Page 82 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

“Set it up.”

Twenty minutes later, the police and coroner were there, collecting statements and Anton’s body, and the scaffolding was finally high enough for Anna to climb up it and reach the beams. She got on one and felt around one of the joins where the beams met.

Below, everyone watched her, Guard, police, coroner, and even Jean Paul, who’d showed up, looking grim.

She pulled back to look at something in her hand. Then she held it out where everyone could see it. Despite being twenty feet off the floor, there was no problem seeing the large blue diamond in the center of the ring.

“Mon Dieu,” Zar said. He wasn’t the only one. “Put it in your pocket and come down from there before I have a heart attack.”

Anna didn’t reply, but she followed his instructions and began climbing down.

“Zar,” Jean Paul said in a low voice. “If you don’t marry her, you’re an idiot.”

He leaned closer to Jean Paul but didn’t take his eyes off Anna. “She turned me down.”

Jean Paul sucked in a breath. “What? Why?”

“That is something I cannot discuss here.”

Anna reached the ground, and Zar went to her, pulling her into his embrace. “I can’t believe you just did that,” he whispered into her ear.

“Are you trying to tell me that a career as a trapeze artist isn’t in my future?”

“Among other things.” He stepped back and took her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

She nodded, and he noted that she very carefully didn’t look over to where Anton had committed suicide. The body was gone, but the blood wasn’t.

Zar nodded at his Guard, and four of them, two leading and two bringing up the rear, escorted them out of the cabin and into a waiting SUV.

Anna sat stiff and stoic next to him, and he might have thought her dealing well with what just happened if she wasn’t squeezing his hand so hard his fingers were turning blue.

They were halfway to the castle when she turned to look at him. “I didn’t give you the ring.”

“Keep it for now, please.”

“Zar,” she said, her voice dull. “He didn’t... Anton and his brother couldn’t have acted alone.”

“No, they didn’t.” He pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her as they approached the castle’s back door. “We’re going through his phone, and Jean Paul will take his life apart to find out who radicalized and used him as a weapon.”

The vehicle came to a stop, and they got out and into the castle with more than the usual haste.

Inside, they were met by Brigette.

“Are you all right?” she asked, scanning both of them for injuries.

“Yes,” Zar said at the same time Anna said, “No.”

Brigette frowned. “Which is it?”

There was more than one way to wound someone.

“The terrorist committed suicide,” Zar told her.

“I know.”

“Anna was only a few feet away.”

Brigette sucked in a breath and made a mournful sound deep in her throat. “Shit.”

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