Page 51 of His Runaway Princess

“Did they get him?” Ryker couldn’t read the expression on the man’s face. That didn’t bode well.

“No, sir. He disappeared before they could get him. We do have him on video, though. The palace has security cameras covering the entire area. We have people tracking him forward and backward trying to see where he went as well as where he came from.”

The door opened again letting the king and queen in, followed closely by Amalia’s parents.

As quickly as she could be, Amalia was in her mum’s arms with her father holding both of them.

Despite what Amalia had told him about how she felt like she always came second to her half-sister, the Crown Princess clearly loved her second daughter very much.

“Any ideas?” the head of security asked Ryker.

With a shake of his head, Ryker crossed his arms over his chest. “No. I just happened to see him standing there. If he’d been turned a bit farther the other way, I don’t know that I would have realized it was him.”

“We’re trying to find out how he made it into the country without being noticed. We distributed his photo to all entry points. He should have been caught.”

Ryker frowned. “Unless he has help. He could have been brought in by boat or smuggled in on a freight plane.”

“It’s possible,” the other man conceded. “We’re looking into it, but there’s no indication that he has connections in the palace. He must have connections somewhere, but we don’t know who it could be.”

He could feel his brows pull together as he tried to think. “Could a member of your team be working with him?”

Before the other man could answer, Ryker held up a hand. “I understand your protest, but in my country...”

“I know. Isaiah Quatremaine’s impact hasn’t been definitively weeded out.” The man sighed. “I hate the idea that someone could have passed through the vetting processes without being influenced by someone like Isaiah. It would mean our whole team is potentially compromised.”

“Call Thor Sørenson. He can advise you on how to deal with all of it.” Before Ryker could go on, their attention was drawn to the royal family.

“Thank you.” The king appeared to address both of them. “But now it’s time to get to work.”

* * *

Zoey talked about...something, but Amalia couldn’t focus on the topic at hand.

She hadn’t gotten a good look at the man on the sidewalk, but it disconcerted her just the same.

“Ma’am?”

Amalia looked at her assistant. “I’m sorry. I’m not able to concentrate very well. Give me the brief version?”

Zoey nodded. “The public is wondering who you were with at the cafe. Clearly, you are romantically involved with him, and seriously, since you’ve never been seen in public with a man before.”

“Well, that is what we wanted them to think.” She did her best to keep her mind where it needed to be. “What other speculation is out there?”

“Wondering where you met, when the engagement will be announced, and if it has anything to do with the rumored upcoming appearance of the king in front of a joint session of the Council and Parliament.” Zoey made a note on her tablet.

That made Amalia frown. “Since when has that news been public?”

“It’s not. It’s rumored. I’ve not heard where the rumors started. To the best of my knowledge, the information didn’t come from the palace.” Zoey used her digital pencil to write on the tablet. “It’s more likely that it came from Parliament.”

“I didn’t know it had been announced to them either.” Amalia stood and walked to the side table to make herself another cup of tea.

“It may not have been. Sometimes, there’s no way to know where these things come from.”

Amalia knew that as well as Zoey did. “Is there anything about what the joint session is for?”

“Not that I’ve seen.”

“That’s good.” When her phone buzzed, Amalia picked it up to see a text from Ginny asking when they could meet. “Is there anything else we need to discuss right now?” She didn’t think she could sit still or focus like she needed to.

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