Page 9 of Royal Salvation

“Tell them the King asked you to keep it quiet and it’s still a secret. Can you trust these people?”

“Absolutely. They’ve shown me nothing but kindness since I bought this place, and they protect my privacy passionately. I’m one of them and this village is tight-knit. Once you’re accepted here you become a part of something.”

Reaper didn’t analyse that, leaving it for later but he had a feeling it told him more about Lucía. Every word she spoke revealed something to him. “Then ask them to keep it quiet.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

“Good girl.”

He saw her cheeks pink at his praise and had to turn away so his hard-on wouldn’t be obvious. What was it about this woman that made him want to fuck her six ways from Sunday and never let go? He put it down to the fact she was out of bounds. The unattainable was always more desirable. “Now, last thing. The letters need to be posted from a few towns over. The postmark gives your location away to anyone who might intercept them.”

“That seems a little paranoid.”

“Maybe but I’d rather be paranoid than deal with the consequences. I can send them to my team in a big envelope and have them post them from their location. That would certainly throw anyone off the scent.”

“Fine, whatever. As long as Mr and Mrs Jonson still get the money through their shop. I don’t want them to lose out. They struggle enough to keep the shop going with everyone using the bigger town over for most of their shopping now.”

“We can definitely do that.”

“Give me five minutes to get myself sorted and we can go.”

Reaper waited by the door and sure enough, five minutes later she was ready, wearing another pair of jeans and flat ankle boots, a pale pink long sleeve top, and a navy Gillet over that.

She dressed like a local, and anyone seeing her wouldn’t think for one second that she was the same woman who’d graced magazine covers dripping in diamonds and thousand-pound dresses. It made him wonder who the real Lucía was or if they both lived inside her in a complex mix of the two worlds melded into one life she’d shaped to fit who she was.

Reaper locked the cottage door and activated the alarm to let Watchdog know they were now out of the property. He made to walk for his car, but she turned in the opposite direction.

“We can walk. It’s only a few miles and these roads weren’t built for that truck.”

Her smirk and the little dig at his car made him raise a brow and want to tease her back, but he resisted. Teasing her would be easy. So far being with her this morning had been easy and enjoyable and he needed to pull back from that and remember this was a job, nothing more. He wasn’t there to be her friend or her confidant. Much as he craved the need to know her, he knew it would be too dangerous for them both and to keep her safe, he’d need to keep a few walls up.

As he walked silently beside her into the village, his eyes constantly searching for a threat, the mild autumn day pleasant and dry, he thought he felt a tinge of regret at his quietness coming from Lucía but put that down to his own feelings. This was going to be a long six months.

Chapter 4

Lucía motioned towards Percy who was a five-year-old Jack Russell rescue. “I think he’s getting used to you.”

The first day meeting him, Percy had taken an instant dislike to Justice and decided his ankle would be a good target for his teeth. Poor Percy had been no match for Justice though and he’d soon learned there was only one alpha in the room, and it wasn’t him.

Now after a full week, not only had Justice won Percy over but Mrs Howard was also completely enamoured, and Mr Jonson treated him like he was his new best friend. Everyone loved him and he was charming and played the role of doting fiancé so well it would be easy to fall into the trap of believing it was real if he didn’t lock down like a vice the second they were alone.

“We have an understanding, don’t we, Percy?”

“Do you have a dog?”

Justice shook his head. “No, this job doesn’t really allow for it, but my teammate does, and as they’re part of the team I’m around them a lot.”

“What kind?”

“Scout is a German shepherd who’s almost entirely black with just a slight tan colour on his chest, and then there’s Monty. He’s an Australian Shepherd. Scout is calm and very obedient, but Monty is a teenager in dog years and can be overprotective. Val is fantastic with them though. Those dogs would die for her and I’m pretty sure she’d die for them. She and her brother are both dog handlers and trainers.”

A prickle of jealousy that was unpleasant and unfounded burrowed into her belly at the fondness with which he spoke about the other woman. “You sound close.”

“We are. Not just me and Val. The whole team is close. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them, and I know they’d be there for me in a heartbeat if I needed them. That kind of loyalty should never be taken for granted. It’s a precious commodity.”

As they rounded the edge of the field on the loop they walked with Percy each day and headed back toward Mrs Howard’s home, once again Justice went quiet. All week he’d been pleasant and polite, but she’d seen nothing of the man who’d first arrived and done his utmost to rattle her, and at the same time made her feel alive for the first time in years.

Once they’d handed Percy back to his mum and said a long goodbye to Mrs Howard. With the promise to take lots of pictures next week at the ball, they made the short walk home in silence.