Brandishing a Crown. Rita Herron

Had they received threats?

      “Call me Jane,” she said. “And don’t worry, Prince. I dislike the media myself and will protect the investigation. They won’t learn anything from me.”

      He studied her for a long moment as if debating whether or not to believe her, but finally gave a clipped nod.

      More disturbed by his presence than she wanted to admit, Jane pulled away. “Now, I need to examine the vehicle. We might find clues as to the identity of the killer from the type of bomb and material used.”

      “And the detonation device,” Prince Stefan said.

      Jane raised a brow. “You know about detonation devices?”

      A small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “My military expertise was with explosives. But I’d rather you not make that public, either.”

      Jane bit back a sardonic smile. Dammit, he wasn’t only sexy as hell, he was intelligent. She felt as if he’d lit some kind of fire in her belly. “I’m sure you wouldn’t.”

      She spotted Ralph eyeing her and strode to the limo. Hopefully, she’d be able to assure the prince that this bomb had nothing to do with the royals, then he could leave, and she wouldn’t have to deal with him again.

      He was far too dangerous and tempting for a girl like her. Drooling over him would do nothing but lead to heartache, rejection, and put her in front of the media.

      One place she never intended to be again.

      STEFAN TENSED as Jane pulled away from him and rushed over to the limo to examine it. Something had passed between them when he’d touched her. A charged heat that had surprised him.

      One Jane obviously didn’t feel. In fact, she seemed unfazed by him and unimpressed with his position.

      He started toward the vehicle, but Sheriff Wolf stepped between him and Jane. “I’m sorry, Prince, but this is a crime scene. You’ll have to stay back.”

      Edilio lifted a hand. “Sheriff, the prince is well educated in explosive devices. He can assist your people.”

      Sheriff Wolf scowled. “We can handle it on our own. Ms. Cameron is one of our best.”

      Jane pivoted from where she was examining the car, then crossed the distance to them. “The passenger seat in the front looks clean, but the backseat has blood on it.

      Her expression turned grave. “I’m sorry, but it does appear that there was a second person in the car when it exploded.”

      Chapter Three

      Stefan’s chest constricted. Had Amir survived and escaped, or had he been blown to bits in the explosion?

      Sheriff Wolf followed Jane back to the limo, and Stefan tailed him, hoping Jane was wrong. But Jane pointed to the seat and floor where she had sprayed Luminal, and Stefan saw the blood. Not just a few drops either. Enough to indicate someone could have been seriously hurt.

      Sheriff Wolf spoke into his radio. “The blood suggests that a passenger was injured in the explosion. I want the search teams to cover a three-mile radius of the area.”

      Jane waited until he finished issuing his orders, then waved her lab assistant over. “Tomas, we need to find the blast point, then let’s move out one foot at a time and collect everything we can find. Gum wrappers, pieces of metal, cigarette butts, glass—anything could have traces of the residue on it. Photograph and catalog it, then we’ll take it to the lab for analysis.”

      The younger man nodded, hoisted his camera and went to work.

      A balding man with a drooping left eye and a cheap suit approached Jane, then gestured toward Stefan. “What’s he doing here?”

      Stefan tensed at his surly tone, but Jane simply gave him a level look. “The dignitaries traveled in a similar limo earlier. Security team is just covering their bases.”

      Stefan hated compromising Jane by forcing her to lie, but security measures required it. He stepped forward and extended his hand. “Prince Stefan of Kyros. And you are, Sir?”

      “Ralph Osgood, CSI and Jane’s superior.”

      Stefan disliked the man immediately. Most likely he used his rank to bully Jane and anyone else around him.

      Osgood stuck a toothpick in the side of his mouth and chewed on it. “Prince Lutece, you need to stay behind the crime scene tape. You could be compromising evidence.”

      Edilio stepped up to defend him, but Stefan shook his head, warning him to let him speak for himself. “As you suggest,” Stefan said with more politeness than he felt.

      Gritting his teeth, he stepped back behind the crime scene tape. But what he really wanted was to examine the bomb himself.

      He’d have to consult with Jane at the lab after she analyzed their findings.

      Perhaps if he used his charm, she’d allow him to look at the evidence.

      JANE FELT the tension radiating from the prince in his forced politeness to Ralph, but the smile he graced her with twinkled with an unspoken camaraderie as if he knew his good looks and smooth voice had won her over.

      She had agreed not to share news with the press, but that was because she didn’t trust the media not to mess up a good case.

      Not because of the prince’s mesmerizing green eyes.

      Because she was a professional. And no one, not even the prince himself, would dissuade her from following protocol and doing her damnedest to solve this case.

      Thankfully he moved behind the crime tape out of her direct vision, but she still felt his eyes watching her, studying her movements. Did he know something more about this bomb than he’d revealed?

      If one of the royals had been inside when the bomb ignited, why wouldn’t he want them to alert the police?

      Tomas was searching for forensics on the north side of the vehicle so she stooped to examine the underside of the car. The easiest bomb to make was one that involved gunpowder, a plastic bag and a wire. A blast-off mechanism was required, but the bomber could have used something as simple as a kid’s rocket toy. He would have put it near the engine, then run wires from the ignition to the bag. When the car started, the electrical spark would ignite the gunpowder, which would have ignited the bomb.

      Except the limo didn’t explode when the engine started.

      This bomb exploded mid-ride, meaning someone must have set a timer or been nearby watching to trigger the device.

      She inspected the ignition, the engine and the gas tank and collected trace from all areas. The scent of burned metal and copper permeated the air along with the lingering odor of charred metal, burned rubber, blood and human skin.

      Ralph was processing the car’s interior, so she used her flashlight to scan the ground along the deserted road. A cigarette butt caught her eye, and she bagged it, then gathered several pieces of metal, wires and plastic that could have been part of the explosive.

      When she glanced up, Prince Stefan was still trailing her with those intense eyes, and she had the uncanny feeling that he was holding something back.

      A glint of metal suddenly flickered in the moonlight. She frowned, waved her flashlight across the sagebrush and prickly pears, and spotted something that looked like a cell phone in the midst of a patch of Indian paintbrush.

      With her gloved hands, she knelt, pushed apart the scarlet leaves and foliage and retrieved the phone, then flipped it over. It could have belonged to the passenger from the limo. Maybe they’d lift some prints that would lead to the bomber.

      Or at least the name of the passenger. Then they could look at motive.

      Unless the driver had been the target.

      They couldn’t dismiss that possibility, although if this limo had transported