Page 13 of Mountain Impact

Six years ago, a younger maintenance technician had deactivated the emergency braking system, after discovering it kept malfunctioning and interrupting the service. That single, ill-fated decision, had precipitated the crash that killed a little girl.

The pressure in Drake’s skull grew. He must have made some kind of sound, for Yvette turned her sharp eyes towards him.

“It seems you’re the common link between the two incidents, Lieutenant Jacobs.”

Drake had to force his jaw open so he could speak. “I hope you’re not implying I had anything to do with the accident, Ms. Legrand,” he said coldly.

The woman raised a perfectly manicured hand. “No, no, of course not. I just mean, you were present at both incidents. The press will come find you if they make the connection.”

Ah, that’s what’s bothering you.

He sighed. He could easily reassure her there. “Trust me, I won’t be speaking to any reporters.”

“You’ll send them my way?” she said.

“Actually, Yvette, Lieutenant Jacobs should ask any reporters to speak with me,” Vincent Morgan said, speaking up for the first time.

Drake relaxed and sat back to watch the pissing contest. His money was on the mayor’s chief of staff, but Vincent Morgan could be like a dog with a bone when he set his mind on something, so―

“Lieutenant Jacobs will come to me first if any reporters reach out to him,” the colonel said, breaking up the argument. “I’ll be the one deciding what to do.”

Drake nodded in acknowledgement. That certainly made sense to him. He didn’t get paid to deal with this shit.

“In the meantime, let’s focus on our current problems. I’d like the two of you to work together on a statement about Sunday’s crash,” the colonel continued, addressing Yvette and Vincent. Though quiet, his voice left no room for argument. “Dr. Durant, have you spoken to everybody at the scene? Do you have any concerns, or any follow-ups in mind? Anything we should be thinking about?”

Isolde nodded, looking up from her file. “I’ve spoken to everybody who was at the scene, and don’t have any concerns. Everybody knows to come see me if they experience any issues later on.”

Drake was inexplicably grateful Isolde didn’t use the word incident to refer to the first cable car crash.

The meeting went on for an extra fifteen minutes, but Drake was only half-paying attention. Most action items were focused on preserving the town’s brand and reputation, a topic that had nothing to do with him, and one in which he had absolutely no interest.

Finally, the meeting broke up. Drake waited until everybody had left the room before standing up and stretching his creaking leg gratefully.

A second later, Isolde popped her head back into the room.

Drake looked behind him at the empty conference room table to see if she’d forgotten anything.

She shook her head. “I just wanted to speak with you for a minute,” she said softly. “Are you okay?”

Her beautiful eyes shone with kindness and intelligence.

Drake clenched his hands to stop himself from pulling back that loose strand of hair falling over her eyes. To cover his need, he huffed impatiently. “I’m fine. You don’t need to babysit me.”

Her eyes narrowed for an instant. “I’m not babysitting you. I’m just asking you, one colleague to another, if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“I’m fine. I’d love to stay and chat,” he said, making it clear that he’d like that about as much as a trip to the dentist, “but I need to get back to my team now. If you’ll excuse me,” he said, exiting the room quickly. Her soft, floral scent hit him as he walked past her. It was a familiar, inviting, delicious smell. He had to stop himself from going back.

Chapter 5

Drake

Sitting in the helicopter with his team, it was difficult to believe that just half an hour earlier he’d been sipping lukewarm coffee in a meeting room. This was his second intervention of the day, but the sixth for his team.

Drake looked at Kat, who’d been working non-stop the entire shift. She looked exhausted. She’d just dropped Jens, Hiro and Bailey off to go pick up some hikers, and was now taking him and Gael to pick up a couple of stranded climbers.

“Hey, Kat,” Drake said into his headset. “After this, you need to take a break.”

Kat didn’t bother looking at him. “I think we all do. Maybe if people give us a break and stop getting lost or hurt, at least until we’ve grabbed some dinner?”