Page 106 of Mountain Security

“Come here,” she said, scooting over as far as she dared on the single hospital bed.

He stood up, mindful of the IV pole, and maneuvered until he was lying beside her. Yvette leaned her head against his uninjured shoulder and arm.

It confirmed what Yvette had already known.

We fit together.

Her body relaxed against his, and for the first time in forever, she felt like everything was going to be okay.

35

* * *

Alex

The mayor spoke beautifully about hismistake, and about how grateful he and his wife were for the town’s support, but Alex barely heard him.

All he could see was Yvette, standing at the edge of the stage.

Her cobalt blue pantsuit fit her like a glove.

That morning, as she put it on, she’d told him the color reminded her of his eyes. Alex had then proceeded to take it off, and they’d only just made it to the event in time.

Alex felt himself blush.

He’d never thought making love to someone could feel different every time, but, somehow, that was the way it happened with Yvette.

Every time felt like the first time.

He forced his attention back to the mayor’s speech, the kick-off to his reelection campaign.

Pierre and Yvette had decided not to refer to the events of the past week, even though it would have been in their favor to do so. They didn’t want to have to appeal to people’s morbid sense of curiosity in order to win this election.

The news that Arnaud and Aristide Gaultier were in jail had raced through the town like gunpowder. But people wouldn’t find out the details from Pierre or Yvette.

Alex looked up. The mayor was still talking. He had to admit the man was doing a good job. Every so often, he looked down at his wife, who was standing in the first row, watching attentively. Alex couldn’t imagine how the man could have been so stupid as to not realize how much his wife loved him.

He was glad they were sorting things out between them, glad that was one thing the Gaultiers hadn’t managed to ruin.

As for Yvette, she’d been working herself ragged the last week, even though she was still recovering from a concussion, preparing for this speech. Last night, after Théo had sent her the speech, she’d spent half of the night revising it. Alex knew because he’d been with her at the time. It was exactly where he wanted to be. And though he’d urged her to take things easy, he knew how much this meant to her—to her whole team.

He took a deep breath. Everything was going to be alright.

They’d been lucky.

Yvette had recovered quickly from her concussion, and had been declared physically sound by the time she’d left the hospital.

As for him, though he was going to need a few weeks of physical therapy, it looked like the bullet they’d taken out of his arm had done no permanent damage.

The sound of clapping brought him back from his reverie. Finally, it looked like the mayor was done.

He watched Yvette make small talk with several influential campaign donors. He remembered some of them from the Christmas party, though it was difficult to look at them in the same way now. He couldn’t help but wonder what secrets they might be keeping. Were any of them bankrupt, as Gaultier had been, and hiding it from their neighbors?

In the last week, Romain and his team had uncovered the whole story. The elder Gaultier hadn’t just invested everything he had in his megaproject. He’d invested millions he did not have, re-mortgaging his luxurious Argentière home, as well as several properties in Paris, London and New York, to do so. He’d also borrowed around twenty million dollars from banks who did not realize he’d done this.

When the project had been rejected, all creditors had come knocking at the same time.

That’s when his son, Aristide, had found out about it, and together they’d hatched a new plan.

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