Page 46 of Mountain Trial

“Mrs. Larsen will bring her own security, of course, but the town needs to ensure her safety, and the success of the event,” Damien said, rubbing his temple with two fingers of his right hand. Kat imagined her boss had already suffered through several meetings with the mayor and Yvette Legrand, the mayor’s chief of staff―no wonder he looked like he had a headache.

“And this concerns us because …” Drake began.

Damien scowled at his second-in-command.

“I hope you all have tuxes, since we’re part of the team who’ll be in place at the event to ensure everything goes smoothly.”

“Hear that, Bailey? We’re going on the red carpet,” Hiro joked, petting the Dutch shepherd’s head affectionately. Her tail wagged loudly against the wooden floor.

“Let’s focus, team. I know this isn’t how most of us would choose to spend our time, but it’s only one evening. Some of us will be attending as guests. The rest of the team will be outside, together with the Annecy team and a team being sent in from Paris.”

“You know one of the athletes, right, Kat?” Drake asked. “So you can get an invitation.”

“I can go with Luc,” Kat agreed, staring at each of the men in turn. “But I’m not going to lie to him about it.”

Damien nodded. “Okay. But he needs to keep it close to his chest. Nobody else needs to know who you are. The mayor has extended an invitation to me and my wife,” Damien continued. “Drake, Gael, you’ll be acting as valets. Hiro, you and Bailey will be outside, with Beau and the rest of the Annecy team.”

Drake and Gael grinned as if they’d won the lottery. “I assume that means we’ll get uniforms issued, and don’t need to worry about anything?”

“Why is it Bailey and I are never invited to parties?” Hiro asked.

“Maybe because she’s so beautiful, she calls too much attention to herself,” Kat said.

Bailey cocked her head and scrambled to a standing position, aware that they were all talking about her.

“We have four days to get ready―make sure you have something appropriate to wear. There will be a videocall meeting tomorrow with the Larsens' security team and the organizers, and we all need to be here for that.”

“I understand she's a VIP, Commandant,” Kat said. “But what is she so worried about?”

“The Larsens have received several threats over the last months that lead them to be more cautious than usual. But this is a low-key event for Mrs. Larsen―there’s no reason to believe there’s going to be any trouble.”

Damien wouldn’t be allowing Tess anywhere near the building otherwise.

Then she scowled. “So we’re glorified babysitters for the evening, basically.”

“Something like that.”

“Fine. I’ll call your wife, see if she can help me find a dress. She might need one too. And we’ll be sending the bill to the mayor’s office,” Kat warned.

Damien laughed. “I’m sure Tess will be happy to go shopping with you.”

Chapter 19

Kat

It turned out Tess was happy to go out shopping for a dress together, and Isolde decided to join them as well.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come to the ceremony, Isolde?”

“I don’t do dinner these days. That seems to be this little one’s favorite time to act up,” Isolde said, patting her stomach. “Hopefully it will ease up in the second trimester―but of course by then I’ll probably look like a whale.”

“You’ll look lovely, as always,” Tess said.

Kat usually tuned out when friends started discussing pregnancy and children―she was never going to find herself in that situation, so it wasn’t worth thinking about it. Now, for the first time, however, she found herself wondering what it would be like to carry a whole new life inside her.

A baby with Luc’s bright blue eyes.

Where the hell did that thought come from.