Page 48 of Trapped with the Undercover Prince

John, a security guard pretending to be a footman, opened it for him. “Your Highness.”

“Thank you.” He kept walking through the back hallway and up the servants’ stairs to the second floor and the royal family’s personal suites. John kept pace. “Any news on where the bomb came from?”

“Which one, Your Highness?” John’s voice was calm and even. The tone a man used when he was furious and trying to hide it.

“Either. Both.”

“No, sir. Jean Paul is back, but sleeping, and Marc is still at the hospital.” He paused, his voice softening. “The loss of Charles and David is...hard, sir.”

That explained the fury, something Zar could appreciate. He was so damned angry he could kill whoever was responsible for all the deaths with his bare hands.

First, he had to find them.

“Have their families been notified?” He would find out who was responsible for their deaths no matter how long it took.

“Yes, sir. The queen took care of it personally.”

“Thank you.”

John followed him all the way into Zar’s room and watched as Zar laid Anna down on the bed. He signaled the other man to follow him out into the sitting area and closed the bedroom door.

“What is it?”

“You’ve never brought someone to your room before.”

“She’s different.”

John’s eyebrows rose. “Your mother wishes to see you before you do anything else.”

“I expected that. Anything else?”

John glanced at the bedroom door. “Are you sure this is wise?” The man looked oddly concerned.

Zar rubbed the back of his neck. “She’s... I’ve never met someone so...”

“Kind?”

“You heard that, did you?”

“Yes, sir. She’s...an American, and she’s not staying.” He said it like it was a bomb about to go off.

“You think I don’t know that?” Zar shook his head and stared at the floor for a moment. Like he had any say in what she would or wouldn’t do.

He grinned sheepishly at his friend. “She doesn’t give a fig that I’m a prince.”

“Are you sure?” Disbelief colored John’s voice.

“She doesn’t hide her emotions or thoughts. There isn’t an ounce of deviousness in her.” At John’s raised eyebrows, Zar added, “You’ll understand when you meet her.”

He took a few steps toward the exit, then stopped and turned back. “Will you stay here in case she wakes up and gets confused?”

“Of course, sir.” John’s tone made it clear he would have stayed whether Zar asked him to or not.

Zar left and headed to the queen’s quarters. He knocked on the door and was immediately invited in by his oldest sister.

All of his sisters were waiting with his mother. All of them had the same unhappy expression on their faces.

Was this what it was like to stand in front of a firing squad?

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