Page 42 of Mountain Target

Va forced herself to step inside, her eyes taking in the simple furnishings, covered in rubble, dust, and chunks of plaster that had fallen from the ceiling. A narrow set of stairs on one side of the small living space led to the upstairs.

There’s nobody here.

Fear, so thick she could taste it, built in the back of her mouth. She swallowed compulsively, as if that would somehow clear the fear.

She’d been so sure they would find the men in the house.

And the longer it took her to find them, the less likely it was they would find any of those people alive.

She was about to turn around when something made her stop. She sniffed the air, smelling something thick and smoky. Steps creaked from above, and new bits of wood and plaster fell onto her head.

She had to get out of here.

This isn’t safe.

She turned to go to the next house—just as she heard a huge crash on the stairs.

Beau

The shout was muffled, but easily recognizable as Valentina’s.

What the hell is she doing here?

Beau started down the stairs, taking them three by three as the panic in her voice registered.

“Valentina?” he growled, seeing her shaky, disheveled appearance. As if she’d run all the way here.

“We have a problem,” she gasped.

He vaulted over the banister, landing on his feet, for once the pain in his knee barely registering.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Ry?”

“There’s more people!”

“What?”

She continued breathlessly. “The man you rescued, he woke up for a second, whispered something about a birthday party, said his son and granddaughter are somewhere up here as well.”

Beau inhaled sharply.

“Shit.” He turned to Alex. “Get Lorenz and Hugo on the line. We need to regroup.”

But there was no need to call anyone. The mic crackled, and Hugo’s voice came, loud and clear. To anyone who didn’t know the man, he may have sounded calm and in control. Beau knew better, recognized the underlying tension in the voice.

“We’re at the third house. There’s someone trapped inside. We need help.”

Beau looked at Valentina. He didn’t want her anywhere near this place. But there was no time to waste. She was going to have to come with them.

“Stay behind me,” Beau growled. “Step where I step.”

Valentina

One moment Beau was issuing a curt order to her, the next moment they were gone.

So Valentina did the only thing she could do—she ran after them, careful to step where he’d stepped.

One.