Page 99 of Mountain Void

He’s crossed a line.

And we’re the only thing standing between him and Théo.

“Let my son go,” Pelletier threatened.

Charlie’s blood ran cold. This man had set a burning trap around his son. A trap that could have killed him. Did he even realize what he’d done?

The boy huddled tighter against her side, as if trying to disappear in her embrace. She could feel his fear—the dreadful trembling in his small body.

“Lower the weapon, Monsieur Pelletier,” Lorenz said calmly.

“Non. Viens, Théodore,” Pelletier boomed.

Théo looked up at her through tearful eyes.

“Papa, please don’t hurt them.”

Charlie tightened her hold on the boy to stop him from doing as his father asked.

“Stay here,” Charlie murmured. “Stay with us.”

Lorenz took another deliberate step forward.

“You’re upset,” he said, sounding almost relaxed. “Let’s talk about this.”

Charlie stared at his back in disbelief.

Upset?

But she understood what Lorenz was doing. This was crisis-management Lorenz. The man who spoke to terrified people trapped in avalanches, and kept them calm when calm seemed impossible. The man who ensured people left the mountains alive.

For a moment, her heart soared.

Then she caught sight of Pelletier’s crazed expression.

Pelletier’s weapon shifted from Lorenz to her. Charlie’s pulse spiked, but she didn’t dare move.

Lorenz subtly shifted sideways, forcing Pelletier’s attention back to him—drawing the danger away from her and the boy.

Charlie became suddenly, horribly aware of how tired Lorenz looked. Of the blood running down the side of his face. Of the way his shoulders had begun to sag.

He was reaching his limit.

It was at that moment that she heard it. The sound of a helicopter.

Pelletier heard it, too. His head jerked upwards sharply for a moment. Something flashed in his eyes.

Fear of losing control.

That’s what really scares him.

The weapon came up higher. Charlie pushed the boy further behind her. She saw, in slow motion, as Pelletier’s finger tightened on the trigger.

“No!”

Lorenz moved fast. Far too fast for someone with his injuries. And the terrifying part was, he wasn’t aiming for Pelletier.

He was aiming at her.