a joke between Theo and her. It was the mantra of a great queen and it did apply to the average commoner, too.
“That’s me,” Lara whispered as she climbed in bed and tugged at the last light. The room went dark on her fears and worries. She’d been a commoner, but a wealthy, well-heeled one at that. Money and prestige could open a lot of doors. Having a social pedigree that went back to the founding fathers didn’t hurt, either. But even so, when the announcement of her marriage had been made, she’d been analyzed, studied, prodded and trained in everything from etiquette to speaking in public to greeting people to writing a proper thank-you card, all of which her mother had already trained her on anyway.
Being a princess was much harder than being a woman.
Right now, however, she mentally pushed her princess away and, being a woman, thought about the fascinating man with whom she’d shared her dinner. And wondered why she’d invited him to stay for a meal. That hadn’t been on the agenda.
But then, neither had receiving that hideous gift. The voodoo doll only brought back bad memories of other times when she’d been afraid and full of doubts. Maybe this had nothing to do with that. Or it could have everything to do with that and the phone call she’d just received. She missed Theo, but she was determined to live life on her own terms. And she was determined to find answers to the questions that had haunted her since Theo’s death.
Obviously, after receiving that cryptic call, she understood the little voodoo doll had something to do with her nosing around where she shouldn’t.
Lara punched her pillow, hating this time of the day when she felt so alone, so lonely, so unsure of anything but how much she missed her husband. Telling herself to get a grip, she pushed out of her mind that image of the little grinning doll with the pin stabbed through her heart.
“You can’t pierce my heart,” she whispered to the night. “My heart has already been broken.”
But she intended to find the man who’d killed Theo. And she intended to do that here in New Orleans, with the world watching.
She drifted off to sleep thinking of her husband and Gabriel Murdock. Trying to hold one close in her memories and trying to push the other one back into a proper place, she finally went from being awake to being in a dream that ran through her head like a vivid movie, complete with voodoo and warnings from Deidre and Malcolm and with a man standing in the shadows, holding a camera.
The man called to her and Lara tried to reach him. He threw down the camera and reached out a hand. But she couldn’t quite grasp his fingers.
She woke up near dawn thinking of her husband.
But the man in the dream had been Gabriel Murdock.
Lara lay there pushing at the covers, her body still exhausted from running through that mist, her memories as wild and colorful as the images in her mind.
A piercing scream sounded through the night, bringing her up and out of her bed. Grabbing her robe, Lara rushed to her door and followed the hallway to the sound of the scream.
Deidre’s room.
But before Lara could open the door, Malcolm and two bodyguards were there with guns drawn.
“Step back, Your Highness,” Malcolm said, his beefy arm blocking her way. “It might not be safe.”
He knocked and called out. “Deidre?”
No answer.
“Go and check on her,” Lara demanded, impatient with the head of security.
Malcolm motioned to the two guards. They were about to break the door down when Deidre opened it and ran straight into Lara’s arms.
“What happened?” Lara asked, holding the younger woman.
Deidre lifted up, her dark eyes wide, her hair unbound and curly around her face. “I heard a noise on the upstairs balcony, ma’am. Someone walking, I’m sure. Then I saw a shadow near my window.”
Lara held tight to the frightened girl. “Are you sure?”
Deidre bobbed her head, her words shaky. “Very sure. A man was standing there.”
Malcolm put his big arms across his chest. “So you screamed?”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t answer when we came to the door.”
“I was still frightened.”
He motioned again to the two men. “Search the balcony and the grounds.”
Lara took Deidre by the arm, her own jitters making her shaky. “Come with me. We’ll sit awhile and I’ll make us some chamomile tea.”
Deidre looked mortified. “Ma’am, you don’t need to wait on me. I’m...okay.”
“You are not okay,” Lara countered. “Malcolm, we’re going down to the kitchen. Could you make sure a guard is nearby while we brew our tea?”
“Certainly, Your Highness. But please let us secure the house before you wander around.”
Lara nodded. “Deidre, let’s get you a robe from your room.”
The girl followed Lara into the room and stood by the door, staring out into the night. “I saw a man there, Miss Lara. I promise.”
“I believe you,” Lara replied. She helped Deidre with her robe. “Did the man try to get into your room?”
“No. He just stood there. When I screamed, he ran away.”
Lara took in the information but said nothing. She wouldn’t allow Deidre to see her fears. That might put the girl over the edge.
But when they were turning to leave the room, something caught Lara’s eye. “Just a moment, Deidre. Stay there by the door, please.”
Deidre nodded. Lara walked to the open door that led out onto the balcony, careful to stay on the edge of the sheer lace curtains. Peeking around the lace, she saw something through the moonlight, lying there on the planked floor. The guards had rushed right past it. Another package, this one bigger than the first one.
Another delivery. But how in the world had the intruder planned to get that box inside? And what if he’d been looking for her room instead of Deidre’s?
THREE
Gabriel knew something was wrong the minute he rounded the corner the next morning. He’d taken the streetcar to RWN magazine and then walked the rest of the way to the Kincade estate since it was such a gorgeous spring day.
But that notion ended when he saw two NOPD cruisers parked inside the gated driveway and a whole passel of reporters and onlookers stationed outside the closed gate. Pulling out the smaller of his two cameras and his phone, he dialed Deidre’s cell so she could open the gate for him. He held the phone to one ear, clicked away and got some one-handed shots of the cruisers and the growing crowd at the gate.
But Deidre didn’t answer. A male voice greeted
