Page 12 of Mountain Struggle

Do it again.

Quickly, don’t take the time to think about it.

She repositioned the key between her knuckles and punched, from a closer distance this time, aiming for the same spot. A spiderweb crack appeared on the glass, so small at first she thought she might be imagining it—but no, there it was.

Tess punched again, ignoring the bruising around her knuckles. Something told her this was their chance. The man had implied he had a plan for them, and his voice had been venomous as he did so. Tess didn’t intend for her or Jamie to stick around to find out what it was.

Tears sprang to her eyes as she punched the glass again, but the spider crack grew quickly now. Finally, the glass shattered. She grabbed the remaining shards and broke them off, pushing them outside the window, making sure at least the bottom edge was clear of glass.

She unwrapped the jacket from around her hand. The knuckles were swollen and painful but there wasn’t any blood—that was good, she didn’t want to be running around the mountain with an infected wound. Her windbreaker was ruined, but she still put it on again after making sure the glass was all on the ground.

Next, feeling a bit like MacGyver, she folded the tattered blue blanket and placed it over the windowsill.

She breathed in and out twice to calm herself before waking Jamie with a hug and a kiss, inhaling that soft baby smell that she associated with him and him alone.

“Good morning Jamie, time to wake up,” she whispered softly in his ear.

“Daddy?” he asked in a broken voice.

“It’s Tess. We’re okay, we’re going to go find your dad now.”

The boy’s eyes opened and latched onto her face. She saw the moment he remembered everything that had happened. His little face scrunched up, but he didn’t make a sound.

She grabbed his hand and helped him stand.

“We’re going to be okay, Jamie. We just need to walk a bit now and find your daddy. I know he’s looking for us,” she said briskly.

This last bit was true. Damien would have realized something had happened when they didn’t come home for dinner, and would have kicked off a search for them already. She knew him well enough to know he would leave no stone unturned in his search for his son—but the mountains were dangerous, and the rescue team might not be looking in the right place.

Wishing she’d told Damien exactly where they were heading, she tightened her hand around the boy’s smaller hand.

“You okay, Jamie?”

She needed the boy alert and on her side, so she waited patiently until Jamie nodded.

And so they’d gone out the window and started down the mountain, carefully at first because it was still completely dark and she didn’t want to stumble. A twisted ankle here could mean game over.

Tess couldn’t for the life of her remember the path they’d taken the day before. She’d let fear take over and hadn’t been paying enough attention.

Then she’d heard the front door slam and knew the man was back. All thoughts of caution left her mind. She tightened her hold on Jamie’s hand and ran hard, hoping she was retracing their steps and not taking them in a completely different direction.

But now they’d been running for what felt like hours, and both she and Jamie were reaching the limits of their endurance.

Jamie tripped and almost took Tess down with him.

We need to find a place to stop.

Tess sat down and leaned back against a tree, clasping the boy to her. She stroked his cheek gently, only then realizing Jamie had lost his glasses somewhere along the way. Jamie had strong hypermetropia—without his glasses, he wouldn’t have been able to see the terrain they’d been running on, yet he hadn’t complained once. Tess was once again amazed at his bravery.

Just a few minutes and we’ll start running again.

Chapter 5

Damien

Damien and Drake hadn’t exchanged any pleasantries when Drake picked him up outside his house at four in the morning. Both men were dressed in tactical gear—their uniform almost fully navy blue except for the jacket which had a wide lighter blue stripe running along the chest and one shoulder.

In his hands, Damien cradled the cup of coffee Drake had brought for him. Drake had dosed it liberally with milk and sugar—the exact opposite of the way Damien usually took his coffee, but Damien knew he’d need the energy for the day ahead. Not that he could get much past the lump in his throat.