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Reluctantly she admitted, “It’s possible.”
    “Do you have any other information about him? Contact info?”
    “I have hisphone numbers, his address, his email address, along with all the emails he ever sent me. I never delete anything—I’m a lawyer. We understand the importance of an evidence trail.”
    “Good girl.” Linus began to smile, but then his eyes narrowed. “ All the emails? How many did he send you?”
    “When I represented Seattle Electronics, he was forthcoming with everything. I got the impression hewanted to cooperate. Maybe he even felt bad for letting negotiations with Motormech go so far.”
    “Or he wanted you to think he felt bad,” Linus surmised.
    “Maybe.” She sighed regretfully. “Anyway, he sent me a few scattered emails and text messages over the past couple months asking me to meet with him. Not harassing, necessarily, but enough that it creeped me out—that, and his insistenceon meeting me in private.” It was too much to look at Linus without remembering the feel of his arms around her. She wished she could reach for him and feel his strong shoulder against her cheek again, but she couldn’t make such a request after all he’d done for her that evening. So instead she leaned her head back against the pillows and closed her eyes. She felt exhausted by all that had happenedand irked by the nagging feeling that she’d forgotten some important detail. But what?
    “I’m glad you didn’t go,” Linus told her, his voice gentle, even caring. “If you get a chance, can you forward me those emails and texts?”
    “Sure.” She kept her eyes closed, wishing she could block out all memory of what happened on the beach. Rather than trying to remember the details, she wished shecould forget.
    * * *
    Linus absorbed the information Julia had given him. He wanted to ask her more questions, but the duchess looked exhausted, and he almost thought she’d fallen asleep. She ought to be tucked securely into her suite before she turned in for the night, but he didn’t want to disturb her, not when the fear had finally begun to fade from her features.
    For his part,he wouldn’t be able to rest any time soon. Not until he’d learned everything he could about this Fletcher Pendleton—including whether he’d recently traveled to Lydia. If the man was currently on Lydian soil, Linus wanted to catch him before he left again.
    But then, if the man was after Julia, he probably wouldn’t leave the country. Not yet, not until he’d gotten what he’d come for. If anything,he’d try something more aggressive the next time. But what did he want?
    Linus didn’t understand why the man would be after Julia. Did he resent her involvement in his case, or blame her for the role she’d played in ending the deal he’d nearly made? Perhaps he’d watched her on the televised coverage of Queen Monica’s coronation and wedding vow renewal ceremonies. Maybe he thought he couldsomehow tap into her fifteen minutes of fame.
    If Fletcher Pendleton was their man, he already had several advantages over them, including a motive they had yet to understand. Linus was going to have his work cut out for him if he intended to catch Fletcher before the man tried to hurt Julia again. And he feared Pendleton would, indeed, try to hurt Julia again.
    Linus took a step towardthe door and the floor creaked beneath him.
    Julia’s eyes snapped open. “Linus?”
    He was back at her side in an instant. “Yes?”
    “One other thing. It might be important.” She made a face. “Yes, it’s probably important.” She met his eyes and her lower lip trembled.
    Linus returned her gaze without wavering and tried to communicate trust, reassurance, safety. She had to feel safeenough to share her fears. At the same time, he wished he could erase the worry that had clouded her features.
    “The man who attacked me tonight said something.” She pinched her eyes shut.
    In spite of his frustration that she hadn’t mentioned it