Page 96 of Mountain Security

Yvette’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

“You don’t even remember.”

“MonsieurGaultier,” Alex said. “Drop the gun.” It seemed a strange thing for him to be saying, and then she saw the phone hidden in the palm of his hand. He was talking to someone.

Hope soared within her.

Somebody would come for them. Somebody would—

Then she realized how long it’d taken them to drive here.

Long enough that the sky was already growing dark around them.

Nobody would get here in time.

It was going to be up to them.

“Hands where I can see them,” Gaultier barked. Alex dropped the phone neatly in his pocket and raised his hands. His body squeezed tight against her.

“You don’t even remember L’Arc.” For the first time, the weapon in the man’s hand shook.

L’Arc.

“Of course I remember. That was the name of the complex in the proposal you submitted.”

“You should be on your knees, apologizing to me.”

“Apologizing?”

“I invested everything I had in that project. When it fell through, I lost all my money. I lost mywife.” The last words were more like a howl.

Beside her, Alex tensed. He was going to do something. Shefeltit.

“The project wasn’t environmentally sound. It couldn’t have happened.”

“You … you … Youdestroyedmy life’s work.” The man’s hands shook around the gun.

Did his fingers just move closer to the trigger?

“Stop antagonizing him,” Alex whispered.

He took a step forward and to the side, so his body half-covered hers again.

“Stop right where you are,” Gaultier threatened.

“Killing us won’t solve anything,” Alex said, his voice neutral.

Gaultier shrugged. He licked his lips manically. “Once you’re gone, and with all attention on the mayor’s affair, it’s very likely somebody else will be elected. Somebody who might be more understanding of my genius.”

Understanding dawned.

“The affair. You’re the one who leaked it.”

Gaultier smiled, his teeth sharp and yellow. “I didn’t just leak it. I was the one who found the struggling actress and put her right in Pierre’s way. He was so predictable, so easy to seduce. The poor man wasn’t sure his wife loved him anymore.” He cackled. “What can I say? Luck was on my side. At first, I thought I would use what I knew to blackmail him. Then I realized that would never work with you. So I came up with something else. And now … now everything is going to work out. Get on your knees, both of you.”

“That’s not going to happen, Gaultier,” Alex said.

The man stood straighter. “That’sMonsieurGaultier to you.”

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