Page 28 of His Runaway Princess

“I know, Papa.” The three of them sat down on one of the sofas. “I understand better now why it could have been quite dangerous to leave without taking a security team with me, but that other King, the one you always tell me I belong to, He was looking out for me.”

“What do you mean?” Her mother asked the question.

“The first real person I met was this man named Ryker. He sat next to me on the ferry for the last quarter of it or so and made certain this homeless man didn’t bother me. Immediately, I felt safe with him.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t explain it, but I knew - Iknew- that he was safe. And earlier today, when Yvette came to the cabin to talk to me, I found out why. He’s a protection officer for Genevieve. We haven’t really spoken since then, but it’s quite possible I’ve seen him or even met him in passing before when she’s been in Øyanord. That could be why I felt so safe with him.”

“It could be,” her mother said slowly. “I supposed that’s preferable to just trusting someone without good reason.”

“He treated you well?” Her father sounded more concerned. “He treated you with respect?”

“Yes, Papa. He was a perfect gentleman.” Her father might not agree that the kiss was something a gentleman would do, so she skipped over that part. “He made sure we had a place to go and a group to go with. He bought me luggage and clothes, because I didn’t think far enough ahead. And he always put himself between me and any perceived, potential danger - like any member of security would in an undercover scenario.”

“Did he keep receipts so we can reimburse him?” Her mother looked a bit pensive.

Amalia shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’d trust whatever number he tells us when we ask. He may have the statements to work from.” She knew he hadn’t separated their purchases, but he should be reimbursed for the things he bought for himself as well. He wouldn’t have purchased them if he hadn’t been with her.

The door opened again, this time letting in Tony, Christiana’s head of security. “Your Royal Highnesses, if you would come with me, please.” He bowed slightly as he spoke.

Amalia’s parents held her hands as they followed him, as though they were unwilling to let her go. Before long, they were seated around a conference table in the executive suite.

Christiana sat at the head of the table. “Amalia, would you please tell us exactly where you were and what happened?”

Once again, Amalia told her story, omitting only the attraction to Ryker and the kiss - and that they’d slept in the same bed the evening before.

“That all fits very nicely with Mr. Drasil’s account of the last few days.” Tony closed his notepad. “We will be looking into the person who was following you. Until we know who that was and what his intentions were, we won’t know if you were ever truly in danger or if he might have had something else in mind.”

Everyone pushed back from the table. Maybe now she’d have a chance to see Ryker, to thank him.

Instead, she was taken immediately to the garrison and climbed in an SUV. Amalia wanted to protest, to ask when she could see him, but the looks on everyone’s faces told her it would be far better to go along with what they wanted.

Kind of like when Ryker told her she needed to get on the yacht.

Before she knew what was happening, she’d boarded a plane and taken off. Conversations she’d overheard told her they flew toward Øyanord and home.

But as Amalia stared out the window at the clouds below, only one thought ran through her mind.

When could she see Ryker?

10

Asubdued Ryker made it to his office a couple of days after his return to Eyjania. He had been removed from Princess Genevieve’s detail until an investigation had been completed, though Justin saw no reason to think any issues would arise.

The princess didn’t have any trips out of the palace planned in the next few days, so he wouldn’t have been doing much anyway. He focused his attention on planning for one of her upcoming overseas ventures. This one would be to Montevaro and Mevendia, on behalf of the king. With Queen Eliana’s pregnancy progressing, the king would prefer not to be so far away at the moment.

Princess Genevieve would be taking her family with her. Her two young children would travel often with her and Prince Levi. The toddler princess was already on her way to being a world traveler, but it would be the first trip for the infant prince.

The king would likely have gone by himself for a trip like this, though he frequently took his entire family with him. His two princesses were already seasoned travelers. Ryker hadn’t heard if the third child would be a prince or princess. He wasn’t certain the king and queen knew yet either.

Most likely the baby’s gender would be a surprise to everyone.

He looked through the list of official stops she’d be making. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. They were all stops one member of the family or another had made multiple times in the last few years. The family would stay at the palace in both countries, so there wouldn’t be any security issues there.

The princess had often left without telling her team, but they eventually discovered she’d been sneaking off to see Levi Prescott, who she’d later married. They didn’t worry about that anymore.

Her former head of security, Merrick, had been promoted to Justin’s office, third in command of security for the entire family. The new head of security for the princess, Samuel Saddois, had been part of the team for several years.

On one hand, Ryker had felt a bit slighted he was barely considered for the position when Merrick left, but at the same time, he preferred his current job. Merrick’s former job came with plenty of responsibility, but Ryker wasn’t certain he was ready for all of that. There had also always been something about Saddois that never sat quite right with Ryker. He’d always chalked it up to personality conflicts, but as long as it didn’t interfere with the princess’s safety, he did his best to get along.

Jotting down notes on one of the venues that had been remodeled since the last time one of their protectees had visited, Ryker forced himself to focus and not wonder what another princess was doing with her time.

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