The servant led me to the Queen's chambers. "Thank you," Queen Windfra said. "Please close the door behind you."

The servant bowed. "Yes, your majesty," then left, the tall door shutting behind him, leaving me alone with the Queen.

"Kurt," she said, "I must say I'm disappointed."

"I'm sorry, your majesty."

"Windfra. You may still call me Windfra," she said.

"Windfra."

"We have received word that something has happened to my son."

"What?" Last I’d seen him, he was going back to Vince's place. It wasn't far. How did something happen between the time he left The Apple Tree and arrived at Vince's?

"Beau's friend, Vince, told us he’d called for a taxi for Beau. A taxi arrived. Beau left. Then another one arrived. That was an hour ago. And Beau still hasn't made it back here."

"I'm sorry, Windfra. I should have been watching him."

"I assumed if you were, you would have told me otherwise. But you didn't tell me he got away from you," she said. "What happened?"

I couldn't look at her. I’d failed in my duties as a bodyguard. I didn't know what Beau was to me exactly, but I did care for him and I let this happen to him. He walked away, but I let him.

The least I could do at this point was come clean.

"I was unprofessional," I said. "I had sex with Beau. I developed feelings for him. And I let those feelings interfere with my job."

She nodded. "Feelings are always the hardest part. Beau never had a good handle on his, either."

"He walked away from me and, because I was stubborn, I didn't go after him."

It didn't feel good to get it out. It felt terrible.

"Beau is difficult," Windfra said. "That's why we had to hire you in the first place. Lord knows he's gotten me to lose my temper more than once."

"So you're not angry?" I asked.

"My son has just been kidnapped by people who will likely try to kill him. I'm furious, but I also know there isn't time for that right now," she let out a sigh. "I also understand."

She gave herself a moment to contemplate things before moving on. "Part of being royalty is learning to table emotions when you need to focus on politics. With this act, someone is essentially declaring war on Aldonia, which means we might need to deploy our army for the first time in five-hundred years. I don't want the country to have to engage in violence. Not on my watch. Do you have any ideas as to how you can get my son back?"

I nodded. I planted the tracker on him just in case a situation like this occurred. If Beau ran off on me or I otherwise lost him, all I had to do was pull out my phone and I'd know exactly where he was within a twenty-foot radius. "I can find him."

"Then go get him. Don't waste time. I'd rather have my son back than have to resort to vengeance."

I turned around to leave.

"Good luck, Kurt."

I ran out to the cars where Duncan was waiting.

"The keys," I said.

"But, sir, I'd be happy to drive."

"I don't have time to sit in the back while you take a leisurely stroll through the countryside. Give me the keys. Count of three."

I guess he’d seen what I did to the bouncer before because I didn't even say a number before he tossed the keys at me, covered his face, and said, "Don't hurt me!"

Say what you will about violence, it might not be the right thing to do, but it gets results.

I put my phone on the dash and the GPS app triangulated Beau's location. I started the car, said a quick private prayer that he was still alive, and pushed the pedal to the floor, where it stayed the entire way there.