Page 85 of Mountain Security

He lovedher.

He pulled on a T-shirt and a pair of old shorts, picked up his socks and trainers in his hand, and headed downstairs.

Usually, he went out for a run in the morning before anything else, but he wasn’t about to leave her alone, and it would still be a couple of hours before Ry and Hugo returned.

Instead, he settled for hitting the punching ball in the downstairs bedroom, which they’d converted into a small home gym. Through the open doorway he could see the dining room and, there, the board with the names of people who might want to hurt Yvette.

He struck harder, moving at angles to the bag, his fists moving faster and faster, making each punch count.

He.

Would.

Not.

Let.

Yvette.

Get.

Hurt.

By the time he stopped hitting, sweat poured down his face and neck. He dried it off with a small towel, then looked up to see Yvette leaning against the doorway. She was wearing one of his T-shirts, and damned if it didn’t look great on her.

She approached and got on tiptoes to kiss him, her lips sweet and light. It felt sorightand natural to open his arms and pull her against him.

“Hey!” she complained, laughing. “You’re all sweaty.”

“I could make you all sweaty as well,” he said.

She looked tempted for a minute, then shook her head. “Not today. I need to get to work. I have a team meeting starting at eight.”

“Okay. I’ll drive you. I need a quick shower first, though. I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

“What’s the plan for today?” she asked, looking worriedly at the board in the dining room.

“The plan is, we stick together. I’ve got a meeting withSous-officierRomain, and a few other things to do, but I can do everything from your office.”

She nodded, turning away, but not before he caught the lines of worry on her face.

Shit.

His hand reached out and grabbed hers, pulling her gently back. “Yvette. I’m not going to tell you not to worry, because that would be stupid. But I swear to you we’re going to get to the bottom of this. Together.”

She smiled faintly, squeezing his hand back. “I’ve never been big on trusting people, Alex, but I trust you.”

29

* * *

Yvette

“Let’s call it a day,” she said to the team.

It was closing in on five p.m., and they’d made good progress on multiple topics, taking advantage of the fact that there’d been no high-profile events scheduled.

At lunch, Pierre had ordered salads and sandwiches for everyone from a local café, and they’d all eaten together in the large conference room.

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