by Jenny Frame
Roza felt tears come to her eyes. That was the fear she had. Thea was inside her, and she didn’t know if she could ever move on, as the ring on her finger was testament to.
The message continued. “I want you to get your father and his allies to call their dogs off me. I’m more powerful than you could ever imagine, and I will not allow my empire to fall. Remember what happened to your Cousin Theo? That will be nothing compared to what I am capable of. You know that’s the truth, don’t you?”
Roza could only agree as she remembered all the times she’d felt frightened by Thea. She was capable of anything.
“Think about what I’ve said. Goodbye, my special girl.”
The audio finished and Thea’s man pushed his arm further into her throat. “You better listen to Thea, Princess Rozala, or you and your family will be very sorry.”
In an instant he was pulled off her and punched to the ground. Lex. She had come out of the gym still dressed in shorts and T-shirt and was tackling Thea’s man. Before Roza had a chance to think, Ravn and Johann rounded the corner, guns drawn and pointed at both Lex and her attacker.
“Stop and put your hands where I can see them. If you make a move, you will be shot without hesitation. Johann, cover the princess.”
Lex lifted her hands in surrender and moved off the attacker underneath, and Ravn indicated to her with her gun to move to the side, and addressed the man holding up his hands as he remained face down.
“Move onto your knees and put your hands behind your head,” Ravn ordered.
Roza gazed down at her saviour on the ground with new eyes, while Ravn and her security team patted down her attacker.
Lex had been so brave, and fearless. She could have just called the police, but no, she saved her. She could have gotten killed, and it would have been my fault. She closed her eyes and imagined Lex lying on the ground with a bullet wound, or it could have been Ravn, who had a wife and children waiting at home.
What had been an exciting adventure had turned into a nightmare and it could have been worse. This had to stop—she was selfish and unthinking.
Ravn had told Lex she could stand, and Roza threw herself into her arms, crying hard. “I’m sorry, Lex. This was all my fault. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Lex’s arms engulfed her and held her tight. “Shh, shh…it’s okay. Everything is fine.” Lex pulled back and took her head in her hands. “Calm down. It’s okay. I’m here.”
She nodded and buried her face in Lex’s neck. This was safe, Lex was safe, comforting, and she didn’t want to let go.
The sounds of sirens arrived and Ravn left the attacker in her team’s capable hands. Ravn knelt down beside her. “Are you injured, Your Royal Highness?”
“No, I’m okay, I’m okay.”
Ravn held her hand out to Lex and they shook. “Thank you for taking care of Princess Rozala for us. That was dangerous, to tackle an armed man like that, but I’m forever in your debt.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Lex said.
“I’ll go and talk to the police and get the road blocked off before I get Princess Rozala back to St James’s Palace. There could be others in the vicinity.” Ravn left Lex and Roza alone together.
Lex must have become aware of how intimately she was holding Roza and gently eased her grip, allowing her to move if she wanted, but Roza didn’t release her grip on Lex’s neck. Lex continued holding her tightly.
As the man was dragged away to a waiting police car, he shouted, “Remember what she said, Princess. Don’t be stupid.”
“What happened?” Lex asked.
Roza struggled to talk through the tears that suddenly came without warning. “He pulled me into this alley to give me a warning from my ex.”
“Your ex? The arms dealer set this up?”
Before they got a chance to talk any more, Ravn came back for Roza, and Lex finally released her. As Roza was escorted into a state car, she looked back at Lex, longing to still be in the comfort of her arms.
Roza got into the car and it pulled off, escorted by police sirens. Ravn was angry, she knew, despite the fact she was trying to hide it, and unlike in the past when she had slipped away from security, she felt terribly guilty.
She’d jeopardized lives all because she wanted to be nosy and see Lex in her private time.
“Ravn?” Roza said in a small voice.
Ravn glanced at her quickly and replied, “Yes?”
“I’m sorry for what I did today. I was childish, and innocent people could have gotten killed. It won’t happen again.”
Ravn looked surprised at her apology. “I can’t protect you if I don’t know where you are.”
“I know, and you probably won’t believe me straight away, but I promise it won’t happen again,” Roza said sincerely.
Ravn sighed and nodded her head. “I’ll take your word on that, and I’ll also give you a promise, Your Royal Highness. If you desperately want to go somewhere, talk to me about it, and I will do everything in my power to make it happen.”
“I promise, I will.”
They pulled into St James’s Palace and found a worried looking Perri at the front entrance. When she got out, Perri pulled her into a hug. She was so not used to this kind of open affection, but no matter how annoyed she was to have a new lady-in-waiting thrust upon her, she enjoyed the offered comfort, and there was something soothing about being comforted by her mama’s best friend. The one who knew her the best.
“Your Royal Highness, are you all right? Are you injured?” Perri asked.
“I’m unharmed.”
Perri stared into her eyes and checked all over her body for injuries.
“Really, I’m okay.”
Perri kissed her on the cheek and said, “I was so worried. Your brother is waiting by the phone to hear from you, and there are some people from MI5 waiting to speak to you in the drawing room.”
