Princess (American Princess #1)(26)
Author: Courtney Cole

CHAPTER FIVE

Sydney and Stephen both stared at him incredulously, each silently trying to figure out what to say.  Sydney felt the headache that had been building in the base of her neck turn into a pulsing throb behind her left ear.

Finally, she cleared her throat, glanced at Stephen and then looked back at the Detective.  At the very least, this made sense.  His taste was much too expensive for a detective. He came from money.

“Um.  Detective, I’m not absolutely positive, but I think… I mean, what I’m trying to say is that… I think your step-dad is the person that my dad is having an affair with.”

He stared at her blankly, not reacting.

“What makes you say that?”

His sharp eyes were trained unflinchingly on her, waiting for an explanation.  She restlessly fidgeted with her fingers while she replied.

“Months ago, I saw your dad and mine walking together upstairs during one of my dad’s parties.  They were alone and I can’t explain it, but they seemed much too familiar. The look on your dad’s face was so… intimate.  And then, I got a text from my dad the other night. It was meant for someone else, asking to see them because my mom was gone.  He stores my name right next to your dad’s in his phone- under Princess.  Like I said, I can’t explain it, but it is a very strong feeling that I have.”

The detective took another long pull on his cigarette, exhaling the smoke slowly.  As it drifted upward in a gray cloud, he steadily stared at Sydney through it.

“You don’t have to explain.  Trust me, I know hunches.  And this actually makes sense. There have been things over the years that have made me question…” he trailed off as he stared pensively into the distance.  “But this changes everything, you know.”

“How so?” She felt flustered; still confused and a little dazed from being chased by the Trans Am. Because her thoughts were muddled, she couldn’t fathom why this knowledge would change anything.

He stared at her again, his blue eyes piercing hers.

“Sydney, I’m even more convinced that this is a clear motive.”

She inhaled sharply, shaking her head slowly from side to side.  He couldn’t be right.  Her father might not love her the way she wanted him to, the way a normal father would, but surely he wouldn’t want to hurt her.  Yet, even as she thought it, the doubts were already setting in.

The most important thing to her father was- and always had been- his career.  He had watched a hundred different political careers destroyed by scandal and in her heart, she knew that he would go to great lengths to keep this particular scandal from ever seeing the light of day.  Her heart turned into a lump of ice buried within her chest.  It was a possibility.  A real possibility that her dad was behind this.  She felt numb as she limply turned to look at Stephen.

The look on his face was one of disbelief and she could tell that he was mulling over the exact same thing. He reached over and grasped her hand.

“Sydney… surely not.  He wouldn’t…” But his voice trailed off uncertainly.  He didn’t even know her father and he was well aware of that fact.  He had no way of knowing what Randall Ross was and wasn’t capable of.   He straightened his shoulders and turned to the detective.

“So what now?”

“Now, I do some more investigating.  You know, my job.”

The detective’s voice was sarcastic, but not in an unfriendly way.  It felt more like the joking between friends.  This new revelation seemed to have plunged through the ice that had been between them from the beginning.       

“But what should Sydney do?”  Stephen was persistent.  The incident today only escalated his concern about Sydney’s safety.  Particularly if her father did turn out to be behind it… it meant that deep pockets were funding the whole thing. And deep pockets could accomplish a lot. A whole lot more than he could.

“You need to maintain a low profile.  I’ll have a patrol going past your house regularly and if you see anything- and I mean anything- out of the ordinary, call me right away.  Sydney,  if I were you, I wouldn’t go anywhere alone.  Stay with someone at all times, you’ll be safer that way.”

He stared at her seriously as he spoke, making sure that she listened.  He reached over and grasped her wrist lightly.

“Sydney, don’t underestimate this.  Your life could very well depend on your caution.”

She felt numb as she stared back at him first uncertainly and then with resignation.  She knew he was right.  Her life was in danger- that much was apparent.  Until she knew for sure who was behind it, she had to treat it as though it could be anyone.  And honestly, it could be.

She fervently wished that instead of all those piano and tennis lessons she had taken throughout her life, that she had taken some self-defense classes instead.  What was she supposed to do with a tennis racquet now, hit an assailant with it?

Detective Daniels stood and stretched, then turned to them again.

“You know… here’s something to think about.  He’s probably trying to keep you quiet.  If you are pro-active and release this information to the press… then it is possible that you will take yourself out of danger.”

Sydney stared at him apprehensively.  “I don’t think I can do that.  Not without knowing for sure that my father is behind it.  That would be… a really vicious thing to do.”

Something that her mother would be capable of, but not Sydney.

The detective nodded thoughtfully.  “I understand.  It was just a thought.  I’m going to go back to the station for awhile.  You have my cell number.  If you need me, call.  In the meantime, until you hear from me, lay pretty low.  Sydney, don’t do anything in a scheduled pattern.  If you normally go somewhere, don’t.  Do it at a different time.  Shake up your routine.  Make it difficult for someone to follow you.”

She nodded and he turned on his heel, taking two steps before he turned back.

“Sydney?  We didn’t get off on the right foot and I know that is my fault.  I apologize.  I’m so used to people from your circles being insincere and entitled. And you are not. I never should have assumed otherwise.” His voice was quiet but firm.

Sydney was astounded, but before she could even respond, he had spun back around and continued walking to his car with long, graceful strides.  She could see his gaze spanning the horizon, looking for anything out of place with his trained detective’s eye.  She supposed that she should start doing that as well, always being on alert. The thought was depressing.