Verwandte Artikel zu Defending the Duchess (Protecting the Crown, 2)

Defending the Duchess (Protecting the Crown, 2) - Softcover

Buch 2 von 5: Protecting the Crown

McCalla, Rachelle

 
9780373445301: Defending the Duchess (Protecting the Crown, 2)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 037344530X ISBN 13: 9780373445301
Verlag: Love Inspired Suspense, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

He'll keep her safe—at any cost

Protecting the royal family is Linus Murati's job. So when the queen's younger sister is attacked, the devoted Lydian royal guardsman goes into action and saves her life. But this was no random occurrence. Danger has followed Julia Miller across the Atlantic from Seattle. Now Linus has two missions: to keep the maddeningly independent future duchess in his sights at all times, and to catch the culprit who threatens the woman whose trust—and love—he desires above all others.

Protecting the Crown: The royal guardsmen serve their country with honor and integrity

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Rachelle McCalla plays with words like some kids play with fire. When she’s not writing, she can be found digging deep research holes, setting up ideas like lightning rods to catch the next big bolt to shoot from the sky. Please use caution when picking up her books, as some may emit dangerous sparks.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Linus Murati stepped into the visual surveillance room of the royal guard headquarters, a three-story brick building located on the Lydian royal palace grounds across the rear courtyard from the garages. "Get me suite 322 on screen, please," he requested.

"I thought you had duchess duty tonight?" Simon accused Linus as he pulled up the view from the surveillance camera.

"I do. Miss Miller has requested an evening in." Linus leaned over the back of his friend's chair and blinked at the image of the white paneled door where he'd left Queen Monica's pretty little sister mere minutes before. "But don't let her catch you calling her 'duchess' just yet. The queen has yet to announce the title—I don't believe Julia knows she's going to be royalty."

"Official or not, that's the name we've assigned to her—wait now." Simon broke off midsentence as the door on the screen opened and the dark-eyed beauty poked her head out, looking both directions before darting down the hall. "Thought you said she was in for the night."

"That's what she told me." Linus watched Julia's progress, switching cameras as needed to keep up with her stealthy excursion down a set of stairs and around a bend in the hall. The woman had changed into shorts and a T-shirt and pulled her thick brown hair into a ponytail. "Do you suppose she's headed to the palace gym?"

"She's going the wrong direction for that."

"Maybe she's lost," Linus nearly growled as the woman took a corridor that led to an outside door. "I told her to page me if she wanted to go anywhere."

"She's out."

The duchess stepped through an exit to the courtyard and skirted a hedgerow, her furtive glances making it clear that she was escaping deliberately—not merely adrift on her way to the gym. "Catch her."

"She won't get through the gates." Linus predicted but ran for the door anyway. The queen's little sister was an American in town on a visit. She wouldn't know her way around the kingdom of Lydia and might get lost if she stepped out alone. Besides that, as the ambush on the royal family just over two months before had taught them, even the most beloved royals could become targets of criminal activity.

Which was precisely why Julia needed a bodyguard.

Linus caught sight of her at the back gate talking to the men in the guardhouse. They wouldn't let her through without a guard. At the very least, they'd check with him before letting her pass.

But as Linus sprinted across the cobblestones, he watched Julia's sweet smile and fluttering eyelashes do their work.

The pedestrian door swung open.

Before Linus could quite recover from his shock, the duchess was through and the door slammed shut behind her.

"What are you doing?" Linus challenged his fellow guards as he bounded up to the open window of the guardhouse.

Galen, a sentinel who'd defied direct orders to save the lives of members of the royal family during the ambush two months before, looked at Linus without chagrin. "She's the queen's sister—"

"I'm assigned to guard her." Linus tugged on the pedestrian door. Locked.

"Open this door." He glared at Galen, and glanced past him to see that another guard was in the booth. Good. There would still be someone to cover the gate if he took Galen with him. "And come with me."

"Why?" Galen did as instructed and stepped out behind Linus.

"We've got to find her." Linus looked down the limestone street. The duchess had already disappeared. "Did she say where she was going?"

"For a jog."

Linus let out a frustrated breath and wished he'd followed his instinct to set up a chair right outside the duchess's suite. But that had felt too much like he was keeping her imprisoned. It still would have been better than having her lost in a foreign country. The woman could have gone in any direction.

"You go that way." Linus pointed toward the foothills. "I'll head toward the beach." He quickly checked his earpiece to be certain he and Galen could communicate with one another. If they were fast enough, they might catch up to the duchess quickly, but they were already wasting valuable time.

As Galen headed uphill, Linus tore down the streets, slowing at each intersection to be certain Julia hadn't taken a side road. He told himself that she couldn't have gone far. It wasn't as though she'd had that much of a head start. He was bound to catch up to her any moment.

But as he passed one side street after another, Linus's fear for Julia's safety grew. What had she been thinking? The sun would be setting soon. He understood that she wasn't used to having bodyguards—she'd already expressed embarrassment over the fuss of organizing the simplest outing—but she clearly didn't appreciate that Lydia wasn't entirely safe.

Sure, the sunset looked peaceful as the gentle waves slapped against the pristine white sand beach, and Lyd-ia's crime rates had traditionally been among the lowest on earth, but that was before all the dangers of late. Julia's sister, Monica, had been kidnapped and held hostage just over two months before. And while the man behind those crimes was now dead, that didn't mean the royal family didn't have to take precautions.

Passing the last of the cobbled streets, Linus leaped over the boardwalk and sprinted downhill toward the beach. The sand was riddled with footprints—most of them pointed inland as folks who'd spent the afternoon on the shore returned home for the night. By this hour the beach was nearly deserted.

To his left, the sand gave way to the docks of the Sardis marina. Yachts and sailboats floated peacefully between piers dotted with the occasional human figure, but none of them matched Julia's slender frame. None were jogging.

Linus turned right instead, where the shoreline bent around a jutting bluff, its craggy sides clutching the sandy shore with rutted furrows where children loved to play hide-and-seek. But as the sinking sun gave way to lengthening shadows, the hiding places took on a sinister cast. The duchess could easily disappear behind any of the protruding cliffs. He could pass right by her without even seeing her.

What if she hadn't gone this way at all?

Increasing his pace, Linus raced the sinking sun and tapped the relay button on his earpiece. "Any sign of her?"

"None. You?" Galen panted. His voice carried concern.

"She's not at the main beach. I'm headed toward the bluffs. Let me know if you spot her."

"Should we expand our search?"

Linus checked a chasm between bluffs before answering. No sign of Julia there, either. Should they call for more guards to expand the search? The royal guard had cut loose several men who'd been associated with the former head of the royal guard who'd shot the former king.

They were slowly rebuilding their ranks under the leadership of Jason Selini, the new head of the royal guard. But they couldn't hire just anyone. Royal guardsmen were required to have served four years in the Lydian military. Besides that, after the trouble his predecessor had caused, Jason insisted on carefully vetting all new members of the guard beyond the standard background checks.

Training new recruits took time. Jason had a vision for rebuilding the royal guard stronger than ever, but they weren't there yet. Linus hated to call more men on a case when they were already...

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Verlag
Love Inspired Suspense
Erscheinungsdatum
2013
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
037344530X
ISBN 13 
9780373445301
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
224
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
HarperCollins Publishers, Product Safety Manager
enquiries@harpercollins.ie

HarperCollins, Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper
Dublin 1
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Irland

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