Page 10 of Mountain Security

Alex shook his head. He’d like to have a conversation with the bastard.

“Think you can stand up?” he asked, offering his hand. She looked down at her sodden clothes ruefully.

“Thank you.” He pulled her up easily.

She was heavier than she looked.

She must work out.

He kept one hand around her wrist and an arm behind her back until he was sure she was going to remain standing.

“Does anything hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

“The hospital?” Yvette’s mouth pursed. “No. I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m sorry. I seem to be saying that a lot.”

“Take your time. There’s no rush.”

At his words, her forehead crinkled. “Oh, no. I have to be in Annecy by eight.”

Alex kept his expression neutral. “Call to say you’re going to be late. Or even better, call to cancel. I don’t think you should be driving anywhere right now.” He realized his mistake immediately. She wasn’t a woman who took kindly to somebody telling her what to do.

“I’m not trying to boss you around, Yvette,” he explained quickly. “But I’d like to make sure you’re safe. If you can’t cancel, let me at least drive you.”

“To my date?” she asked. Some of the humor was back in her eyes.

“Wherever you’re going,” he said. Not that he particularly wanted to drive her to a date.

“It’s not a date,” she said quickly. “I’m part of a mentoring program for gifted girls from underprivileged backgrounds. We meet in Annecy once a week. That’s where I’m going.”

He hadn’t expected that. He’d imagined her at a fancy restaurant, sharing a romantic dinner with another politician. Instead, she was going straight from work to spend the evening with a group of girls.

Damn.

She took another unsteady breath. “If you can drive me, I would be grateful. My body is still shaking.”

“That’s just excess adrenaline,” he said. “It’s completely normal, and will pass soon. My car’s right there.”

“The dark green SUV,” she said. “I noticed it earlier, in the restaurant. Green’s one of my favorite colors.”

He took note of that in his mind, then shook himself.

What’s wrong with you?

Had he hit his head or something?

He helped her in, then got behind the wheel and slammed his door closed. He shouldn’t care what her favorite color was. All he needed to do was drive her to Annecy, then go home and grab himself a beer.

That reminded him, he needed to call his colleagues and tell them not to expect him.

“Give me a second, please,” he said. “I need to make a quick call.”

As the hands-free system connected to his car, he dialed Ry’s number.

“Alex, mate!” Ry said, shouting over the pub’s background noise. His Australian accent was as pronounced now as the day he’d arrived in Chamonix. Ry claimed women loved it.

“Hey Ry, don’t wait for me tonight, there are some things I need to—“

“What’s going on?” Ry sounded like he’d already had a beer or two. “First day on the job and they’re working you to the bone? How’s it going with the ice princess?”

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