Page 41 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

“He’s bleeding internally. Could be spleen or liver damage.” She could feel the tightness in his abdomen. “I’d like to talk to the hospital we’ll be going to so they’re aware and prepared for Luke as soon as we get him there.”

The medic who’d loaned Zar the jacket pulled out his phone. “I’ll call them for you.”

“Thank you.” It would save time once they were there. Luke didn’t have time to spare. “How long is the flight from where we get off the train?”

“Seven minutes from take-off,” the other medic said.

“Which hospital?” Zar asked.

“Notre Dame du Luminere,” the other medic answered.

Luke was in and out of consciousness as the train sped toward the Lerasian side of the tunnel. His mother arranged to have his father waiting for him at the hospital.

Anna spoke with the trauma team waiting for them at the hospital’s helipad, giving them what she knew of Luke’s condition and what she suspected. She also asked to attend his surgery as an observer. They promised to get back to her on that.

Zar took the cell phone and gave several orders in French, though she did recognize a few words. Not enough to understand the conversation, but his tone was brusque and brooked no argument.

It warmed her icy gut to hear it. Luke’s vitals were getting worse by the minute, and her suspicion of internal injuries and bleeding had become fact. Any wasted time might mean the difference between the boy surviving or dying.

Ten minutes before reaching the end of the tunnel, Luke’s respirations became labored. She listened to his chest with her stethoscope and palpated his chest. It was taut, the skin tight.

“I need a scalpel and a chest tube,” she said to the medic.

“What’s wrong?” Zar asked.

“He’s bleeding into his chest, and it’s compressing his lungs. If we don’t relieve the pressure, his lungs won’t be able to inflate.”

She turned to the medic. “I don’t suppose you have any units of O negative blood?”

“No, ma’am,” he said as he pulled out the supplies she asked for. “But the helicopter will have two units.” He glanced at Zar. “They’re only for the use by the royal family, though.”

“I will authorize their use for the boy,” Zar said immediately. “Call the helicopter and tell them to have it ready when we arrive.” His steady gaze gave her strength.

She nodded, then focused on Luke. The train’s movement vibrated everything, including her hands, but she took a deep breath and made an incision on the right side of the boy’s chest. She inserted the tube and watched as blood streamed out and onto the floor of the rail car.

A few seconds later, Luke’s breathing deepened and evened out.

“Give me another IV set,” she said to the medic. “I want to make sure the medical team can deliver blood and medication to him at the same time.”

“I’ll do it,” the medic said and went to work putting in the second IV.

The dark tunnel ended, and sunlight poured through the railcar’s windows. The train slowed down rapidly and pulled into a bare platform. A helicopter waited not far away, its rotors idling just below takeoff speed.

“Zar, can you handle the IV bags?”

Someone would need to do it, and it should make him look like he really was one of the medics.

“Got them.” He grabbed them from where they’d hung the bags off of a backrest.

Outside on the platform, a large group of uniformed people waited—law enforcement, medical, and others she didn’t recognize. As soon as the train came to a complete stop, the two medics lifted the board with Luke strapped to it. Anna stayed on the right side of it to monitor the chest tube and Luke’s vitals while Zar led the way with the IV bags in the air at about face level.

Smart man.

While they left the train, several people rushed on board, mostly medical people. Good. More were needed back at the accident site. They maneuvered Luke through the crowd on the platform. One man, however, glanced at Zar, did a double-take, and bee-lined to him.

She heard, “Your Highness,” shouted at him, then a rush of French. The guy put his hand on Zar’s arm and tried to pull him to a stop.

Nope, not happening.

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