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“Can ye fill me in on the event?” I asked.
Johnnie rolled his eyes. “Jared up to his usual self then? Boss isn’t hot on briefings. Thinks they’re beneath him.”
I contained my annoyance. Not all team dynamics could work as well as mine. “Isn’t Barrington the boss?”
The bodyguard held up his hand and the second much lower, as if to indicate levels. “Jared is our team lead. We don’t see much of Barrington, more’s the pity.” He gestured between him and the man up front. “We usually carry out our own prep and risk assessments, but Jared did the advance work on this one. It’s not such a big deal as it’s a low-risk event.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“The principal added the night to her calendar herself.”
Our principal was Alexandra, the woman I couldn’t forget one car ahead.
I frowned. Why would that mean her security was lesser? It was as much based on the person as the place.
Johnnie continued, “I’ll walk you through it. Don’t worry, this one is pretty basic.”
The tightness didn’t ease in my chest. I could roll with the punches but I didn’t enjoy being on the back foot, particularly in such a high-profile job as this.
Particularly under the scrutiny of a princess.
“It’s an art exhibition with drinks. The principal, codenamed Penny Allen, will spend up to two hours at the venue then return home.”
I held in my surprise. ‘Penny Allen’ was an alias the princess had used at university. Based on the initials of Princess Alexandra, the codename was used to refer to her by anyone who protected her. That she still used it years later was strange. If I knew it, dozens of others from the student body would, too.
Johnnie talked me through the venue and the risks, but all too soon, we arrived at a modern building with glass walls and a barrier holding back a small crowd.
Men with cameras lurked amongst them.
The princess had been haunted by photographers during her studies. Back then, she took measures to avoid them, and from mutual friends, I knew she hated having to do so.
I leapt from the car, falling into formation with the rest of the crew and watching Jared for orders.
Perhaps it was the air of unpreparedness I was riding, but I had a bad feeling about tonight, even if her team did this regularly. They’d kept her safe enough, though she was too often in the headlines.
Aye, that was what bothered me.
Princess Alexandra hated the press yet now seemed to court them. What caused that change of heart?
I locked down my intuition and fell in at the back of the diamond formation we assumed to get her into the building.
And the lass didn’t look round at me once.
Chapter 2
Alexandra
Circulating through the art gallery’s busy room was taking more effort than typical for a meet and greet. What I ought to do was wear a smile and ask each person who came to talk to me for their favourite painting from the exhibition.
I couldn’t bring myself to voice the words.
For the first time in years, I was nervous.
The source of my anxiety? A painting across the room that panicked me when any of the glittering attendees went near. I wished I could hear what they said.
Not that I’d had a chance. I was mid-conversation with a fifty-something man who’d talked for several minutes about what kind of art I should enjoy. The fact I’d studied art history and was vice president of the foundation that sponsored the night clearly meant nothing, but manners kept my tongue while he spoke.
To my right, broad-shouldered against the wall, my favourite bodyguard watched on. Riss was the only woman in the team, and her perfect no-nonsense attitude was exactly what I liked about her. She and I had an agreement for how to get me out ofsituations like this. One small gesture from me and she’d find a reason to interrupt and enable a quick escape.