One even shimmied up a tree to attach a camera to the trunk.
At some invisible signal, a final door opened, and Raul,el Principe de los Lirios, stepped out.
He looked damn good in the high-end hiking clothes purchased from the list she had sent to his assistant. The gray moisture-wicking trousers outlined the ridges of muscle in his longfutbolplayer’s legs. His shoulders filled out the burgundy Merino wool T-shirt impressively as he shrugged into a steel-gray fleece jacket.
Fitting a ball cap with the Calevan nationalfutbolteam’s raging lizard logo over his blond-streaked brown hair, he scanned the parking lot. His gaze was puzzled as it settled on her.
“Su Alteza Real,”she said with a quick curtsy. “I’m your guide, Erica Ortiz.”
