Chapter 15

The King came up to me. “My son?”

“At the front door with Angela. They’re unarmed and should have some backup quickly.”

The King pointed to two of his men. “You heard her. Go. Make sure the Prince is safe.”

I asked, “Where are Anna and Mason?”

Anna said, “We’re right here. The guards forced us out with my father.”

“That’s good. We found no one left alive but bad guys and Jam and I shot them.” I pulled my pistol from my waist of my pants, safed it, and said, “Would someone take charge of this? I hope I don’t need it anymore.” A member of the security force took it and was handed Jam’s pistol also.

I asked, “Does anyone have any idea who they were?”

A member of the security force said, “Oui, Mademoiselle. They claim to be ISIS. We have not been welcoming to Islamic peoples because they do not become part of a nation. We thought we were ready but they caught us by surprise.”

Jam said, “I’m sorry. I’m sure you lost friends today. We were lucky.”

The same man said, “Monsieur, I think you and the Mademoiselle made much of your luck.” The King nodded.

Roger and Angela then joined us. We had another hug fest because all we knew were safe. I asked, “Will there by a memorial service for the people of the force and on the staff who were killed?”

Roger was somber. “Yes, Jar. It will be in a few days.”

I looked at Jam who gave me a nod. “If you will get us their names, Jam and I will pray for them and their families.”

He smiled. “I will personally see that such a list is prepared and given to the two of you. Thank you.”

Mason looked at the King and said, “Your highness, how may we help?”

The King conferred a moment with the man from the security force who had spoken. “Go to your quarters. We will have to order food be brought for a meal. The dinner is, of course, canceled. Relax.”

Mason and Jam nodded. Jam took my hand and Mason took Anna’s. The four of us joined by Angela left for my suite. Angela wasn’t happy leaving Roger but he was insistent. The five of us went into the sitting area. Jam sat on an easy chair and I took his lap pulling his arms around me. I lay my head on his shoulder and shuddered. Jam’s hands went down my back and arms soothing me. “Jar you did very well. It’s over and you were wonderful. Thank you for being my partner. I knew I could have total confidence in you.” He kissed my lips. I kissed him back hard. It was a very good kiss to share.

Anna looked at Angela’s troubled face. “Angela, don’t be troubled. Roger cares for you very much. He also knows that he and our father are the faces of the government. They must both be seen right now. He will be here with you as soon as he can. He’s learning to be a good man. You do know that there will be no problem if you two marry?”

“It’s too early to determine if that is an issue, Anna. I do appreciate Jar introducing us. I am hopeful that the rest of this week will have less drama and sadness. All those innocent people killed and for no reason.”

Anna said, “You have crazies in your country.”

I said, “Yes, and our leaders condemn their actions. It doesn’t always make the news but they do. Some few of them were supposedly Christian but they do not represent Christianity and Christian religious leaders speak out against them, too. If Islamic leaders do that, they seem to be publicity shy.”

Jam added, “My father has said that mass shootings are a new phenomenon in the US. He thinks loose morals have a lot to do with it. I know that people who go to churches like ours don’t do those kinds of things. There are kids my age and older and younger who have never been in a church. I know some. My parents knew their parents when in school and later. Their parents had them in church but they dropped out. Their children never had a chance to drop out because they never dropped in. I had to quit one baseball team because I wouldn’t consistently skip church.”

I nodded. “I knew about that from my high school days. The coach threatened to drop me from the team. When I told him that, if he made Sunday morning practices a requirement, I would save him the trouble and quit. He backed off because I had five other girls who were also starters back me up. In the small town, we I grew up, church was important.”

I put my head on Jam’s shoulder and rested. While I did, I prayed silently for the people who were shot down without a chance and no knowledge of why they were being killed. I realized that those Jam and I had shot knew what was happening. I had to admit that I didn’t like shooting those men but I wasn’t sorry I had. I also realized again that I liked being held by Jam. His arms around me felt good.

I whispered, “Jam, I like being held like this by you.”

“I like you being here in my lap and arms.”

We waited quietly. I was calming thanks to Jam. Angela was still upset some. I slowly stood and walked over to her as she sat on a love seat. I had pulled Jam with me by his hand. I pointed for him to sit down next to her which he did. “Jam, put your arm around Angela. I sat in his lap and his other arm went around my body. After a moment, Angela relaxed against Jam’s side. I was lying on him with my head on his shoulder. His hand would occasionally slide up and down my back or up and down my arm. I realized that it relaxed me as well as excited me. I liked for him to touch me like that.

We waited for about an hour before Roger came in. He immediately went to Angela. “Angela, I’m sorry I left you. The media didn’t need the distraction of asking about you during this tragedy. They will see us together later and often, I hope. Then, we may have more to tell them.”