Legal Attraction: A Romantic Suspense Novel (Legally Suspenseful Romance)

Chapter 4

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.

Running felt good. His taut muscles stretched and pushed against the tension of their situation. His phone lit the way and he raced through the tunnels. Pretty impressive security measures. Though these ancient Mediterranean communities could have built the tunnels to smuggle stolen goods two hundred years ago. They were in good use now.

When he at last reached an open space with stairs and tile and cement he breathed out in relief. Not a person in sight was also good news. He texted Nico, and when he stepped out onto the street, a black car waited for him.

This meeting with clients was far more eventful than he’d expected. And he was no closer to feeling like a part of the firm’s inner circle than when he left. But maybe that would change. A relationship with so many wealthy and high-powered clients would have to do something for him. He just wanted to retire.

Thoughts of his sisters’ family, left alone as a single mom doing her best motivated him to push through thoughts of hoping to quit. Public service, pro bono work, food for the poor all sounded much more interesting than law firm life. But his sister needed the money, and Rand needed to retire early

He dialed Connor Smithson. Who didn’t pick up. Rand almost hung up when he went immediately to voicemail but gritted his teeth for a second and then said, “Hey Connor. I have some updates for you. Not sure if any of today’s mess made the news yet, but there was an incident. Anders and Astra are safe as are our new prince clients. I just left the Palisades and am on my way to meet with them. And looks like I can still see everything signed before I return.” He clicked his phone off.

The car stopped at a large gate but after a brief conversation went through. Trees lined another world. Even the noise lessened. The air smelled sweet. The sky looked bluer. Was that possible? But the palm trees that lined the entrance, the blue flowering bushes underneath and the white stucco buildings everywhere he looked relaxed him. He kept his window down and draped an arm, his hand out to feel the cooler breeze. They approached the main house. Behind it, rows of trees, an orchard of some kind, lined the sloping hill that led to a wide expanse of blue as the ocean spread out in front. Rand whistled. This wasn’t even Nico’s island. Some people lived a life he would never understand. The cost of the gardener alone would pay for three new homes for the children.

He rotated his shoulders, trying to rid himself of the last strains of tension. It wasn’t fair to think of others that way. Rand didn’t know or understand the life of a royal and today alone should have taught him that they needed high levels of security and their own space. Other people could do what they wanted with their own money. Which is what he planned to do.

The car stopped in front of the brilliant white stucco home, and the doors opened.

Long legs, dark hair catching the sun and nicely tanned skin met him on the front walk. Other people stood near Coral, but all he saw was her brilliant smile. He wasn’t sure what he did to deserve that welcome but he was going to hold his breath and not change a thing hoping she’d maybe smile at him like that again. Or at least he didn’t want to ruin things.

“Hello.” He grinned.

Nico stepped forward and then clapped him in a swift bro embrace. “So glad you’re safe.”

A taller man with dark hair who looked like he was related to Nico held out his hand. “Lucan. Head of security for Torren.”

“And my rascally brother.” Nico grinned.

“I understand you stayed back, closed the door so the others could leave undetected?”

Rand started a slow nod. “I was the last one out.” He wasn’t going to be comfortable if they turned this whole thing into some kind of hero recognition…

Coral stepped closer. “The room became compromised as he and I were starting to climb down. He sent me down first and next thing I knew, the trap door shut and the sounds of furniture were being dragged around over my head.” Her eyes were shining but then she straightened and seemed to close off. “There was no other choice really.”

Lucan grunted. “I don’t know about that. But thank you.” He clapped Rand on the back.

Nico held a hand out indicating they move toward the front door. “Let’s step inside. We will do a quick debrief and then I’ve got a meal and karaoke.”

Rand coughed. “Excuse me?”

Coral laughed and linked her arm with his.

“Did he just say karaoke?”

She nodded. “He did. Welcome to the life of a Mediterranean royal.”

“Bombed and then mortified on stage?”

“But fed well.” Her cool hands squeezed his arm for a moment before her fingers lightly held his bicep.

Was he flexing? Not on purpose. Those things just happened on their own when he was near a beautiful woman.