Roza’s heart sank. I’ve caused so much trouble again. How could she expect people to believe she was truly sorry about the arms scandal if she kept getting into trouble. She wanted to go and call her brother to explain, but she looked to Ravn for guidance.
“Go and speak to the prince, Your Royal Highness. MI5 will want to debrief me in any case.”
Would Ravn as commanding officer take the blame for this? Another thing to feel guilty about.
*
George had been circulating around the room for an hour and desperately wanted to talk to her wife. They were on a three-day trip to Washington, DC, and were this afternoon hosting a reception at the British embassy.
Finally, after making small talk for too long, she spotted Bea was finally free. She walked over to her quickly before anyone else nabbed her, which was highly likely as anyone who met the Queen Consort seemed to instantly fall in love with her.
George walked up behind her and said, “You look beautiful, and all the men and some of the women are jealous I get you to myself later.”
Bea turned, smiled seductively, and discreetly ran her fingers down the front of George’s shirt, and gently pulled at her belt buckle. “There’s no one else in this world I would want or would let touch me, so the duty falls to you, Your Majesty.”
George leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “You are such a tease, but I’m willing to do my duty as always, Mrs. Buckingham.”
Bea giggled and was about to say something else when Cammy came up to them, bowed, and cleared her throat.
“Excuse me, Your Majesties. The prime minister and Prince Augustus have both called to talk to you.”
The flirtatious, happy atmosphere dropped away like a stone. “What’s happened? Is it Roza?”
“I think you better talk to them yourself, ma’am.”
George nodded and was about to tell Bea to wait here before Bea said, “Don’t even think about leaving me behind. This is Roza we’re talking about.”
They both slipped away quietly to use the ambassador’s office. Bastian and Lali were waiting for them.
>
George sat at the desk and Bea stood beside her, with a supportive hand on her shoulder. “Okay, tell me what’s going on before I talk to the PM. I don’t want to be taken by surprise.”
Bastian stepped forward, and said to the computer, “Display Princess Rozala incident report.” A series of images and video appeared from the CCTV cameras around the incident, and Bastian commentated.
“At twelve thirty today, Princess Rozala slipped away from her agents and made it to a gym around the corner from Timmy’s. For reasons unknown as yet, she ran out of there and straight into the arms of one of Thea Brandt’s thugs. He assaulted her and gave her a message from Ms. Brandt.”
Bea gasped and clasped her hand to her mouth. “Oh God, poor Roza. Was she injured?”
“No, ma’am. I believe she just got a scare.”
George watched as someone came running down the alley to engage with the attacker. “Who is that?”
“That is Lennox King. She pulled him from Roza and tackled him until the princess’s agents arrived.”
George looked up to her wife. “Lennox King from Timmy’s?”
Bea nodded and George said, “Thank God she was there. This thug could have hurt her. Trouble just seems to follow that girl around.”
Bastian interrupted, “I believe the PM wants to give you a full report.”
“And no doubt to try and persuade me to send her away.” George patted Bea’s hand to ask her to step away from the screen.
“Don’t send her away, Georgie. She’s made great strides these last couple of weeks. She’s turning up on time and actually working well, Lex tells me.”
“I agree, it’s good to give her days some discipline, but the PM will have some problems with that I assume.”
“The prime minister is on hold, ma’am,” Bastian said.
Everyone left the room, except for Bea who went to sit on the leather couch in the middle of the office.
Bo Dixon’s image filled George’s screen. “Prime Minister.”
“Good evening, Your Majesty. I’m sorry to disturb your event.”
“Not at all. My private secretary has shown me the special report you sent. Can you confirm Princess Rozala is safe and unharmed?”
“Yes, ma’am. She is just shaken by the whole incident. MI5 have spoken to her and her security chief at great length. The attack was meant to scare her father, brother, and government into scaling down the search for Thea Brandt and her associates.”
George snorted. “King Christian and his prime minister will never allow themselves to be intimidated. I will assure them our security—”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, ma’am, but I think it would be wise for the princess to go home to Denbourg.”
This was exactly what George was afraid of. If it had been three weeks ago, Roza would have jumped at the chance to go home, but now she was not so sure. Bea seemed to think she was enjoying the change of pace and feeling useful for once.
“You want me to send my cousin away?”
Bo appeared to be annoyed and frustrated speaking to someone she couldn’t just give an order to—that was how things usually worked for her. That was the strange thing about the sovereign’s relationship with her prime minister. Bo had authority over the government and ultimately the last word, but she wasn’t able to simply order George outright.
“Yes, I think it’s for the best, before Britain gets any more tainted by this arms scandal.”
“Prime Minister, whether Ms. Brandt used Princess Rozala’s name to attract contracts or not, the crime syndicate had many countries fooled. Let me speak to her and her security and we can talk again. I will not send away my family if they need me.”
“Even if it damages your own country, ma’am? Your first loyalty is to Britain,” Bo said.
George was furious at that last statement, but tried to keep her emotions under control. “I doubt there would be anyone who would doubt my loyalty to my country, Prime Minister.”
