Page 91 of Mountain Security

“I’m fine,” Yvette said.

Alex rushed to her side. “Hey. Shouldn’t you be sitting down?”

“I’m fine,” she repeated.

“I think she can come home with us,” Ry said, correctly guessing that Alex wasn’t going to let her out his sight. “If anything changes, we’ll bring her in.”

Yvette’s nylon-clad toes wiggled on the wooden floor. “I lost my shoes.”

Alex laughed. “I’ll get you a new pair,” he promised, hugging her close.

She was silent for a long time.

“A penny for your thoughts.”

“So it reallyisabout me,” Yvette said. “There’s no doubt anymore.”

Alex nodded, unwilling to lie to her.

30

* * *

Yvette

"You sure you’re feeling up to this, Yvette?” Alex asked. “Maybe you should wait for me in the car.”

Yvette sighed.

Since the fire the previous day, Alex had been treating her like she was made of glass.

“I know these people, Alex,” she explained. “I’ve had business dealings with all of them. It’s much more likely they’ll talk with us if I’m here than if you come surrounded by the entiregendarmerie.”

He sighed, and she could see the struggle within him.

He must see I’m right.

“It’s my choice, Alex,” she reminded him firmly. “We need to figure out what’s going on, and talking to these people may be the best way to achieve that.”

Alex nodded. “Okay, but wear this ear piece,” he said. “That way, we’ll be able to communicate with Ry and Lorenz at all times. They’re on stand-by in case we need them.”

She looked at the small, round object in her hand, feeling like she was in some kind of action movie. He helped her put it in, and soon she could hear voices on the other side.

Together, they walked together towards the large house. Though it’d snowed again the night before, the driveway was completely clear.

“You’ve metMadameRocke before, right?”

Yvette nodded. “She came to see us when she was about to present her proposal. She had a large plot of land and wanted to build a large house with an indoor pool and golf course. The golf course ended up being a problem. We gave her the choice to make the modifications and submit it again, but she must have decided against it. I don’t remember hearing from her again.”

“MadameRocke was meant to have left for a cruise in the Caribbean a few days ago,” Alex said, “but she canceled the trip last minute.”

The second they knocked on the door, a uniformed butler let them in.

“Monsieur?Madame?” he said, bowing very formally. “MadameRocke is waiting for you in the library.”

Yvette followed the man.

“I’m still surprised she agreed to meet with us,” Yvette whispered.

---