Page 38 of Mountain Impact

All morning, Drake had kept thoughts of Isolde at bay through sheer force of will alone. His wasn’t a job where he could afford that kind of distraction, so his wounded heart would have to wait until the evening.

Thankfully, he’d been kept busy. He and his team had been out twice that morning already, first to rescue a family of walkers who had overestimated their seven-year-old twins’ stamina and found themselves stuck on the steep slopes of the Combe Noire, then to rescue a thirty-year-old climber who’d injured her elbow following an accidental fall. The woman had been a good sport, but that injury had to have hurt.

Sitting at his desk now, Drake rubbed at his leg absentmindedly. He was smart enough to recognize the phantom pain for what it was.

“I’m hungry,” Gael said.

“You’re always hungry,” Kat replied good naturedly.

“Not my fault if I’ve got an active metabolism,” Gael said, patting his flat belly.

“We don’t need to hear about your metabolism, Gael. Though I do think I could eat. Jens?”

The doctor nodded, standing up. He was back at work, though Drake was keeping him on desk duty for a few days. The fact that Jens hadn’t complained about that let him know it’d been the right choice.

Hiro and Bailey were at the vet for a check-up, so they wouldn’t be back until later that day.

“Sure,” Drake said, standing up as well. “Let’s go grab something.”

At that moment, Isolde walked out of the elevator. Drake’s heart missed a beat.

What is she doing down here?

Her eyes took in the surrounding room, until they landed on him. She paused uncertainly, then started walking towards him.

“Uh, hi Kat, Gael. How are you feeling, Jens?”

“Good, good. Thanks for asking, Isolde.”

“I … uh … was wondering if we could speak for a minute, Drake.”

Drake nodded. He was unable to take his gaze off her.

“See you later, Drake,” Jens said, neatly stepping away from him. Kat and Gael waved as well. Moments later, the two of them were alone in their side of the office.

“Is everything okay, Isolde?” He was having trouble interpreting the nervous energy coming from her. She didn’t look as bleak as she had earlier that morning, when she’d all but kicked him out of her place, but she also didn’t look okay.

“I owe you an apology for this morning,” she began.

“I don’t need an apology, Isolde.” Drake replied impatiently. “I just need to know you’re okay.”

“Last night made me forget what today was. When I woke up and saw the date―”

Drake kept silent, waiting for her to go on.

“Twelve months ago today, a man killed himself in the mountains. You might have heard of him―Sergeant Pierre Omont.”

Fuck.

Of course Drake had heard of Pierre Omont. The man had been a young sergeant who, after training for almost three years to join the PGHM, had developed migraines and severe vertigo, which had stopped him from passing the tests.

Drake searched in his memory for the man’s death. It hadn’t been his team who recovered the body, but he’d been present at the funeral, along with most of the Chamonix and Annecy police departments.

Isolde’s eyes filled with tears. Drake clenched his hands to stop himself from wiping at her cheeks. It didn’t look like she wanted to be touched.

“Did you know him well?” he asked gently. And then it all clicked in his mind. “You were his psychologist, weren’t you?”

She nodded. “The last time we met, I got the feeling he was coming to terms with the change in his circumstances. He wasn’t going to join the PGHM. But he was married, he seemed happy. I didn’t think he would …”