Mountain Challenge (Mont Blanc Rescue #9)

Chapter 14

14

Ry

R y knew the chances of leaving the hospital without bumping into anyone he knew were slim. Chamonix was a small town, and the amount of time he and his team spent in or near the hospital meant they knew many people there. The exit was in sight, though, so it looked like this time it was going to happen. Ry lengthened his stride—and bumped right into Val.

He reached out to steady her, waiting until he was sure she would not topple over like a tiny bowling pin. His left shoulder pulled at the sudden movement, but the pain wasn’t bad. Just a small twinge.

“Ry.” A smile lit up her face. She pulled a red strand of hair away from her face. “I was hoping to bump into you, though not quite this literally.”

He sighed. Beau’s fiancée was one of his favorite people in the world, which was one reason he didn’t want to see her today. Not when he was in such a shitty mood. “Hey, Val. How are you?”

“That should be my line, I think.” She cocked her head sideways. “You’re no longer wearing the sling.”

“I just saw Dr. Legrand. He gave me the okay to remove it. I’m fit as a fiddle, apparently,” he said, not able to hide the bitterness in his last words.

“I’m sorry,” she said. It was clear she and Beau had spoken. She took his hand in hers. “I’m sorry this is happening to you. You know we all know you did nothing wrong, right? I was here when you guys got to the hospital that day. I saw the state they were in, and I know you saved those men’s lives.”

The tears prickling at the back of his eyes made it hard to speak, but he managed a stiff nod.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said. And he could see how badly she wanted to fix it for him. But this wasn’t something she—or Beau, or anybody else from the team—could fix. A process had been set in motion that would have to run its course, for as long as it took. A process with an uncertain outcome. If found guilty, Ry would lose his job. He’d lose his immigration status. He’d lose everything he’d been working towards.

“Thank you, Val. I’m okay, I promise.” A lie, because he was nowhere near okay , but also the truth, because he was okay enough not to do something stupid. He was angry, and hurt, and disappointed, but he also knew he’d done the right thing. He’d done his job. He’d saved the man’s life.

“Call us if you need anything, okay? Day or night.” Again, she flashed that smile.

“Sure thing. Say hi to Ren for me.” Ren was Val’s daughter—now Beau’s daughter as well—and Ry and the whole team would do anything for the girl.

As he got into his car, his phone rang. It was Vincent. All thoughts of Miles Getty left his mind.

“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 to Mademoiselle Bernard, 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.”

She was important 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. She liked him. 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 obviously could , but there was living and then there was living , 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.”

That was good news, at least.

“He would like to apologize to you in person.” Ry’s expression went hard. “But only if you’re willing to do it. You don’t have to.”

“You think I shouldn’t?”

“That’s not what I said. If you want to, it’s something you can do for him—listen to his apology. I’m just saying you don’t have to do it. You don’t owe him anything.”

“I want to,” she said quickly. “But not here. I can come over to the gendarmerie whenever you tell me.”

A fleeting shadow crossed Ry’s face. It was gone a moment later, but she couldn’t let go. “Are you sure you’re okay? Is it your shoulder?”

Ry started nodding, then stopped. “My shoulder’s okay. But I’m not sure I am. I got some bad news today at work.”

“What happened?”

He hesitated for a moment, as if debating whether to share. Isla waited. She couldn’t force him to tell her, and there might be nothing she could do about it anyway. But she could listen, if he was willing to talk. When he started speaking, her heart clenched that he was willing to trust her.

“Remember the rescue of the two lost hikers?” Isla nodded. That was where he’d injured his shoulder. “One of them filed a complaint against me today.”

“A complaint? But you and your teammate saved their lives.”

“We did. But I … one of them claims I hurt him in the process. That I was … violent.” His eyes glimmered, and Isla could see how upset he was. It awakened all her protective instincts. “I didn’t, I swear.”

“Of course you didn’t. Sounds like bullshit to me.”

Relief filled his expression for a moment. Isla wasn’t sure where that came from. Was he relieved that she believed him? Could he really have imagined he wouldn’t? What if?—

“Is your team not supporting you?” Anger pushed up to the surface.

“No, no,” he said quickly. “They are. It’s just … their hands are tied. The process has to be followed. A team from Lyon will be here tomorrow to start investigating and speak with everyone involved. In the meantime, I’ve been placed on leave.”

“Good,” she said. “Then they’ll find out just what kind of bullshit this is. Maybe you should be the one filing a complaint against this asshole.”

A small smile crossed his face. “You’re really pretty ferocious, you know?

“I can be.”

“Thank you. It means a lot to me. I should get going. I just wanted to let you know.”

Ry stood up to his full height. Man, he looked sexy in those old jeans. The way they hugged those strong thighs … “Come upstairs with me.” That sounded brash. “I’ll make dinner. Or order dinner. Or something.” Now she was rambling.

She’d been hoping he’d say yes, but the smile that broke over his face was an unexpected surprise. “I’d like that.”