Page 61 of Mountain Trial

She shook her head. “Thank you. For everything.”

Snow crunched under her feet as she made her way up the ramp. By the time she got to the doorway, Luc had already unlocked the door and was holding it open for her. She stepped in, looking at the winter boots she’d left lying by the entrance only hours earlier. It felt like a lifetime ago.

Luc wheeled himself out of sight. When he came back, he was holding a towel and a pair of thick woolen socks in his hands.

“For your feet,” he said quietly. Although his tone was neutral, his jaw was clenched tight.

She took both objects and clutched them to her chest.

“You’re angry,” she stated.

His blue eyes were full of pain.

“Are you angry with me?”

His mouth fell open in disbelief. “Why would I be angry with you?”

Kat sat on the floor and dried her feet with the towel, then spent more time than necessary pulling on the socks. The thick material felt wonderful on her feet.

“It’s just the two of us here, so I figured―”

Luc smacked his palms down on the wheels of his chair, hard. The chair stopped with a jerk.

“I’m not angry at you, Kat. Show me a man who doesn’t get angry when he can’t protect his woman, and I’ll show you a liar.”

His woman.

He called me his woman.

The rest of the sentence took longer to penetrate her exhausted brain.

What the hell is he talking about?

Finally it clicked.

“You’re talking about Jens carrying me to the car? I could have walked those five steps in the snow, Luc, if I’d known it would bother you.”

“I didn’t want you to walk them. Your colleague carrying you didn’t bother me. The fact that I couldn’t do it, that’s what―”

“You did protect me, when it mattered. And I’m never going to forget that.” She thought of the way he’d taken the gun from her, and how badly that could have ended for him. “You protected me.”

She paused for a moment, hoping her words would sink in, but Luc wasn’t having any of it.

“That man had his hands all over you, Kat. You have no idea how scared I was, how much I―”

She went on her knees and placed her head on his lap. “I know. I know, Luc. I was scared too. I didn’t want you to get hurt. But we’re both okay, aren’t we? And so are the other hostages.”

“We’re okay,” Luc agreed. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her more pain or stress. “You’re right. I’m overthinking things. You look tired, Kat. Let’s get some rest.”

“Damien ordered me to take a day off tomorrow.”

“Today, you mean. It’s six a.m. already.”

“Today, then. We’ll put the blinds down and sleep the day away. Together.”

Chapter 24

Luc