Page 83 of Mountain Target

Tunnel vision.

Check.

Muscle tension.

Check.

He consciously forced a handful of slow, conscious breaths as he regained control of the situation.

In his mind, his limbs became parts of a machine, and he forced out stroke after stroke, each one bringing him closer to his target.

He wasn’t worried about himself. He’d trained for this kind of thing and knew he could easily stay in the water two or three minutes before his physiological reactions started to be seriously impaired.

His concern was for Ren and Valentina, who’d been in the water that long already, and had neither his level of muscle mass nor the training to withstand cold water shock.

“Valentina!” he shouted. There was something strange about the way she was treading water, and it took him a moment to realize Valentina was holding Ren up, keeping the girl’s face out of the water.

“Beau. Thank God,” she croaked. Her lips and the skin around her mouth were an unnatural dusky blue.

He didn’t waste any words. “Give her to me,” he said.

She shook her head, a jerking, panicked movement.

“Ren’s leg is caught on something,” she gasped.

Fuck.

Beau didn’t hesitate. He took a deep breath, then submerged himself into the green, murky water.

He fought the initial vertigo brought on by cold and felt for Ren, using his hands to feel down the girl’s leg until he came across the problem. The girl’s boot was trapped between two large, square blocks of something that might be granite.

He resurfaced, his lungs screaming for air.

“I see it,” he said to Valentina. His fear ratcheted up to a thousand when he caught sight of her listless expression. “I’m going to free her foot, okay?”

And then he went back under. This time, he knew what he was looking for. He wrapped his hands awkwardly around the large, smooth rock and pulled outwards.

At first, nothing happened.

Fear crept up Beau’s throat, that he might not be strong enough to move it, but he pushed it away as he kept pulling. Something inside him told him he wouldn’t have another chance. Already, he felt his body starting to slow in the ice cold water.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled harder, his arms wrapped around the rock, pulled and strained until he thought his tendons might tear, then pulled harder, his entire being focused on a single point.

Because failure was unacceptable.

He couldn’t—wouldn’t—come up without Ren.

And then the balance shifted infinitesimally, and he redoubled his efforts, knowing if he lost his grip now, he could injure Ren.

He called on every weight he’d ever lifted, until the rock was off Ren.

Her foot—now free from its hold—kicked him in the shoulder, the dull pain a welcome reminder that he was running out of air. He pulled himself up behind her.

Valentina’s and Ren’s faces were ashen, and Beau realized with a jolt that he didn’t have a plan for this moment.

Valentina made the decision for him, pushing Ren towards him.

“Take her,” she begged.