Page 16 of Mountain Void

She waited, her gray eyes wide.

“Please,” he added, the word stripped of any pride. “Have dinner with me. Let’s talk.”

Before she could say no, his phone rang.

The sharp, familiar tone cut straight through. Beau. He couldn’t not take the call.

“Take it,” she said. “It’s okay.”

He hesitated, just long enough to hate himself for it. Here, too, he was going to fail now?

The call took less than ten seconds, but by the time he hung up, Charlie had stepped away.

“Can we talk later?” He couldn’t pretend it was a casual request. Even though he didn’t deserve it, he needed that promise more than he’d ever needed anything before. He was ready to go on his knees, if he thought it’d make a difference.

“Tomorrow,” she said at least. “Coffee after school. Not dinner.”

Coffee. A compromise, neutral ground. He’d take it.

He nodded. “Tomorrow. I’ll meet you here.”

Lorenz turned toward his car before he could change his mind. As he drove back to Chamonix, lights flashing ahead of him, the words came back to him—clearer than ever.

Do the right thing.

If only he could be sure what that was.

6

Lorenz

Blood had already begun to stiffen on Lorenz’s gloves.

Shit.

He increased pressure against the wound, bracing carefully around the thick branch embedded in the man’s shoulder. He wasn’t going anywhere near it.

Ry’s voice crackled in his ear, calm but tight around the edges. Finally.

“Victim one is a male climber. Suspected pelvic fracture with signs of internal bleeding. Unconscious. I’m stabilizing him for movement.”

“I’ve got the second climber,” Lorenz said over comms. “Male. Heavy bleeding. Penetrating impalement injury to the right shoulder, with the foreign body still in place.”

Ry’s voice came immediately. “Is the patient conscious?”

“Yes.”

“Keep the pressure on. Don’t disturb the object. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

The climber shifted, tried to push himself upright. Lorenz pressed him back down without much effort, careful not to release pressure against the wound.

“Easy. Don’t move,” Lorenz said. “I’ve got you.”

“It’s not …” The climber swallowed, breath shallow. “It’s not, like, all the way through, is it?”

All he had to do was look down, but his eyes remained firmly on Lorenz’s. The brain’s way of protecting him from further shock.

“Stay with me,” Lorenz said steadily. “I’m with the PGHM. We’re going to get you to a hospital. What’s your name?”