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The one crazy on either of theun in his shoulder holster, Alec earing his ankle holster with his backup gun—except McKinnon stepped to one side and spoke quietly to one of the guards there “Yes, sir, it is all arranged,” the guard said respectfully in Zakharan, and he opened the velvet rope to let the three of theht of the metal detector

An usher aiting on the other side and led them down the center aisle, all the way to the front He re off the aisle to the front pew and seated the to be seated after the that would leave plenty of roo, the queen, their infant son and any security guards ould be acco them

Through the open door of the cathedral came a roar froht on tiet this show on the road, he told himself with a touch of hu in that direction, his hand never far fro suit But it was only the archbishop, dressed in his ecclesiastical robes, with two bishops and a handful of acolytes co into place near the altar and the ancient ht

The organist, who’d been playing for the past fifteen minutes, came to the end of Henry Purcell’s Trunal, then nodded to the string quartet and ht into Jeremiah Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary

The stately elina had been right No assassin could stand behind the organ pipes while the ht about this—that person earing soear He’d already spotted plainclothes security guards stationed on both sides of the recessed area, so apparently she’d passed along his concern to whoever was in charge of security But he couldn’t get it out of his ht happen And wasn’t that what McKinnon orried about when he asked me to come armed?

When everyone in the cathedral stood and turned toward the rear, Alec stood, too But even as he faced the rear, his gaze eeping left and right, taking in every detail Plainclothes security guards were everywhere, earpieces in place, looking for all the world like the Secret Service protecting the president of the United States, except none of thelasses—not inside the cathedral

Then he spotted Angelina coht—and his heart leaped at the sight of her She was so beautiful as she slowly advanced, keeping pace with Zakhar’s king and his queen The queen was carrying their infant son in her ar made their stately way up the center aisle

Angelina’s eyes were constantly looking left and right, just as he’d done earlier Guarding the queen as best she could without being right beside her So tall, so straight, so intensely focused Like a Norse Valkyrie Or a guardian angel, he thought Yeah, that’swill happen on her watch

Just like me

Chapter 6

For no reason he could think of, Alec suddenly remembered the scene in the coffeehouse Re men who’d entered so innocuously but who bore hatred in their hearts and carried death in their minds and hands His sixth sense—the one he always trusted, which had never let hier here He didn’t know from where or from whom, just that it was heresomewhere

His hand was already reaching for his SIG SAUER, but then he stopped, cursing internally If he drew his gun, he could trigger an international incident, and he already had one blackdown those terrorists—even though it had been necessary One of the security guards here was bound to see his drawn gun, think he was a threat to the royal family, shoot first and ask questions later Even if he wasn’t killed, the State Depart to do And so would he

Angelina spotted Alec immediately in the front pew as the royal fah she shunted hi her job Her eyes scoured the vast rooood

As the archbishop began the sacred rite of baptis, and after a few bars, the choir burst into song She tuned everything out as she kept her focus on the royal family