Page 45 of Her Prince in Disguise
For the first time since Erin arrived, the woman offered a wisp of a smile. “That’s bad, right?”
Andi shrugged. “I’m not a lawyer, but yeah, I suspect it’s really bad.”
“Good,” Erin whispered, nodding nervously as her eyes danced over the room. “Okay.” She picked at her cuticle for another moment, then stood up. “I have to go.”
Andi stood as well, putting a hand on Erin’s arm. “Won’t you please stay? Here? With me? I know that we don’t know each other, but it feels…like we have a connection. Through Lawrence. And what he did to you.”
Erin shook her head. “No. I can’t.” She touched her head, shaking again. “I have to go.”
She rushed out of Andi’s apartment. When she spotted the group of dangerous looking men standing in the hallway, Erin let out a gasp of surprise and shrunk inside herself. Huddling in her filthy sweatshirt, Erin crept along the edge of the wall, watching the bodyguards and Laith warily until she was able to get past them. Then she ran, sprinting down the hallway, muttering, “Must get away,” to herself over and over.
Andi watched Erin’s escape, her heart aching for the poor soul. She’d been destroyed by Lawrence’s actions, both mentally and physically. The poor woman would find a place to hide, probably find some drugs that would alleviate whatever horrors her mind replayed for her every moment for the rest of her life.
“Her absence is going to mess things up with the police investigation, isn’t it?” Andi asked, still staring at the now-empty hallway.
Laith walked over to pull her into his arms. “My lawyers are speaking with the police. They have a search warrant and are heading to the prick’s home.”
Andi turned, pressing her cheek against the spot right over his heart. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring the last two boxes to you,” she whispered. “I just…I couldn’t risk it!”
His arms tightened around her and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head. “I get it, love,” he told her, his voice rough with emotion. “And I love you even more because you tried to protect me.” Then he pulled away. “But, don’teverdo that again!”
She laughed, then pressed against him again. “Right.”
If he took that as agreement, more fool him, she thought. But Andi heard the small grunts of understanding from two of the bodyguards. They knew that she wasn’t going to stop trying to protect her man.
Chapter 32
Lawrence was in a panic. He’d received word from one of his friends in the police department that a search warrant had been issued. His first instinct was to get out of town, to hide somewhere. He had enough money to lose himself for a while. Several of the women he’d entertained in his private play space had been wealthy and he’d manipulated them into giving him access to their money. Not to mention, he earned an excellent salary.
However, Lawrence also knew that leaving would imply guilt. So, when the knock came, he inhaled deeply, reminding himself that the police would never find the secret door to his playroom. It was well hidden, which was why he’d gotten away with his pleasures over the years.
His wife was out of town with the kids this weekend. He’d deliberately told her that he’d be out of town again this weekend, encouraging her to stay with her parents. He’d wanted this weekend alone so that he could prepare.
Just thinking about everything he’d done to his “playmates” over the past several years aroused him all over again. “Later,” he promised, thinking of the future and all the joys he would experience once he’d gotten rid of the police. He’d get his vengeance on Andi, and enjoy every moment of it.
Walking over to his door, he pulled it open and smiled. “Hello, gentlemen!” He ignored the female police officers standing behind the lead detective. “Jonsey!” he said, greeting the detective he’d played poker with just a few weeks before. “Come on in. What’s up?”
Detective Ben Jones stepped into the colonial style home, lifting the search warrant. “Lawrence, we need to search your place.”
Lawrence feigned surprise. “What for?” he asked, taking the paper and pretending to read it. But when the words, “Illegal wire-tapping” popped out at him, he felt a spurt of panic. He’d been so focused on ensuring that no one ever discovered his playroom that he hadn’t bothered to take his laptop down in the secret room! Damn it!
Still, he looked up from the warrant and spread his arms wide. “Search away, boys and girls.” Then he stepped back. If they bothered with the laptop, which was upstairs in his office, he could claim that the laptop was filled with proprietary information for his job. Lawyer-client privilege was a beautiful thing!
At least, Lawrence hoped that would be the case. However, would Laith back him up? The man had been screwing Andi for the past few weeks. But Lawrence figured that his boss wouldn’t want that private relationship to come out in the open. The guy was a prince or sheik or…something. Probably not particularly important in the Lativa government or he wouldn’t be working. Royals sat around ordering other people to work. They didn’t do the work themselves.
No, he was safe. Laith’s interest in Andi would fade. Besides, bros stuck together. Laith was a good guy. He’d ditch the bitch and…!
A police officer came down the stairs, carrying his laptop. “You can’t take that!” Lawrence called out. “That has proprietary information on it. The information on that computerfalls under the attorney-client relationship and is protected by law.”
The officer hesitated, glancing at Ben. Lawrence did the same. “Jonesy, explain the law to her. She can’t take the laptop and violate attorney client privilege.”
Ben shrugged and jerked his head towards the doorway. “Take it for now. We’ll let the lawyers work out the details later.”
“Jonesy!” Lawrence snapped. But the detective didn’t even look up from the clipboard he was writing things down on.
He was too busy listing evidence to acknowledge his poker buddy? What the hell?
Lawrence pressed his lips together, feigning irritation in order to mask his growing panic. If they opened that laptop, they would see the surveillance files. That laptop didn’t contain only the surveillance from Andi’s apartment, it contained recordings of all of his sessions, all his training and pleasures with his ladies over the years!
