An eerie silence consumes the room.
No one moves as all eyes are locked on the open door.
Each passing second seems to stretch on for more like minutes or even hours as we wait to hear anything that will ease our worries.
My mother is still frozen in the middle of the room while Shane squeezes my shoulder and whispers, “Everything will be alright.”
I wish I had his confidence. I’ve seen the doctor’s report and have talked extensively with them. I know the cold, hard truth. Neither of my brothers has good odds. It seems they took the bulk of the impact trying to protect Katherine and her unborn child.
However, I don’t protest. I keep my eyes fixed on the door and nod.
My stomach suddenly sinks as some monitor in the distance belts out a solid buzz.
The screams from the staff fade away as my mind screams, “NO! THIS CAN’T BE
I glance around the corner and look into the castle’s press room. The reporters are scanning through their notes, while the camera crews and photographers setup their equipment behind all the chairs.My stomach churns. This is it.My mother’s harsh words in protest over this come flooding back to me. Somewhere out there are some of Irene’s group of goons.My eyes dart to the various corners of the room where additional security staff are at, while I unconsciously run my hand over my stomach. My fingers linger along the edge of the bullet-proof vest. However, I don’t find comfort in it.Before today, I wouldn’t think anything about whether there are bullets aiming for me. I would find relief in them being aimed at me instead of my family. However, I’m the queen now. If something happens to me, my uncle will have to step forward an
I look at the solid door for a moment as my heart squeezes.Thoughts rush through my head, imagining all the various things that could have happened to Shane.Please tell me he is alright. I can’t lose him now. I just found him.I take a deep breath.I’m surrounded by complete silence, which amplifies the banging from the earlier bullets which is still ringing in my ears.I have been around gun fire before, but this time seems to be different. However, the only difference is I’m now the queen instead of the head of security.A loud bang against the door reminds me that even if the room is a safe room, if Irene’s gang really wants to get me, they can find a way through the thick steel door no matter how many locks are on it or how much security is around.I take a deep breath.My mind goes back to our plan. I must follow the plan.&nbs
As I bite the inside of my mouth, I take a deep breath. I need to stay focused. My eyes jump from one video to the next, hoping to spot my boyfriend and my uncle. However, I can’t find them anywhere. I bite down harder as my heart races. Please make sure Shane and my uncle are alright. Even though my mind is in a whirlwind and my heart is racing, I force myself to stay on task and finish what we have started. I keep my eyes on the various videos while I bark orders into the microphone. Each passing moment seems to stretch on forever. Periodically, I glance back at the video for my father’s hospital room, making sure my parents are still alright. My heart wrenches as my eyes stop on the various videos of people running and screaming. Even though I have the sound turned off on them, their screams still echo in my head. Several injured people are being helped away
I bite my lower lip as my fingers fidget with my pants. My eyes are glued up front at the judge as he turns to the jury box and the jurors. “Have you reached a verdict?” The court room falls into complete silence. A lady stands up and announces, “Yes, we have, your honor.” My breath catches. This is it. I silently pray that this is the end of this chapter of our lives. The judge nods. “On the first count of attempted murder regarding the attack on the King, what is your verdict?” I hold my breath as I lean slightly forward. “Guilty.” YES!! I turn to my side and huge my husband, Shane, as tears stream down my face. I have so many things I want to say, but I can only manage to mutter a few words. “Yes. Finally.” His strong arms wrap around me and hold me tight. His voice cracks as he replies, “Yes. We finally have justice.”
BAM!The training room door bursts open and my assistant, Becky, rushes into the room. “Prin…”As I coil my arm back, I stop in mid-air and growl, “Don’t you dare finish that word. You know that I don’t like being called that by that name.” I tear my eyes off the punching bag and slowly look over my shoulder at her, as she instantly stops in the middle of the room.I don’t know how many times that I’ve told her to not use my title. However, she always seems to forget.If this keeps up, I’m going to have to let her go.This is exactly why I never tell any of my staff my true title and never let my parents pick my assistants. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice this time.I’m still not sure of the exact reason why my last assistant left. All I know is that I left for a business trip and when I get back, my fath
I glance up from my laptop and across my desk at Max, who is standing and watching my every move. “Is this all of it? I’m seeing hints of stuff but I’m not seeing anything that I could put my finger on and say that this is the smoking gun. I can’t up security for the royal family based on this.”Max sighs and runs his hand through his hair as he slightly shifts back and forth. “Yeah. That is all that we could come up with. The initial source seems sure about it, but we can’t pull up any more information than that.”I lift my head and raise an eyebrow. “Source? You didn’t investigate this because of some increased talk on the web or our other normal channels.”Max sighs again and leans forward putting his hands on the edge of my desk while frustration and worry swirl in his eyes. “No. This time the intel was an anonymous tip which we
I march toward Max’s office.BAM!I slam the door open and glare daggers at Max as he sits behind his desk. He raises his eyebrows and goes to open his mouth, but I cut him off. “I thought the intel was good!! I just got a call from our guys that someone just tried to assault the king at one of his stops today! How is that even possible?”Steam rolls off me as I march into Max’s office and slam the door shut.BAM!The sound echoes through his office and the walls vibrate. I usually frown on behavior like this, but I don’t care right now. The only thing that keeps running through my mind is that someone just attacked my family.I don’t know how it is even possible. I made the final changes last night and handed them out this morning. There is no way that my new directions could have been leaked. My staff is trustworthy. Well, I’m hoping
It has been a such a long day. I nearly broke down when I saw my father on the hospital bed inside the royal family’s private hospital. Only a select few know about the hospital and are able to get in.I bite my lip to keep my mind from focusing on my father and all the machines around him. Yes, my father is stable, but that doesn’t mean that he looks good. He does have a gunshot wound to his stomach and the doctor has been able to stop all the bleeding, but he isn’t out of trouble yet.As soon as my eyes meet Princess Katherine’s glare, I know that I can’t break down. I have to keep my professional face on and look like another employee.However, I have to bite my tongue and hold myself back from giving her a good tongue lashing. The longer that she is with the royal family, the more she forgets that we are all people too. The arrogance and mightier than thou attitude is t