Page 35 of Mountain Summons

“And Tristan?” The words lodged in her throat, suffocating her. “Please.”Please tell me.

“He was conscious when we landed. He helped me get Alex to the refuge. At first, I didn’t realize he was hurt, I?—

Her knees almost buckled. She forced herself to breathe.Keep it together.“How is he?” she asked, swallowing against the tightness in her throat.

“He didn’t tell me he was hurt.”

Beau let out a humorless laugh. “Of course he didn’t.”

Lena felt ice slide down her spine.

Of course he didn’t.Because that was the kind of man he was—the kind of man theyallwere. That’s why she had to stay away. Except … what had staying away bought her? She’d wasted time, time they could have spent together, and now …

Her father, who had been silent until now, crossed his arms. “What do the doctors say?”

It was Beau who answered. “Internal bleeding. Liver laceration. It took a while before they realized. Val—my wife,” headded, clearly for her benefit, “is inside with him. She’s a doctor in Chamonix, and she has friends in Annecy as well.”

Liver laceration.

She’d never heard the term before, but it didn’t sound good. Livers are obviously important. She wished she’d paid more attention in biology class. She should sit. Maybe breathe. Breathing was a good idea.

“They took him into surgery an hour ago.”

Lena’s pulse roared in her ears.

Her father spoke, his voice level, calm, steady in a way that made her want to scream. “Prognosis?”

Beau looked at Lorenz, then back at them.

“He lost a lot of blood, but they think they got to it in time.”

Lena exhaled so sharply it hurt.They think. The walls of the waiting room felt like they were closing in.

Her father was asking more questions, rational things, things a military officer should ask. Lena was having trouble listening.

She didn’t know how long she stood there, hands braced on the edge of the nearest chair, staring at the floor, trying to steady herself.

She hadn’t seen Tristan since the charity auction.

Hadn’t let herself admit what he meant to her.

And now…

She had no idea if she’d ever get the chance.

The shrill ring tone of her father’s phone broke into her thoughts. “I have to get this,” he said, walking out of the room. Lena barely noticed. Her full attention was on a woman with bright red hair who walked in through another door, markedAccès réservé au personnel médical. She was young—much younger than Beau—but there was no doubt who she was as she walked up to him and placed her hand gently on his arm.

“He’s stable,” she said, addressing them all. The ringing in Lena’s ears got worse, but she forced herself to listen. Sheneeded to hear what the woman was saying. “The surgeon will be out soon, but he gave me permission to come out and talk to you already. The bleeding was bad at first, and we thought he might need a partial hepatectomy, but the surgeon was able to stop the bleeding with an embolization instead.”

“That’s … better?” Lena asked. Her voice sounded tinny to her own ears.

The woman looked at her. “Much better. It’s a minimally invasive procedure to stop the bleeding. Tristan’s going to be fine. I’m Val, by the way,” she finished, offering Lena her hand.

Lena shook it. “Lena.”

“Lena is Colonel Pelegrin’s daughter,” Beau said meaningfully.

“Ah … we’ve heard a lot about you, Lena.”

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