Page 79 of Mountain Security

Yvette

Yvette pushed her shoulders back and pulled her head up, projecting a confidence she was far from feeling.

She’d never been to the basement of thegendarmeriebefore and hadn’t been sure what to expect from the police interview rooms there, but whatever it was, it wasn’t this.

It’s not just that there was no two-way mirror, it’s that the room looked downright cozy—more like a well-loved office than an interview room.

Théo was sitting on an old, sunken leather couch, but stood up clumsily when he saw her.

Clearly, he hadn’t been expecting her.

“Yvette,” he croaked.

“Théo.”

His normally impeccable clothes were a wrinkled mess, and an ill-kept stubble covered his cheeks and chin. But it was his eyes, bright with despair, that gave her pause.

The last two days hadn’t been easy for him.

“You’re going home tonight, Théo. The gendarmes are just getting the paper-work ready.”

“Really?” he asked. He looked like he was about to cry.

“Really. It’s going to be okay.”

“I’m sorry, Yvette,” he said, and it was as if a dam had opened. Tears rolled down his cheeks. He snorted loudly. “I’m sorry, Yvette. If I could go back, I’d—“

“I don’t want your apology, Théo,” Yvette said.

He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “I understand. They haven’t let me near a computer,” he said, his voice cracking. “But as soon as I get a chance to, I’ll type out my resignation and get it to you.”

“No. I don’t want your resignation either, Théo.”

“You don’t?” he asked, surprised.

“I don’t. I want you to come back to work, but I need to know I can trust you.”

Théo snorted, looking confused. “I … I don’t understand, Yvette.”

“Tell me I can trust you, Théo. And tell me this won’t happen again.”

“It won’t. God, it won’t. I didn’t stop to think … I was just so afraid of that damned video getting out.” He sighed. “He has a video of me and Fritz.”

“You and Fritz? I don’t understand, Théo. The two of you are married.”

Théo shook his head, snorting loudly. “No. From before, from when Fritz was living in Paris. That’s where we met, in a Paris hotel.”

And, just like that, pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

“Fritz was an escort in Paris?”

Théo nodded. “I didn’t care if people found out, but I knew he would beso hurtif it came out. I … I couldn’t think of anything else.”

The last traces of anger washed away from her. Théo had made a bad decision, but how could she be angry at him for protecting the man he loved?

For the first time in her life, it was easy to put herself in Théo’s place.

Imagine if it were Alex.

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