Page 23 of Mountain Target

Valentina’s voice was a whisper. “I asked about you because I was interested.”

As he opened his mouth to respond, his phone rang, making Valentina jump a mile into the air.

He cursed lightly as he saw the name on the screen. It was the colonel.

“I’m sorry. I need to take this.”

She nodded quickly, giving him a look that said she was used to calls at all times of day and night.

The colonel didn’t bother with any niceties.

“Commandant, I need you to get your team together. The scientists are concerned about today’s measurements.”

Beau just managed to contain his sigh. He’d been looking forward to sitting down with a beer. But he knew better than to question his orders.

“I’ll get a few of my men together. We’ll pick the scientists up at their hotel in twenty minutes.”

He heard the tapping of the colonel’s pen against his heavy mahogany desk.

Does he ever go home?

“Thank you. Please keep me informed.”

Beau hung up the phone.

“I have to go,” he said, unnecessarily, since she’d heard his part of the conversation. “Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be okay,” she said, very formally. “Thank you for listening.”

He turned his back around in the small space, not noticing until he was straddling the bike that she’d stepped off the stairs. He was once again struck by how small she was. Tiny, really, except for her amazing—

He forced his eyes up to her face, hoping Valentina hadn’t noticed.

No such luck.

Her smile told him she’d noticed plenty.

“Hold on. I still have your jacket.” She began peeling it off, and this time it was a real challenge to keep his eyes on her face.

“Keep it. I have another one,” he said, and rode off before she could say anything else.

9

Beau

"Bordel!” Hugo exclaimed, pulling his dripping boot out of the mud he’d just stepped in. “Remind me again, Commandant, what the hell we’re doing here at this time of night?”

Beau shrugged his massive shoulders.

“I have no fucking clue.”

He, Hugo, Alex and Ry had taken the scientists all the way up to the La Breche Glacier in snowmobiles, each man taking a scientist behind them.

Beau had been stuck with the lead scientist, who’d sat rigidly behind Beau, not saying a single word until they’d gotten to the top. As soon as they’d arrived, he’d jumped off with an agility that belied his age, immediately running to one of the larger pieces of equipment they’d left there earlier.

Beau and his men had spent the first hour setting up the lights so the scientists to be able to see what they were doing. Now, there was nothing more for them to do except wait for Bristow to say something.

The back of Beau’s neck itched. He wasn’t a superstitious man, but the way the scientists were running around, like lemmings… it made him think that whatever was happening, wasn’t good.