They stepped inside to a large, mostly white interior. Lots of marble, lots of cool lighting. A gentle breeze lifted his hair for a moment. The air smelled sweet.

“Mmm. The Lilacs are in bloom.”

“Is that what that is?”

“And Jasmine.” She breathed deeply.

She seemed to know where they were headed so he followed her lead down a hall and into a conference room. They both took a seat and as soon as the others joined them, the far wall turned into a screen and a whole zoom meeting began with a bunch of heads.

Coral whispered. “Most of the local royals.”

“Is my Coral there?” A swiveling head and squinting eyes on a pink short made Rand smile.

“Hi mom. I’m here.”

“Oh thank heavens.”

Coral muttered. “I did call her. She makes it sound like this is the first time she’s heard word.”

“Can’t blame her though, really. It’s been an unusual morning. At least for me.” He searched her face. They seemed to have a lot of protocol in place for this kind of situation. Maybe it wasn’t so unusual for them.

“You’re right, of course. But I came here to be normal. I hoped to avoid the whole royal hype. They didn’t know I was in town.”

“And you’re really not normal now.”

“No, and they are taking offense that I was here and didn’t tell them.”

He nodded. He didn’t pretend to understand all her reasons or the efforts she took to avoid going home. But he respected there might be good ones.

“Looking back, it would have been good to have some security detail.”

He could only nod. He agreed with her, but it wasn’t his business.

Nico ran the meeting. Everyone shared the details of what happened. After Coral explained precisely his role, the room went quiet for a moment and then Coral’s mother called out. “Thank you, you dear man. Any time you are near the islands, you stop in. You have a place to stay and anything you need.” She fanned her face. “I can’t believe this has happened. Do we know who did it? Are they caught? Are we safe?” She seemed to be talking to someone in the room with her as well as to their group.

Lucan cleared his throat. “And now we will hear what Rand saw before we start to figure out our security response.”

Rand nodded and told the facts as he saw them. And then mentioned what he found odd. “I can’t place them. They aren’t like the terrorists I saw while in the military. They seemed more…wealthy? Well-dressed? I can’t put my finger on it.” What he really thought was that he felt like they were in a room full of lawyers with guns. But that’s a weird thing to think. He was obviously in the office way too much. But he shrugged. “Who wears suits while trying to hold up a building?”

“But I did see this.” He held up the card he picked up from the rubble. “I’m not sure what this is.” He passed it to Lucan who grunted and then passed it around the table.

His two attorneys then entered the room.

Lucan waved. “Oh good. You’re gonna want to see this.”

Anders leaned over the next person to be looking at the card and raised both eyebrows. “Was this at the Palisades?”

“Rand found it in the rubble.”

“What do we know about this?” He picked up the card again as it came back to him. “Amber Light?”

To Rand’s surprise, Astra was the one to respond.

“That is only one of the names we are discovering that this group uses. They have accounts in many nations and companies with many names. But they are all one group.”

“What do they want?”

Anders grunted. “Power. Money. To make my life miserable.”

Rand found that curious. Both Astra and Anders’ participation in this group seemed interesting. For one thing, they were much tighter with the firm’s new royal clients than Rand realized. Which was a good thing. Client longevity was something they were always working on. But just what kind of people were these attorneys? And why would these terrorists make Anders’ life miserable? Specifically.

Rand just nodded in response. And the group continued talking. They detailed problems they’ve been having in their area with this group. They talked about strategies for security in their various countries. Rand zoned out after a bit.

Then he felt something nudge his foot. He shifted. But someone’s foot pressed up against his.

Coral eyed him from across the table and slowly raised an eyebrow.

She was a breathtaking woman in all regards, including under pressure. But what could she want with him? She was a royal.

She glanced at her watch and back at him.

If she was saying this meeting was much longer than he would ever want, he agreed with her there. He let his gaze move slowly over her face.

She smiled and lifted her chin, turning to give him all angles.

He snorted.

Nico turned to him, his eyebrows up.

But Rand shook his head and cleared his throat. And stopped looking at Coral. For now.