Page 10 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

“For myself, my team, and you.”

“How many bedrooms are in it?”

“Four. Three of my men are working with the local authorities over the night shift. So there will be some coming and going.”

And he was still holding her hand. So much for her fantasy of a fling with a debonair European she could keep as a personal secret for the rest of her life. Hard to keep a secret from a bunch of people living in the same space as you did.

Her hotel room in Lerasia probably couldn’t hold a candle to what she was about to see, and it had been costly enough.

“Is it very expensive?”

“Please don’t worry about the cost. The Lerasian government is picking up the tab.”

That seemed odd, but she couldn’t put her finger on just why. Another yawn interrupted her line of thinking, then the elevator door opened.

Zar waved an electronic key card over a sensor, hit the only other button on the control panel, and up they went.

The hallway the elevator delivered them to looked ordinary enough, until you were in it and saw that it wasn’t a hallway at all, but more of a walk-in closet. There was a large free-standing wardrobe for coats. Empty, it stood with the doors open. Next to it was a large planter filled with real plants. She turned, looking for the source of sunlight, and discovered a row of floor-to-ceiling windows. The city was only partially lit up with lights and with only a few cars moving around.

Anna pulled out her phone to check the time. Two thirty a.m. She shook her head. “I’m all turned around timewise.”

“A hazard of the job?” Zar asked with a half-smile.

“Yeah, sometimes.”

Also, out of practice. She managed to keep that to herself.

The room they entered was large, had only one light illuminating it in the far corner, and was furnished with what looked like antiques. As they moved farther into the room, a man stood from where he’d been working, seated at a low sofa with a laptop computer on a dainty-legged coffee table.

“Sir, Mademoiselle,” he said with a nod to each of them.

Now that he was on his feet, she recognized him as one of the men who helped rescue the pregnant lady.

“Marc, right?” She walked toward him with her hand outstretched.

“C’est bon, very good,” he replied, giving her hand a firm shake. “You saved both mother and child?”

It wasn’t really a question, and it held a note of awe she found uncomfortable.

“Pfft,” she said with a shake of her head. “I was merely one of a large team who made such a positive outcome possible. Thank you for your contribution.”

Marc’s gaze slipped to a spot behind her, and one of his eyebrows went up. She turned to see Zar shrugging at his friend.

“What?” she asked, looking back and forth between both men.

“You’re a rare delight, Dr. Anna,” Zar said.

Oh, and that statement couldn’t be misconstrued, could it?

“How do you mean?”

“Most people accept accolades, even seek them out, for a job as large as the one you made possible,” Zar explained with a carefully blank face. Too careful. What could have made him so jaded?

Duh, he’s some kind of law enforcement officer. He’d probably seen far too many examples of self-serving, suspicious behavior.

“Oh.” Some of the shine left of the room. “That’s sad.” She turned to look out the window at the shadowed streets of Lyon. “Any surgery is a huge team effort, and every member of that team needs to do their best work to have the best outcome for the patient.” She turned to meet his gaze. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I’ve met many people who don’t.”

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