Page 22

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Hugo

H ugo’s day had started impossibly well—in bed with Jo, his front nestled against Jo’s backside. He’d pulled himself away when he woke up, not wanting her to think he was a raunchy teenager, loving the way she’d scooted her butt backwards, searching for him. Which had led to other things, also very pleasant.

He loved how tactile Jo was—how much she enjoyed both giving and receiving pleasure, and how not shy she was about seeking that pleasure. He wanted to be the only one to give her that pleasure.

The day got a lot worse shortly after he arrived in the office, when the Colonel called him up to his office.

“Better you than me,” Lorenz said, laughing.

Hugo flipped him the bird on his way to the stairs. The colonel’s assistant waved him in immediately—a bad sign, since it meant whatever Hugo had done had made him cut to the front of the Colonel’s daily schedule.

“ Colonel Pelegrin,” Hugo said, standing ramrod straight by the door.

The colonel smiled. Not a bad sign, per se, but not something Hugo was used to. “Lieutenant Morant. Just the person I wanted to see. I just got a note from the mayor about you.” Hugo couldn’t think of anything the mayor could fault him for, so he kept his expression impassive. “It appears you’ve been in the newspaper.”

Hugo raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, Sir?”

The colonel shifted his screen so Hugo could see what looked like the website for some local English newspaper. The title of the article read Harrowing Rescue in the French Alps . Next to it was a picture of him walking out of the river with Jo in his arms. In the image, Jo’s head burrowed against his chest, as if searching for warmth—warmth that he knew he’d been unable to provide at the time, because he’d been soaked to the bone. Hugo’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed—hard. He wasn’t above admitting he’d been scared at the time. The thought that Jo might have been hurt had chilled him way more than the cold water. He hadn’t been able to fully relax until Valentina had reassured him that both Jo and the baby were fine. “I don’t know anything about this article, Colonel.”

“The mayor’s very pleased,” Colonel Pelegrin continued, ignoring Hugo’s comment. “This is exactly the kind of publicity he wants for Chamonix.” There was an unmistakable edge to his words now. This was more like the man Hugo knew.

“There was an accident, and we happened to be there in time to help, Colonel,” Hugo said carefully. “The whole team helped bring the family to safety.”

“Indeed. And I was glad to read of the outcome.” The colonel paused. “But still, the mayor singled you and your wife out during his call. How’s your wife?”

Wife . The word still felt slightly foreign, like a place he’d visited but hadn’t yet grown used to, but something about it felt more and more right every day. Hugo exhaled. “She’s doing well, thank you, Colonel.”

“Good. Let me get right down to it, Lieutenant, the mayor would like to meet you both.”

No. Hell, no . “Excuse me, Sir?”

“A small dinner. Organized in your honor. The British Ambassador will be there.”

“The British Ambassador?”

“She’s traveling all the way from Paris to be there. It turns out the family you saved has friends in high places.”

“Will you be there, Colonel?”

This time, a real smile curled the colonel’s lips. “Hell, no. This is your doing, Morant.”

“I don’t know if Jo will want to?—”

“Convince her, Lieutenant. I don’t need the mayor up my … let’s make him happy, alright? You go to the dinner and enjoy it. You know what they say about a free dinner.” Hugo had never heard anybody say anything about a free dinner, but it didn’t seem prudent to mention that. The colonel turned his screen around and looked back at the paperwork on his desk, making it clear the conversation was over, as far as he was concerned.

“I’ll do what I can, Colonel,” Hugo said.

“You do that.” The colonel raised his eyes one more time. “How’s your back, by the way?”

Hugo swallowed through the bitter taste in his mouth. “Back to normal, thank you, Colonel,” he answered measuredly. He liked to think he was stretching the truth, but worried he might be straying into the territory of lies. Truth was, after the unexpected ice swim, his lower back had felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry. He’d come close to taking a pain killer—probably would have, except he’d wanted to be awake in case Jo needed anything. In the end, her arms had been better than any pain killer. Hugo had slept almost six hours straight. No nightmares. And the next morning, his back had been back to normal—or what was normal for him nowadays, anyway. He had a lot more work to do when it came to strengthening his back and his mind. But he was better, and he was one hundred percent sure he wasn’t endangering the team by being back at work, so he was going to leave it at that.

If Colonel Pelegrin detected a lie, he didn’t say anything, and for that, Hugo was grateful. “Good. Let me know how the dinner goes, Lieutenant.”