McKinnon's Royal Mission. Amelia Autin

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      “Not so far. Let’s hope it stays that way,” Trace replied. “You’ll know the minute I know anything.” He glanced toward the sunroom’s closed door, reassuring himself they still had privacy. “The princess has her own Zakharian security team to guard her here on the estate, as I’m sure you’ve already noted. State cleared them for concealed carry, so I’m not worried too much about an assault on this house. But she doesn’t step outside the door without one of us in attendance. Is that clear?”

      “Crystal clear,” Liam said, answering for both of them. “But does she know?”

      “She should, but if she doesn’t, she soon will,” Trace said. “And her limo driver knows he doesn’t drive her anywhere unless one of us is in the limo with her. This isn’t coming from the State Department—this is coming from her brother, Zakhar’s King Andre Alexei the Fourth. I don’t know how much you know about Zakhar, but—”

      Alec smiled and cut him off. “We’ve been briefed. We’ve learned enough to know that Zakhar isn’t a constitutional monarchy, the way Great Britain is. The king is Zakhar, and vice versa, so a command from him carries considerable weight.”

      “Exactly.” Trace was glad he wasn’t going to have to paint them a picture. “I know neither of you speaks Zakharan, but—”

      “Lubyentok marsai cherentziune todai,” Liam said.

      “I’ll be damned.” Trace stared at him.

      Alec tossed in, “Makopescht lycobeschy petzeque.” He grinned. “We had a three week crash course. Can’t say we really know the language, but we’ve got the basics down pat. Enough to get by.”

      Trace’s admiration for the DSS shot up dramatically, not to mention his admiration for the Jones brothers. “You’ve even got the accent and inflection nailed,” he said.

      He asked each of them several questions in Zakharan, and their answers proved they understood what he was saying. Their responses were more simplistic than his questions, but he’d expected that. Mastering an unknown language starts with understanding what you’re hearing. Speaking the language takes longer and fluency even longer than that. And thinking in the new language, which was the talent he had, is something few people ever really achieve when the language is learned as an adult.

      Still, understanding what they heard would be a definite plus when it came to the second part of their assignment—noting anything important the princess or her entourage might say in Zakharan and reporting it to the State Department. He figured they’d already received instructions on this from the DSS, but he went ahead and outlined things anyway.

      “I’m not expecting a blow-by-blow translation of everything anyone says in Zakharan. But anything meaningful needs to be reported. And I want to see the reports before they go in. Understood?”

      “Yes, sir.” Liam and Alec answered in unison.

      “Oh, crap,” Trace said. “We’re not in the Marine Corps anymore and I’m not your commanding officer. I’m not even a DSS special agent. I’m the head of this team, that’s all. So cut out the ‘sir,’ okay?”

      “Yes, sir.” Liam and Alec both grinned unrepentantly at him.

      Trace’s eyes narrowed and he uttered an earthy curse. In Zakharan. Alec glanced at Liam, who shook his head. “Me, neither,” Alec said.

      Trace gave them a superior look, then relented and grinned. “You won’t hear it used in diplomatic circles. Ask me when this is all over, and I’ll tell you what it means,” he said. “But whatever you do, don’t repeat it in front of the princess. She’d probably faint from the shock to her delicate ears.”

      “Speaking of the princess,” Liam said, “how did you want to work the schedule?”

      “I’ve got her teaching schedule here, along with a few other things,” Trace said, reaching into his inner jacket pocket, and handing copies to each man. “Classes don’t begin until the end of August, but she’ll be starting work at the university on Monday. The limousine will take her to the campus every weekday, Monday through Friday, leaving at seven sharp, and will pick her up on campus at five, returning her here.”

      He grimaced. “Weekends are going to be a nightmare unless I can nail her down to a set schedule. The same goes for weekday evenings if she wants to go out. Word from Zakhar through diplomatic channels is that she doesn’t intend to act in any way that will draw attention to herself. Apparently the princess is sincere in wanting to do nothing more than teach. But time will tell.”

      He looked at the Jones brothers. “I thought it would be best for us to take it in rotation—two days on and four off, then on again. That means three long working days out of every seven for the three of us. But it gives us full coverage of the princess when she’s out of the house, and we all get plenty of time off. How does that sound?”

      Liam glanced at Alec, who nodded. “Works for us,” Liam said.

      “I’ll take the first rotation, starting tomorrow,” Trace said. “Decide between the two of you who’ll take the second rotation—just let me know what you decide, and I’ll post a schedule. If something comes up and you need to switch off, I’m okay with it as long as I know in advance. There might be occasions when I’ll have to switch off with one of you myself—I could be called to testify in a couple of trials that are still pending on an old case, but I’ll know well in advance and we’ll work something out.”

      He looked at Liam and Alec and saw no objections, so he continued. “You both have rooms here on the estate, as do I. I’ve already been over the entire house, as well as the estate’s outbuildings and the grounds, and I’ll show you around in a minute. You can stay here every night, or make your own arrangements for the days you’re off duty—it’s up to you. Again, this has all been prearranged with the king, so I don’t expect any opposition from the princess. And in order to carry out State’s request we’re going to need to be around her as much as possible, even in the house.”

      “Understood,” Alec said promptly. “What kind of security does the estate have?”

      “Active and passive. Some of the systems were already here, some were just installed two weeks ago. I’ve got a list of the specs, and when I brief the princess and her staff later on, I’ll give both of you copies. This really shouldn’t be anything new for them—I’m told the palace in Drago has a similar setup. But there might be some little quirks, and I don’t want anyone to set off an alarm accidentally. Just in case someone does, you’ll both have all the keys and codes necessary. Anything else you need to know?”

      “That’ll do it for now, I think,” Liam said with a quick look at his brother.

      “Oh,” Trace said. “One more thing. I plan to spend much of my time here, even when I’m not on duty. I live in Denver, but I’m subletting my condo for the duration, so I’ll be around a lot. I’ve also got a cabin outside Keystone, so if I’m not here or visiting your sister and my goddaughter, that’s most likely where I’ll be. I’ll give you the address later.” He fixed them both with a sharp look. “You’ve already got my cell phone number. If anything happens, the second thing you do is contact me.”

      “And the first?” Alec asked.

      “Protect the princess.”

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