Page 72 of Mountain Summons

A sharp voice cut through the night.

“Police! Hands up in the air!”

Lena’s head snapped up.

Across the clearing, framed in the headlights of a snowmobile, stood Beau—gun raised, steady and sure.

Lorenz and Alex sprinted forward, one on either side, flanking their boss.

“No. No! You don’t get to steal this from me! You don’t understand—it’s mine!”

“I recommend dropping that weapon,” Beau said, his tone menacing.

André froze—just for a second—his body jerking in hesitation.

That second was all Tristan needed. He drove his fist into André’s jaw. It landed with a brutal crack, snapping the man’s head sideways. His knees buckled in slow motion, his eyes rolling back in his head as he collapsed face-forward onto the snow.

Lorenz was the first to reach them, black boots skidding in the snow as he helped Tristan wrench André’s arms behind his back. Alex was right behind, snapping a pair of flex cuffs on his wrists.

It was over.

Tristan staggered to his feed, panting, blood trickling from a split at the corner of his mouth. His eyes shot to Lena.

“Lena. Are you?—“

She didn’t wait for him to finish. She launched forward, wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

“You’re shaking,” he said, wrapping her in his embrace.

It was true. Her whole body was shaking—from cold, from fear, from everything.

“I’m okay,” she gasped. Even her voice trembled. “I’m okay.”

“I’m okay, too,” he said. One hand came up to cradle the back of her head, his own breath shuddering, warm and ragged, against her hair. “God, when I saw you run towards us?—“

“We’re okay.”

“What the hell’s going on, Tristan?” a voice asked behind them.

It took Lena a moment to realize Beau, Alex, and Lorenz had no idea what was going on.

“It’s a long story,” Tristan said.

“Which I can summarize very quickly,” Lena said. She wasn’t going to allow anyone to blame Tristan for a mess that she had brought to his door. “His name is André Rogier. He’s a reporter who’s been asking questions about the skeleton. He says the dead man is his grandfather. He believes there’s a valuable jewel up in the mountains, and he tried to force Tristan to take him there.”

Behind her, Alex was already on the phone with someone from thegendarmerie, explaining the facts.

“Are you both alright?” Beau asked calmly. “Do you need a doctor?”

“No,” Lena replied.

“She does,” Tristan said at the same time.

A low moan escaped André. “I need a hospital,” he said groggily. “My jaw … he broke my jaw.”

Good.

“I wasn’t asking you,” Beau replied stiffly. “Tell that to the gendarmes who’ve just arrived to pick you up.”

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