Page 34 of Raul
She looked down at the tablet to see a list of about a dozen names. “Are these the people Quinn thinks might have sold the dragon’s nest location?”
“She’s put them in order of most to least likely, but they’re all candidates,” Raul said. “If you tap the name, her notes will come up.”
Erica was surprised to see a name she recognized on the list. “This park ranger, Marc Sablon. I know him. He would never endanger a dragon.” She tapped on Marc’s name to see why Quinn had flagged him. “Ah, I see. It’s the debt he’s run up in the last year.” She took a deep breath. “His wife was diagnosed with glioblastoma, so they decided to go to all the places they want to see together before the disease makes it impossible for her to travel. That’s why he’s carrying these huge balances on his credit cards.”
“Ay,I’ll get my assistant to see what can be done to help him,” Raul said, his voice low with compassion. “Any others ring bells?”
Erica skimmed the remaining half dozen names and shook her head.
“Scroll up to read Quinn’s summary,” Raul said with that touch of command in his voice that he probably didn’t know was there.
Swiping at the screen, Erica found the summary that explained Quinn’s methodology in selecting the names.
The last paragraph made Erica suck in her breath.All of the names on this list have a significant need for large sums of money. However, none has received any unusually high deposits in the past six months. Nor have any of them begun to reduce their debts.
Erica looked up at Raul. “Does that mean these people aren’t involved, or does it mean—”
“That the eggs and dragon haven’t been delivered, so they haven’t gotten paid yet?” Raul finished for her, his face lit with hard-edged excitement. “That’s what I hope. If the poachers are still in Caleva, we have a chance to find them.”
He had saidwe. “I assume you’ll turn this investigation over to Mikel now.”
“Mikel has his hands more than full with security for Gabri and Quinn’s wedding.” Raul locked his gaze on her face, intensity burning in his blue eyes. “I hoped you would help me until I have healed enough to get off thismalditosofa.”
Astonishment made her sit bolt upright in the chair. “I don’t know anything about investigating a crime. Do you?”
Oops, that might have been too direct a question for a prince.
Raul didn’t flinch. “It’s like any other matter that comes before the crown. You talk to the people involved, you collate and analyze the information, and you find the solution.”
How many of the people he usually talked to were desperate enough to poach the national symbol of Caleva?
“There must be someone else more qualified than I am,” she said, even as her heart sped up at having a legitimate reason to spend more time with him.
“No, you are perfect. You can talk to people without raising their suspicions.” He leaned toward her, and the angles of his face sharpened. “We can’t delay. If the dragon and her eggs leave the country, that is almost certainly a death sentence for all of them.”
Was this about Gabriel’s kidnapping? Raul had been forced to let that happen. Maybe he was not going to allow another abduction, especially one so symbolic. The royal family’s surname was Dragón, and Pascal had said Raul was especially protective of his family’s namesake.
“I…of course I will help you.” Honestly, what choice did she have? He was her prince. It just happened to be convenient that she was thrilled at the thought of working side by side with him and could satisfy her boss’s request at the same time.
Raul gave her a smile so dazzling her heart flipped. “Muy bien!I have been thinking about how to approach this. What if you contact all the people on Quinn’s list—except the park ranger you mentioned—and tell them you want a special wedding gift for a good friend? You don’t want anything illegal. Just an eggshell from a hatched dragon egg that could be incorporated into an artwork that an artist you know has offered to create.”
“I—what?” She was still reeling from the smile. “You’ve done a lot of thinking.”
“I have nothing better to do right now.” Irritation edged his voice before determination took over. “And I have a theory about how the dragon and her eggs will depart.”
“I’m listening” she said, intrigued to see his mind at work.
“It would be hard to smuggle a large heavy dragon or even her eggs out of Caleva by air, especially with all the soil they dug up. Security is pretty tight, even at private airfields. It’s much easier to sneak cargo onto a boat. If I might have the tablet back?” He held out his hand, the dragon ring’s emerald catching the light.As she stretched across the table to return the tablet, he leaned forward, and her gaze snagged on the slight scruff outlining his jaw. What would that feel like against her skin? Rough or soft?
She jerked back so fast that he had to catch the tablet. “Sorry,” she muttered as a flush of heat climbed her cheeks at the direction of her wayward thoughts.
He gave her a questioning glance but swiped at the screen. “Quinn sent me a list of the wedding guests and their means of transportation. What do you want to bet that the buyer is a very rich wedding attendee who’s coming in on a yacht? There will be so much extra activity at the seaport that loading an extra crate or two aboard a yacht wouldn’t be noticed. The timing is too close to be a coincidence.”
“You mean one of the wealthy sleazebags you were talking about? Wouldel duquehave such people on his guest list?”
A cynical expression marred Raul’s face. “This is a royal wedding, so the guest list was compiled with an eye to political protocol. There are plenty of people on it whom Gabriel and Quinn have never met.” He gestured to the cushion beside him. “Let me show you the possibilities I’ve picked out.”
Mierda,she would be pressed up against his side just like their evening on the mountain. She walked around the coffee table and eased down beside him, leaving a foot of space between them. However, she had to lean in to see the list on his screen.
