Page 11 of Royal Guard

I nodded respectfully at them both. Jakov grinned at me but Emerik just glowered.

“And I’m Caroline,” said the blonde-haired woman, running forward, a huge smile on her face. “ThePrincess’s maid.”

The Princess was still blushing every time she looked at me. “Please, come with us. I need to call home and Aleksander will want to meet you.”

I nodded and fell in beside her as she walked—in the floor-length dress, she seemed to glide. “Aleksander?” Too many names, most of them with that strange, Lakovian sound.

“The chief advisor to the royal family. He handles communications with the media and other nations...we couldn’t operate without him.” She showed me into a side room. A laptop was open on a desk and she started a video call.

Almost immediately, a white-haired man in an expensive suit answered. He was sitting at an old-fashioned desk and behind him was a tall, very narrow window, almost like something you’d get on a castle. Then it hit me that he was probably in the palace.It really looks like that?Through the glass, I could see a deep valley lined with trees. Lakovia was beautiful.

“Thank goodness,” said Aleksander with a deep sigh. “The FBI have been sharing all their data with us in real time. We knew you survived but it’s so good to see your face!” He smiled and the Princess beamed. It reminded me of a kindly uncle and his niece. “The FBI say they can get you on a flight in a few hours. Your parents are flying home from Paris: they’ll be back before you arrive.”

The Princess nodded. Then she grabbed my hand and tugged me into shot. “This is Garrett Buchanan. He’s the one who saved me.”

I shuffled my feet and gave Aleksander what I hoped was a respectful nod. It occurred to me that maybe I should have gotten changed as well. I was stillwearing the shirt with the torn-off sleeves.

But Aleksander leaned towards the camera, warm and welcoming. “The whole of Lakovia owes you a great debt,” he said with feeling. I gave him another nod.

“Aleksander….” The Princess’s voice had changed. “There’s something I need to tell you. I haven’t told the FBI yet. I haven’t told anyone.” She threw a quick, guilty look at me. “But you need to know. The men who tried to kill me...I heard one of them speak. And I’m sure his accent was Garmanian.”

There was a sudden intake of breath from everyone in the room. Caroline turned pale. Emerik looked as though he wanted to punch something. And then, weirdly, he glared at the young guard, Jakov, who was staring at the floor. What wasthatall about?

Aleksander nodded gravely while he thought. “You were right not to tell anyone,” he said. “If it gets out that someone from Garmania tried to kill you….”

“...it could restart the war,” whispered the Princess.

I felt my hands tighten into fists. I’d seen way too much of this when I was a marine. Even when there’s peace, grudges carry on for decades, through generation after generation. There’s always some nutjob who says things likenever forgetand wants vengeance for their grandfather. With a few acts of terror, the whole thing can erupt again, like blowing on the embers of a fire. And the war between Lakovia and Garmania ended less than five years ago….

“I’ll have our intelligence services investigate,” said Aleksander. “And I’ll ensure any mention of Garmania stays out of the press.”

“I’m sure they were just a couple of extremists,” said the Princess. “Nothing to do with Garmaniaitself.” We could all hear the emotion in her voice. Sheneededthat to be the case. I wondered again if she’d lost someone in the war.

“You’re probably right, Your Highness,” said Aleksander. “But we have to be certain.”

The Princess nodded and ended the call. At the same time, Director Gibson knocked on the door and then tentatively opened it. “Your Highness?” he asked. “We’ve organized a convoy to take you to the airport.”

The Princess nodded and her entourage filed out. She turned and looked up at me. “Will you be coming with us?”

By now, we were alone. I opened my mouth. Hesitated, theyesalready on my tongue. I’d do anything just to spend another few minutes with this woman.

But that was crazy.Maybeshe’d wanted me to kiss her but she was royalty, for God’s sake. For a few hours, our paths had crossed. Now it was time for both of us to get back to reality. She had the FBI to protect her, now. She didn’t need a dumb grunt. Hell, I wasn’t even a soldier anymore. I’d been damn lucky to make it through that morning without a flashback: if I’d frozen up at any point, she’d have been dead.

And the longer I spent with her, the more chance she’d ask questions. She was too damn easy to talk to. And I couldn’t relive what happened or let her see what a wreck I was inside. Not when she was so perfect.

“No,” I said at last. I gazed down at her, trying to drink in as much of her as possible so I could remember her forever. “You’re in good hands, now.”

She tilted her head to one side for a second and her eyes were hurt.What did I do wrong?The urge toreach down and lay my big paw on her cheek and tell hernothingand pull her in and kiss those sweet lips was almost more than I could take—

But then she gave a quick little nod. “Well, then I suppose this is goodbye.” She drew in her breath. “Thank you, Mr. Buchanan. I won’t forget you.”

I’d never heard my name said that way, with respect. And the sound of that upper-class accent sliding over all the hard consonants, like smooth glass coating the pebbles in a creek...it was addictive. But I just nodded.

She held out her hand towards me and I went to shake it. But she was holding it palm down, not palm sideways. A hazy memory from old movies filled my mind….

I took a half step back and bent at the waist in what I hoped was a bow. I brought one big hand up under hers: God, her fingers were so slender and cool, next to mine. And then I pressed my lips to the back of her hand. Her skin was soft and sosmooth...For a second I stayed there, my hand pressing into hers, my lips hot against her, my heart racing. I couldn’t let go.

I was goddamn crazy for this woman.

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