An Officer and a Princess by Carla Cassidy Page A

Pam.
    The moment he let go of her hand, she felt bereft, and it was at that moment she realized the depth of her love for Lieutenant Commander Adam Sinclair.
    She loved him as she’d never loved anyone before in her life. She loved him with a depth and breadth that nearly stole her breath away. The realization struck her like a lightning bolt joltingthrough her and she stumbled. Adam grabbed her to keep her from falling on her face.
    â€œAll right?” he asked, his gorgeous gray eyes as unreadable as ever.
    She nodded, afraid if she spoke she’d blurt out her love for him. He dropped his hands and they continued on their way, Isabel’s heart like a hundred-pound stone in her chest.
    She loved him. She had loved him years ago when she’d been a raw recruit and he’d been her commanding officer. At that time she’d known that to push the issue might destroy his career.
    But, now the obstacle was no longer their careers. The real obstacle was his heart, and it was obvious that as much as she loved him, he didn’t…or wouldn’t…love her back.
    â€œYou okay?” His low voice broke into her thoughts.
    No, I’m not okay. I’m in love with you and I don’t know what to do about it. I love you and my heart is breaking into tiny pieces. “Sure, I’m fine,” she replied. “A little nervous,” she admitted.
    â€œA little nervous is good. A little nervous means you understand that what we are about to do is dangerous. A little nervous will keep you on your toes and thinking clearly.”
    â€œAre you nervous?” she asked.
    He shot her a quicksilver smile that warmed her heart. “A little.”
    Pam was already at the bus stop and when she saw them she hurried toward them. “I hope I’m doing the right thing,” she said worriedly after Isabel introduced Adam.
    â€œOf course you are,” Adam said, his tone gentle.
    â€œYou are absolutely doing the right thing, not only for Princess Isabel, but for the country.”
    His words and kind tone seemed to calm Pam, and Isabel only loved him more for knowing instinctively what the fragile woman needed at the moment.
    â€œThen I guess we’re off. It’s a bit of a walk, but nobody drives to the meetings.”
    They walked four blocks with nobody saying a word. Isabel had never been in this particular part of Edenbourg before. Most of the businesses were closed, their windows broken or boarded up. The houses were small, unkempt. Neglect and abandonment was everywhere.
    â€œYou haven’t been able to remember anything that Shane said as to where the king is being held?” Adam asked softly as they walked.
    Pam shook her head in obvious frustration. “I’ve done nothing for the past two days but rack my brain for anything that might help you. The only thing I ever heard Shane say was once I heard him on the phone telling somebody that the king bee was hidden in the honeycomb.”
    â€œThe honeycomb? What could that mean?” Isabel asked.
    Pam shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Maybe it was just an expression Shane used, and it doesn’t mean anything at all.”
    â€œYou can’t remember anything else?” Adam pressed.
    â€œSorry.” Her expression mirrored her regret.
    â€œBut, if I do, I’ll tell you. Now, no more talking. We’re nearly there.”
    They walked another half a block, then left the street and made their way through tangled underbrush on the property of an old abandoned church.
    Pam led them to the back of the church where the door hung askew, held to the rotting wood by a single, rusty hinge.
    Graffiti defaced the exterior walls of the old building and Isabel’s heart ached as she thought of her father held in a place as dismal or more dismal than this.
    If there was a meeting going on, it was a quiet one, Isabel thought. Inside the church the only audible sound was their footsteps crunching