Page 63 of Mountain Summons

Lorenz nodded, then gave him a crooked smile. “Come. Get your running shoes. We’re taking an early lunch break.”

“You sure you’ve been cleared to work out?” Lorenz asked. “You’re moving like an old man.”

Tristan didn’t even bother to reply. Words would cost him breath he couldn’t spare. The last weeks of forced inactivity had taken their toll, and now his legs were clearly questioning his life choices. Then again, running with Lorenz was lunacy at the best of times. The man wasn’t just fit—he was otherworldly. A veteran of countless Ironmans, Lorenz had also completed the Marathon des Sables last year, a six-day ultramarathon acrossthe Sahara that most sane people wouldn’t attempt, let alone finish with a grin.

Tristan sighed inwardly as Lorenz veered onto the path climbing toward Petit Balcon Nord.

“Where the hell are we going?” he managed.

“To the top,” Lorenz answered, far too casually.

Fantastic. This was going to hurt.

Still, Tristan’s pride kept his feet moving, even as his lungs burned and his legs protested. If he tapped out now, Lorenz would never let him live it down—and worse, he’d be right.

“Breathe through your nose,” Lorenz called back over his shoulder. “Unless you enjoy sucking wind like a dying lawnmower.”

Tristan gritted his teeth. “I swear to God, Lorenz…”

“You’re doing better than I thought, if you still have breath left to chat.”

“I’m not even sure you’re human,” Tristan huffed out, and then didn’t say anything else, because he needed every molecule of oxygen his mouth could suck in.

Lorenz laughed—because the bastard could run uphill and laugh at the same time.

Finally, the ridge came into view.Thank God. Tristan’s legs shook something fierce, his lungs felt scraped raw, and the cleats on his shoes felt like they weighed a ton, but it was a good kind of pain, the kind that reminded him he was lucky to be alive.

He bent over, hands braced on his knees, pulling air like it was going out of style. The view was insane—snowcapped peaks to one side, the Chamonix valley stretched out below like something from a painting—but he barely registered it. His heart was doing its best to punch out of his chest.

Lorenz stood a few feet away, completely unbothered, sipping from a soft flask of water like this had been a warm-up jog.

“Nice pace,” he said, not even winded. “I thought I might have to carry you for the last stretch, but you powered through.”

“Don’t flatter me,” Tristan muttered. “It’s just pride. And spite.”

“Spite’s underrated,” Lorenz said. “It’s fueled some of my best races.”

Tristan managed to straighten. The cold air at this altitude bit at his throat, but the burn felt earned.

“I’m about to die here, Lorenz. I think you’ve successfully stopped me from over-thinking things. My brain isn’t even working anymore.”

“Excellent. Job done, then,” Lorenz said, stretching his arms overhead. A grin split his tanned face. “Come on, let’s start down, or Beau will wonder where the hell we went. And remember, if you die on the downhill, I’m not carrying you.”

Tristan snorted at the empty threat. If there was one thing Tristan knew, it was that Lorenz would never leave him behind. Still, he took care with his footing on the snow-covered slope—he’d pushed his body enough for one day.

As the trail wound downward and his body relaxed into the run, the colonel’s words made their way back into his head, the echo more painful than the effects of the run.

“Maybe the colonel is right,” he finally said, voicing his biggest worry. “Maybe the best thing I can do is to let her go, as soon as we know it’s safe for her to go back home. Our lifestyle isn’t exactly suited to relationships.”

“Mine isn’t,” Lorenz agreed easily, “but it looks like some of our friends are making it work.”

Tristan thought of Beau, Alex, Ry, and Hugo. They’d all found love. But still … “They’re all different.”

“Right. They’realldifferent, Tristan. So are you. So is Lena.” Lorenz slowed his pace a little—not enough to make it obvious, but enough to let Tristan catch up. “I’m not one to give advice,but she cares about you, man. And you’re still walking around like you’ve got to earn the right to breathe near her.”

“Maybe I do.”

“Maybe that’s not your decision to make. You’re allowed to prove the colonel wrong, you know?”

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