Royal Heist. Rachelle McCalla

down.” Ruby led him toward the chair where he’d been sitting until he’d heard her scream.

      “Who was that guy?” Galen tried to look Ruby in the eye, but the fat towel clamped over his nose blocked most of his vision.

      “I don’t know. Did you recognize him?”

      “No. Where’d he come from?”

      “The streets. He followed me, I think from as far as Stasi’s studio.”

      “Followed you?” The words hit him harder than the blow to his nose. It was one thing to have Ruby attacked by a vicious purse-snatcher. It was far worse to think the man had tailed her, targeting her specifically. “How do you know he followed you?”

      “I heard footsteps.” Ruby’s voice broke.

      Galen angled his head and adjusted the towel so that he could see her face. He might not stanch the flow of blood as quickly with his head down instead of up, but he needed to see her. He needed to know whether she was okay.

      Jade-green eyes blinked at him with fear in their depths.

      Galen felt his heart twist. Part of him had been eager to see Ruby ever since he’d heard she’d stepped in to fill the role of Anastasia’s assistant, as the talented princess designed all the jewelry for the upcoming royal weddings. An equal part of him had been wary of a potentially awkward reunion. But awkwardness had become the least of his concerns.

      “Are you okay?” He spotted the red marks along her neck where the strap of her bag had cut against her. “Did he hurt you?”

      “I’m fine, I think.” She touched her neck. “Just sore.”

      Elias, who’d been hovering silently, his attention divided between the two of them and the security screens, reached for the small fridge where the gateway guards kept their lunches and beverages. “Put something cold on that,” the older guard suggested, placing a chilled soda in her hands.

      Ruby held the bottle like an ice pack against her neck. “Thank you. That helps.”

      Relieved that she wasn’t seriously injured, Galen went back to wondering why the young American had been followed. “He wanted your purse?”

      “Did he?” Ruby gingerly touched the red mark left behind when her attacker had tugged on her purse. “I didn’t think I made an obvious target, but I guess by walking home alone...” Her words broke off again, and she took a couple slow breaths, meeting his eyes over the towel he held clenched to his nose.

      “You weren’t an obvious target,” Galen reassured her, trying not to think about the way her shining eyes made his heart leap or how much he’d missed seeing her since the last time she’d visited Lydia. Ruby was heir to an American jewelry chain. He was a humble sentinel with the Lydian royal guard. Their lives were worlds apart. She’d pushed him away when he’d tried to overlook their differences before. He ignored the way he felt sitting close to her, and focused on the attack. “If that man wanted to snatch a random bag, he could have gone downtown. Plenty of women don’t guard their purses very well when they go out on the town.”

      Ruby’s freckles scrunched slightly as she wrinkled her nose, visibly fighting back her emotions in order to speak. “But why would he want my bag?” She broke his gaze and turned her head away.

      “Are you carrying many valuables?”

      “Hardly. Not much cash, a debit card, but my bank account is nearly empty already.” She opened her purse and took a quick inventory, rifling through papers and receipts. “Lip balm, keys, cheap sunglasses—which are now broken.” Ruby’s voice faltered as she pulled out the ruined eyewear. The shades had snapped along one rim. A lens fell out as she lifted them.

      Galen reached for the fallen lens, then quickly pulled his hand back as Ruby bent to pick it up, as well.

      Best to give the pretty redhead her space. That’s what she’d asked him for the year before, and he wasn’t about to push the issue. He had things to do—like reporting the incident to royal guard headquarters, and making sure Ruby really was all right.

      And figuring out who her attacker was, and what he was after. And then, making sure the man never hurt Ruby again.

      TWO

      Ruby nearly dropped the broken sunglasses before she got them back into her purse. Maybe she could fix them.

      Just like all the other things in her life that needed fixing right now. She’d come to Lydia at Princess Anastasia’s invitation. Her best friend from gemology school had set the ambitious goal of designing unique jewelry for the many upcoming Lydian royal weddings, starting with the marriage of Princess Isabelle and Levi Grenaldo in just over a week.

      Those pieces were ready to go, but Stasi and Ruby still worked long hours trying to meet the deadlines that lay ahead, which was why Ruby hadn’t left the studio until twilight. Ruby was thrilled to help the princess. More than that, she felt honored that Stasi had given her family’s line of jewelry stores, Tate Jewelry, exclusive reproduction rights to all the designs.

      Given the level of public interest in the royal weddings, the Tate Jewelry reproductions should sell well. Maybe even well enough to save the family business. But Ruby had a lot of work ahead of her if that was going to happen. She didn’t need the interference of an attacker to set her even further behind. If Galen hadn’t come to her aid, she might be as broken as the sunglasses in her purse.

      Horrified that Galen had been hurt while helping her, Ruby turned away from the sight of the injured guard. It was hard enough for her to be near him at all. Seeing him hurt, remembering how much she cared for him...it was too much to think about, especially in the wake of what happened.

      Ruby stared through the street-side window at the crime site, a mere dozen yards away, where she’d struggled against the masked man. Galen’s blood had splashed on the cobblestones, marking the spot. Her heart pinched at the sight.

      Galen Harris.

      She’d purposely avoided him since she’d been back in Lydia because of her embarrassing last encounter with him the previous summer and her feelings toward him that had made their final parting so awkward. She’d made up her mind that she needed to keep her distance from him, but telling him so had proven catastrophic.

      It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy his company. It was precisely the opposite. The man could distract her from anything, even her goal of saving her parents’ business, which she must do to earn back their trust after her accidental betrayal years before.

      If she revived her friendship with Galen, she didn’t know if she could leave Lydia again. The tiny Christian kingdom was her favorite place in the world, not just because of the friendly people and perfect climate, but because of the fascinating history of the place. The kingdom of Lydia could trace its history all the way back to the days of the Bible. The kingdom was named after the woman whose house church had grown into a small, independent nation. Princess Stasi and the rest of the Lydian royal family could trace their lineage all the way back to Lydia, the dealer in purple cloth who appeared in Acts 16: 14 & 40.

      Ruby wasn’t sure which was more difficult—leaving Lydia or leaving Galen. One glance at the guard stirred her dormant feelings back to life. His ready smile was irresistible. His dark hair, now cropped to military shortness, curled as it grew out, ready to burst forth like his fun-loving nature the moment it escaped the rigid parameters around him. But given the way she’d left things with him the year before, she doubted he’d want to be friends anymore, anyway.

      Rather than think about Galen, Ruby focused on the cobblestones outside and tried to sort out what had happened.

      Why had that awful man attacked her? The brute had obviously planned ahead—he’d brought whatever that was that he’d put on to disguise his face. Ruby shuddered at the memory of the man’s fearsome appearance.

      He’d looked warped—grotesque, even. And yet, Ruby couldn’t shake the feeling that