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That had been her party line until now. Until Xavier. Suddenly, her life felt empty. She had a flash of what it would be like to come home to him. To know that she would sleep at night next to him and do life with him. That thought tugged at her even as she tried to brush it aside. Longing for more wasn’t her style. The current circumstances were making her act this way. When this shitshow was all over and back to normal, she would feel the way she always did. She ran a hand over her face.But what if she didn’t?
“Here he is,” Gunther said.
She looked up to spy Xavier hurrying across the snow. Relief flooded through her, weakening her knees. She clutched the windowsill to stay upright. She may not need a man on a regular basis but she sure as hell needed Xavier now. He’d saved her after the airplane crash and then kept her safe from the men chasing them. She doubted she’d make it through all this if it weren’t for him. A hollow feeling cratered in her chest at the thought of not seeing him once all this was over. She would miss him tremendously.
Pushing that thought aside, she went to the door to greet him. Seeing his face, she immediately asked. “What’s wrong?”
He offered her a quick smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Nothing. I brought lunch.”
Gunther grabbed his coat from the back of the chair at the little kitchen table. “You should be fine here for the night. John Luca will drop off the truck in the morning and you can take it to Geneva. He will collect it from there.”
“Gunther,” Xavier said, “they will be looking for the snowmobile if they haven’t found it already. I’m a little worried about you going back up there on your own. And I should tell you that there’s also a backpack and a gun.”
Gunther nodded. “I sent my son over earlier with some friends. They found everything and brought it to town. I will dispose of the gun once you are gone, and the snowmobile is being serviced by a friend.”
Allegra’s vision swam from her sudden tears. “You…that’s just so…” Her gratitude for this stranger was immense.
Xavier offered his hand. “I can’t thank you enough.”
The elderly gentleman clasped Xavier’s hand in both of his. “I have lived a long time and seen many things. Trusting my…” he hesitated.
“Gut?” Xavier supplied.
“Instincts?” Allegra said at the same time.
Gunther smiled. “Just so. Trusting my gut and instincts has always been a good thing. I think you are good people. We will deal with everything when you’ve gone. It will be easier for everyone.” He went toward the door. “Be safe.”
“You too,” Allegra said as the door closed behind the man. She turned to Xavier. “When I get my credit cards back I will pay you for this place and the car. I wish I could send Gunther some money as well. Just something to say thank you.”
Xavier grinned. “Gunther is getting a new snowmobile out of the deal but I know what you mean.”
“Maybe I’ll buy a credit to Lena’s store for Gunther and the ladies that were in today. That way everyone wins.” Allegra sniffed the air. “God, I am famished. Let’s eat.” She went to the kitchen which took up one wall and pulled down some plates.
“This place is nice.” Xavier was taking off his outerwear and looking around the room.
“It is idyllic,” she agreed.
It was basically one big room with the kitchen on one wall and the rest of the room designated as living space. There was a sofa, and some chairs were arranged in front of the fireplace, and a TV hung on the wall over the mantel. There were stairs in the corner that led up to a single bedroom. It would do for a night for sure.
She arranged the plates on the little table that was close to the front door. “What did you not want to say in front of Gunther?”
He sat down and reached for the bag, handing her a burger and fries along with her drink. “I overheard one of the gunmen while I was getting the food.”
Her stomach dropped. “Getting food was a big risk. Are you sure you weren’t seen?” She looked out the window. “Do you think they followed you?”
“I wasn’t followed, and he didn’t notice me. And yes, it was a risk but I’m starving and I assume so are you. I didn’t want to keep risking Gunther’s involvement. If he went to the market and bought food for us people would notice. It’s outside of his normal pattern of behavior. The best thing we can do is leave as soon as John Luca arrives with the truck no matter what hour it is.”
That made sense. She needed to get to Geneva ASAP. Missing today’s meeting didn’t leave her much time to catch Damon. “Do you think he’ll mind if we drive it straight to Geneva instead of Bern?”
Xavier took a sip of soda. “We’ll go to Bern and catch a train to Geneva. They won’t be expecting that.”
That didn’t work. She played with the food on her plate. “But it will take us longer and I’m running out of time.”
He took a bite of his burger, chewed, and swallowed. “The guy said he thought we were still up on the mountain but they’d keep looking. He asked whomever he was speaking to what they wanted him to do and that’s what worries me.”
A fry dangled between her fingers. “How do you mean?”
“If it was me, I would start watching the road as soon as it opens. There’s only one way out at this point until we get to the highway then we have all kinds of options, but the reality is they have to know you’re trying to get to Geneva. They’ll expect us to drive. If we take the train we have more of a chance to elude them.”
