Page 62 of Mountain Struggle

He’d never seen Tess smile as widely as when he’d told her they had the entire morning to themselves.

“This is incredible, Damien,” she said, staring at the walls of the Mer de Glace ice cave. They were the only ones in the cave—they’d taken the first train up, since he knew it’d get packed later on in the day. “I’d read about it but didn’t imagine it could be this serene up here,” she admitted.

Although Damien had been to the cave multiple times, he saw it now through her eyes—the thick layers of ice, so dense it looked blue, the heavy silence of the glacier. Even the tacky ice sculptures depicting animals and objects, which were redone every year, seemed almost endearing to him this time around.

As corny as it sounded, and it wasn’t something he was planning to say out loud, Tess was by far the most beautiful thing in the cave.

“Coming up here is the first thing most visitors do when they arrive in Chamonix, yet half the people living in town have never been here,” he shared, smiling.

“I’ll have to tell them about it when we get back,” she said, pulling her woolen hat over her ears. “Brrr … it really is cold here. I thought you were crazy when you suggested I bring a hat and gloves, but I’m glad I listened.”

Shortly after, they left the cave and started walking back up the stairs that would take them back up to the cable car station.

He held her gloved hand to his face, kissing it gently and blowing his hot breath on her fingers. Her body melted against him in a warm embrace.

“Hey, keep that for later, or I won’t be able to climb all these steps,” she said. “Let’s see if I can beat you to the top!”

She climbed the stairs three at a time. He stopped for a moment, enjoying the view, as her short coat and black leggings did nothing to hide her ass. Together, they passed the step marking the level the glacier used to start in 1990, then kept going up. They were almost at the top of the stairs when Damien’s phone rang. It was Drake’s number.

“Gray,” he said.

“Just wanted to share a quick update, Damien, regarding the files we set aside yesterday. Three of the families moved away from the area after the incident—they say they haven’t been back since. We’re checking with local police, but so far they seem to be telling the truth.”

Damien nodded. “What about the others?”

“The officer caught up with one family in the hospital, where the mother just gave birth to a baby boy.”

“So it’s not them.”

“We’re still trying to reach the remaining two, as well as the files you shared last night. It doesn’t look like you got much sleep, boss.”

Damien couldn’t disagree. He was exhausted. For a moment his attention wandered. He forced himself to focus on what Drake was saying.

“… appointment with Dr. Durant in an hour to look through them together.”

“Thank you, Drake. I’ll come into the office after lunch.”

“We’ll catch up then, Damien.”

Damien disconnected the call. He turned around to find Tess looking at him wearily.

“Is everything okay?”

Damien shook his head. “No news for now. But we’re going to figure this out, Tess.”

She nodded. “I believe that, Damien. I really do. It’s just … I’ve never felt like this before. I feel like I’ve got the sword of Damocles hanging over my head—over Jamie’s head. Could we maybe go back home, please?” she asked, shivering.

Damien nodded. “We can catch the train and be home in—”

In his pocket, the phone rang again. He picked it up, thinking Drake had forgotten something, but heard his father’s voice on the phone instead.

“Damien?” His father sounded out of breath and hesitant. Damien’s stomach lurched—John was never, ever hesitant.

“Dad? What happened? Is Jamie okay?”

“Jamie’s gone,” John said, his voice breaking in a sob. “There was a motorcycle outside … a man … he threw something through the window. The room filled with gas .... that’s the last thing I remember. When I woke up Jamie wasn’t there.”

Damien held on to the handrail for dear life. His fear became a living, palpable thing inside him.