Page 32 of Mountain Challenge

“Vincent?” he asked. “Is everything okay? How did it go?”

“Hello to you too, Ry,” his colleague laughed.

“Sorry. Hello.”

“It’s all good. The kid has been released on bail, but he didn’t fight the charges.”

“How did he look?”

Vincent thought for a second. “Destroyed, to tell you the truth. Embarrassed. Scared. I overheard his parents informing him he was grounded for the next six months. He would like to apologize toMademoiselleBernard, if that’s something she’s okay with. I could be wrong, but I’m thinking this young man will not be breaking the law again. My instinct tells me Isla has nothing to worry about from him.”

“This is good. Thanks again, Vincent.” His friend had gone above and beyond.

“No worries. I could see she’s important to you.”

Shewasimportant to him. Strange, that Vincent had seen it before Ry had even known.

Ry looked at his watch. It was almost five p.m. “She’ll be glad to know. I’ll stop by and tell her. Thank you, Vincent.”

Isla

She had just showed her last client of the day out when she saw Ry’s car approaching. Not that she’d been looking out the window or anything.

Liar.

She’d been hoping for exactly that.

Ry Harrison was under her skin. And not just because she’d rediscovered sex with him, though the sex was very fine indeed—the finest she’d ever had. But it was more than that. Shelikedhim. And these flutters in her stomach when she thought of him, when she looked at him … she liked those, too. She’d thought she could live without this emotion, without this excitement, and she obviouslycould, but there waslivingand then there wasliving, and Ry was making her see the difference between the two.

She wanted to see where this was going. The two of them together … for however long this amazing feeling lasted … that was something worth exploring. Something worth taking the risk for.

The door clanged, and he walked inside. It never ceased to amaze her just how hot he was. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans, rather than his usual uniform polo shirt and navy pants. She wondered if he’d showered and changed before coming to see her. She was glad to see his arm was no longer in a sling. Her eyes moved up to his face again, and their eyes met. His deep green eyes looked serious.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. Uncertainty filled her.

His eyes cleared as he nodded. “Do you have a minute? I have news about your tires. Good news.” He added the last bit quickly.

“Of course. I just finished with my last client of the day.” She sat down on one of the armchairs, waiting for him to do the same.

“I just got off the phone with Vincent. They caught the person who did it.”

“How?”

“By monitoring traffic cameras in the area. Turned out he was speeding after he left here.” Ry paused for a second. “Remember that teen who came here with his girlfriend the night we met?”

“That boy? He’s the one who slashed my tires?” The thought filled her with dread. He’d been rude and cocky, but she wouldn’t have imagined?—

Then again, what did she know about criminals, or how they looked?

“He spent the night in jail. I don’t think he got much sleep.”

“His parents …”

“They were the ones who let him spend the night in jail. They could have gotten him out last night, but they wanted him to learn what it was like.”

“Okay …” That sounded harsh. But she wasn’t going to feel sorry for him. The boy had slashed her tires.

“Vincent—you remember Vincent?” She nodded quickly. The gendarme who’d come over to talk to them. Of course, she remembered him. “He thinks the boy has learned his lesson.”

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