Bo immediately tried to backtrack. “Oh, of course not, ma’am, and I would never try to suggest it. I will be back in touch with you when we have more information. Again, my apologies for the intrusion, and my best regards to the Queen Consort.”
As soon as the call was ended, George exclaimed, “Bloody woman.”
Bea was over to her in a second, and wrapped her arms around her and placed her chin on George’s shoulder. “Ignore her, Georgie.”
“She tried to question my loyalty to my country.” George was so angry, but her fury started to dissipate with Bea’s soft kisses to her cheek and jaw.
“Shh…don’t let her get to you.”
George let out a breath, as her anger started to calm. Bea always brought balance to her life. “Thank you, my darling. I don’t know what I’d do without you by my side.”
“It’s where I was meant to be. Now call Cousin Augustus and then we can take it from there. I love you.”
George lifted Bea’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “I will. I love you.”
*
Roza sat on her bed with her head in her hands. I can’t believe I’ve caused this much trouble. She had just come off the telephone with her brother, and George, after spending the afternoon being politely interrogated by MI5.
She was glad to give as much information as possible to try and protect her father and her brother, but it was draining, and now all she could think of was how safe and protected she felt in Lex’s arms. That safety was one she hadn’t felt before and she longed to experience it again, not that there was much hope of that. Lex never appeared interested when she tried to get her attention and flirt, except maybe last time when she was angry. Maybe she just wasn’t Lex’s type?
The thought made her even more depressed. Her phone beeped.
“Computer, play voice message.”
“Hey, Roza, it’s Cressie. I know you’re having a hard time in London. How about I fly over for the weekend and we make some headlines together?”
The thought of making sensational headlines used to be fun—she’d thrived on it. It meant she got all the attention she wanted, although not always good. In the past month she had come to realize how her behaviour affected other people, especially today. Now, in this moment, she couldn’t think of anything worse than having her life spread across the weekend news websites.
How she would face Lex on Monday, she didn’t know. To explain why she followed her to the gym would be difficult and awkward to put into words.
Maybe she should have taken the opportunity to leave Timmy’s when George had offered it. The truth was in the last three weeks she had come to enjoy going to Timmy’s, working, laughing, and joking with Conrad, and spending time with Lex.
Roza threw herself back onto the bed and covered her face with her pillow. This weekend was going to be long and uneventful. George and Bea were overseas, and Theo had left this morning for a week-long visit to South Africa. Cousin Max was with his regiment and Vicki and Grace were busy with preparations for the Windsor Horse Show. Everyone was useful, but her.
Again she heard her phone beep. “Oh, Cressie, I don’t want to go out, okay?”
She waited a few seconds and sighed. “Computer, play message.”
“Roza, it’s Lex. I know you probably have a lot going on, but if you could just take a few seconds to tell me you’re okay, I’d appreciate it. Conrad is worried about you…well, me too.”
Roza felt a rush of excitement flood her body, while the butterflies took flight yet again and flapped a million tiny wings in her stomach.
“Lex! Computer, play message again.”
The computer did as instructed and Roza felt even more excitement. She jumped up off the bed and began to pace backwards and forwards. “I could call her, but then I’d have to explain this afternoon…and that’s hard.”
Argh! Should I call? Maybe…no, yes.
“Computer, call Lennox King.”
As soon as she made the call, she realized Lex would see her with red puffy eyes,
no make-up, and wearing her oversized woolly jumper. She quickly ran her hands through her long hair, but there was no point—she knew she looked a mess.
Roza was just about to cancel the call when she heard Lex’s voice.
“Hello? Roza? Is that you?”
Uh-oh. She hadn’t activated video call and the last thing she wanted was Lex to see her like this, but she wanted to see Lex’s face more. And now, Lex’s face was gazing back at her.
“Hi, I just called because of your text.” Roza watched Lex look over every part of her face silently.
“Are you okay, Roza? You look—”
“A complete mess.” Roza finished for her.
Lex shook her head. “No, that wasn’t what I was going to say. You look hurt, and alone.”
She was. Despite Perri being in the apartment, she felt so alone, but she just replied, “It’s been a difficult day.”
“Did that thug hurt you?” Roza could hear anger in Lex’s voice.
Roza ran her hand through her hair. “Just a few bruises from being hit against the wall, but my doctor got rid of them.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Conrad has been beside himself with worry.” They shared a smile as Lex said that. It conveyed more than either of them wanted to admit or contemplate for the moment.
“Well you can tell Conrad the princess is fine, thanks to a valiant knight coming to her rescue.”
“I wouldn’t call myself valiant, but I wish I’d gotten there sooner. Why did that man want to harm you?” Lex said.
This was the hard part. The part where she had to explain why she was there in the first place, why she could have gotten herself and everyone injured or killed. Roza let her long hair drape over her face in a bid to hide her embarrassment and awkwardness.
“I need to explain about today, and…it’s hard.”
Out of the blue Lex asked, “Do you want to meet for coffee or something tomorrow? I know a nice little place. We could talk then.”