Page 4 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

That was almost as attractive as her riotous hair.

She moved the stethoscope around the woman’s abdomen, and after a couple of adjustments, paused to listen.

Ten seconds later, she stood, smiled at the woman and her husband, then said to Zar, “Our mother’s heart rate is too fast, and the baby’s is too slow. I believe she may have some kind of injury to her hip or pelvis, which may explain why she isn’t in more pain. She’s going to need medical attention to both issues at the same time.”

“We can try to lift the bar up,” he said. “You and her husband can slide her out.”

“Only if there’s a medical team waiting to take her immediately to a hospital afterward. Once we remove the bar, the pressure it’s exerting on her internal injuries will be gone.”

“So, if there is bleeding, it could get worse?”

“Yes.”

“Jean Paul, can you make sure a medical team comes here as soon as they arrive?” Zar asked him. Then saw the questioning expression on his face and continued, “This is Dr. Anna. She’s a trauma surgeon from the United States.”

Jean Paul nodded at him and Anna, then pulled out his phone.

“Marc.” Zar waved at the other man who’d come in with Jean Paul. “Take a look at this bar, see how it’s being held down.”

“Yes, sir,” Marc said, then moved to examine the offending piece of debris.

“Thank you,” Anna said softly. She met his gaze, and he was surprised to find worry and fear starkly written on her face. Most physicians had a better poker face than this woman did. “If we don’t get help soon, she’s...” Anna left the sentence hanging.

Jean Paul ended his call and said, “Help is here. I’ll bring them.” He darted out of the room.

Anna flashed a relieved smile at Zar and knelt to put her hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Sir,” Marc called. He was looking at the place where the metal bar had pierced the interior wall of the train. “I think we’ll need a pry bar to loosen this section. After that, we should be able to move it.”

“Excellent.” Behind him, three men slid through the narrow opening. Two wore medical uniforms, the third was a police officer.

The medics went directly to the injured woman, and he heard Anna giving them a short, informative summary of what she knew.

The officer stared at Zar hard for a long moment before asking in a low tone, “Your Highness, were you on the train?”

Zar had known Officer Gerard Dupois for a dozen or more years. He’d led the police force in Lyon for five of them, and he’d made his dislike of Zar’s role in Lerasia’s law enforcement community very clear.

“I was not on board yet when the explosion happened,” Zar said in no louder a voice than Dupois.

“Not on board yet?” Dupois asked. “But you had tickets to this train?”

“Yes, myself and my team.”

Dupois swore.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Anna said, rising from her crouch and slinging her backpack on her back. “That doorway needs to be wide enough for the paramedics to carry my patient out on a stretcher.”

Dupois looked at Anna with her messy hair and casual clothing and opened his mouth, but Zar spoke before he could.

“Captain Dupois, this is Dr. Anna. She’s a vacationing trauma surgeon from the United States. She’s been very helpful in this terrible situation.”

Dupois snapped his mouth shut before opening it carefully again. “Thank you for your assistance, Doctor.”

But Anna wasn’t paying him any attention at all. She was studying the crumpled door.

“How are we going to make that wider?” Zar asked Dupois.

“I have no idea.”

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