Brandishing a Crown

Blast it. They might have lost a valuable piece of evidence that could lead them to the person behind the bomb attack.

And Jane—she looked so pale. Her eyes held hints of fear and pain, making his gut tighten with the need to soothe her.

Even worse, blood dotted her forehead, streaking her hair, reminding him that she’d been physically assaulted because of this case. Because of his friend.

A fact that infuriated him.

A fact that made him feel responsible.

He did not want to feel responsible for Jane Cameron, not a woman who seemed to snub her nose at his status.

Yet, he did want to alleviate her pain and fear.

His eyes fell on her hair, and his body hardened. During the attack she’d lost her ball cap, and her hair had come free of that ponytail. Her hair—it was golden brown and looked as silky as it had felt when he’d touched her earlier.

It also curled around her cheeks and made her look feminine and vulnerable.

Oblivious to his lustful thoughts, Jane pushed to her feet again but swayed, and he rushed to her. “Stay seated until the ambulance arrives.”

She sighed. “I’m fine. I need to make sure nothing else is missing.”

Stefan gritted his teeth.

He ached to pull her into his arms, hold her and comfort her. But the moment he stepped forward, she busied herself searching the evidence bags. “I hope security catches the bastard.”

He bit the inside of his cheek at her colorful language. “Did you see the assailant?” Stefan asked.

“No, it was too dark.” She angled her head toward him. “But I did manage to lift prints from the phone before the attack. I’ll plug those in the database and see if I get a hit.”

Footsteps sounded, and Stefan glanced through the glass partition and saw a man wearing a security uniform approaching along with Edilio. Two paramedics entered behind him with Sheriff Wolf on their heels.

“Ms. Cameron,” the guard said. “We searched the premises, but it appears your attacker escaped.”

“Do you not have security cameras?” Stefan asked.

“I checked them but he must have tripped them when he flipped off the power,” Edilio said.

A short, stout young man in a medic’s uniform hurried toward Jane. “Miss, are you the one who was accosted?”

Jane nodded. “Yes, but I’m fine, really. Just a bump on the head.”

“Let’s take a look.” He coaxed her to sit down, and Jane reluctantly allowed him to examine her head wound.

Sheriff Wolf moved inside, visually scanning the room. “What happened?”

“I catalogued the evidence into the system, then had started processing it when the lights suddenly flickered off.” She winced as the medic cleaned the cut. “Then someone attacked me from behind.”

The medic cleared his throat. “You might need a couple of stitches. We can transport you to the hospital—”

Jane shook her head. “Just fix me up with a butterfly bandage and I’ll be right as rain.”

“But you should go to the hospital and have a CAT scan,” he argued.

A skinny female medic approached Jane. “If you don’t stitch it up, you might have a scar.”

“I don’t care about a damn scar.” Jane gestured toward the other medic. “I’m not going to the hospital. Now I have to get back to work so bandage me or I’ll bleed all over the evidence.”

The medic insisted she sign a medical release denying hospital treatment, then placed a bandage on her forehead.

Stefan wanted to throttle the stubborn woman, but realized arguing with her was futile.

“Can you identify your assailant?” the sheriff asked.

“No,” Jane said. “It was too dark and he came at me from behind.”

“Coward,” Stefan muttered.

Jane swung her gaze toward him, and a small smile lifted the corner of her mouth.

“How do you know it was a male?” Sheriff Wolf asked. “Did he say anything?”

“His size, I guess. His hands were big.” She twisted her mouth in thought. “And when I kicked him, he grunted, deep like a man.”

Sheriff Wolf nodded. “Maybe he left his prints?”

Jane touched her throat absentmindedly, and Stefan’s jaw tightened. The bloody animal had tried to strangle her.

“No use. He was wearing gloves,” Jane said matter-of-factly.

“Did he take anything?” Sheriff Wolf asked.

Jane nodded. “The cell phone I collected at the crime scene.” She examined the evidence box. “The samples from the road and car seem to be intact,” she said. “And here are the blood samples from the car and the bomb particles. There were dozens of prints inside the limo, too.”

“I’ll file a report,” Sheriff Wolf said. “Keep me updated on the evidence once you finish.”

Jane agreed, then the sheriff and security guard left, and Edilio stepped into the hallway.

Stefan folded his arms. “My fingerprints will be among those in the limo,” Stefan said. “And so will the other dignitaries traveling with me. As I said, we took that limo into Dumont earlier in the evening.”

Jane’s eyes flickered with sudden understanding. “I know you’re concerned about the sheik. You think that you might all have been targets?”

Stefan could not deny the truth because Jane was too smart to already not have considered that theory.

“It is possible,” he said.

“Then why do you want to keep it from the press and the sheriff?” Jane asked bluntly. “They might be able to help you.”

There were not many people he trusted, and he did not offer that trust lightly. But this woman had nearly been killed because she was working this case, and perhaps because someone might have tried to murder Amir—and him and his friends.