Chapter Fifteen #2
Grant nodded proudly. “For your first hostage situation, you boys did well.”
Tyler and Trevor looked like they’d just received military commendations.
Amelie stared at the four former SEALs in amazement. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“You do realize you’re congratulating them for kidnapping a man and turning him into an ugly Christmas tree?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds bad,” Grant said.
Amelie looked horrified. “Why do I feel like I’m parenting all of you right now?”
“Because you are,” Jessie said, dryly, shaking her head at the guys.
Despite everything, a small smile tugged at Amelie’s lips.
It lasted all of two seconds. Then she looked at Marty again, and the warmth vanished.
The man standing before her had betrayed her trust, lied to her face, and nearly tricked her into signing away the company she had spent years building.
Humor had its place. So did accountability. She needed to hear him admit it.
Without breaking eye contact, she stepped forward and ripped the tape from his mouth. She wasn’t gentle.
Marty immediately sucked in a breath.
“Tell me,” she said. “Was it true?”
For a moment, he looked almost nervous. Then, an angry expression crossed his face.
“If those little brats of yours hadn’t stuck their noses where they don’t belong, you would have never known until it was too late. They ruined everything.”
Amelie’s eyes narrowed.
“They didn’t ruin anything. Thanks to them, I still have control of my company.”
Marty’s face twisted with anger. “You think this is over? Those two little delinquents assaulted me and tied me to a tree. I could press charges.”
Before Amelie could respond, Grant stepped forward.
The change in him was immediate. The easygoing, joking man she had spent the last two days getting to know again vanished, replaced by something far more dangerous.
The former SEAL’s expression hardened, and suddenly even the cold mountain air seemed to grow colder.
Marty must have felt it too because the rest of his threat died in his throat.
Grant stopped directly in front of him.
“Are you done?” The question was quiet.
Marty swallowed and then nodded.
“Good. Because here’s what’s going to happen.” His voice remained calm and controlled. “My friends are going to untie you. Then they will escort you to the train station. From there, you’re going to get on a train, go to the airport, and fly back to wherever the hell you came from.”
Marty opened his mouth, and Grant raised his eyebrows in warning.
“You are never going to contact Amelie again. You’re not going to call her.
You’re not going to email her. You’re not going to send messages through mutual acquaintances.
You’re also not going to contact my sons.
” His eyes narrowed. “And if you ignore that advice, you’re going to discover that being wrapped in Christmas lights and displayed like a festive lawn ornament was actually the pleasant version of this conversation. ”
Grant never even glanced away from Marty.
“Are we clear?”
For the first time since she had met him, Marty looked genuinely afraid.
“Crystal clear,” he muttered.
“Good.” Grant smiled, though there wasn’t a hint of humor in it. “I'm glad we’re finally communicating effectively.”
Amelie watched Grant, and if she was honest with herself, watching and listening to him, especially in that low, deep voice, sort of turned her on.
Jesus…now I’m acting like them.
A few minutes later, while Mac, Nico, and Rafe began untangling an increasingly miserable Marty from several hundred feet of Christmas decorations, Amelie dropped down in front of Tyler and Trevor.
For a moment, she looked at them. The realization hit her all over again. Her boys had protected her. The same way Grant would have. The same way she would have protected them.
Without warning, she wrapped both of them in a hug.
“You scared ten years off my life.”
Trevor winced. “Sorry.”
Tyler looked slightly less apologetic. “At least texted you.”
Amelie nodded and laughed. “You did.” Then she kissed both of them on top of their heads. “Thank you.”
The surprise on their faces made her smile.
She watched as Rafe and Nico finally escorted Marty off to the train station. Grant told them they would meet up later at the hotel.
Grant slipped an arm around Amelie’s waist. He looked at the boys.
For a moment, the teasing expression he had been wearing faded, replaced by something more serious.
“All joking aside,” he said, “I’m proud of you two. What you did wasn’t exactly the recommended way to handle the situation, but you stood up for your mom when you thought someone was trying to hurt her. That matters.”
Tyler and Trevor immediately straightened.
“Does this mean we can still get our funnel cakes?” Trevor asked.
“Yeah, for once, we planned ahead and made sure we would have enough time to get funnel cakes before we met you for snow tubing,” Tyler said. “But then Marty happened.”
The entire group burst out laughing. Even Amelie couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her as she shook her head.
“Of course, that’s what you two are worried about.”
“Mom,” Tyler said solemnly, “we fought corporate corruption today. We deserve funnel cake.”
“I’m not sure I agree,” she said, holding back her smile.
“What?” Both Tyler and Trevor said.
Even Grant was giving her a look.
Then she smiled. “I think you both deserve a funnel cake with all the toppings.”
The twins let out a loud “whoop,” and Amelie laughed.
As the group walked toward the funnel cake stand, the tension that had hung over the last thirty minutes gradually began to melt away beneath the twinkling Christmas lights, the sound of holiday music, and the excited chatter of the twins as they debated powdered sugar ratios and snow tubing strategies.
As Amelie walked between Grant and the boys, her hand tucked securely in Grant’s, she found herself smiling.
Two days ago, she arrived in Zermatt believing she would spend Christmas with only her sons.
Now she was surrounded by the love of her life, her boys, new friends, and more happiness than she had thought possible.