Page 45 of Mountain Shadow

After two minutes, the defibrillator flashed a message at them.

“Ready,” Gael said. Jens moved back so Gael could see his hands were nowhere near the body. Gael pressed the shock button.

No.

Jens clenched his jaw. At some point, he was going to have to call the fatality.

He looked up and met Sarah’s gaze. She was standing very still. She’d taken off her sunglasses, and her eyes were like sunlight through a glass of fine whisky. Those eyes were looking at him now with equal parts fear and hope.

Her look helped steel his resolve.

Not giving up yet.

Jens shook out his hands to release tension in his arms and shoulders and prepared for another round of CPR.

“One more time, Gael.”

Jens pressed down on the sternum once again and began the compressions. In his head, he counted each one.

Suddenly, something shifted beneath him, the movement so slight Jens thought it might have been in his imagination. Instants later, the man coughed and sputtered.

“Yes!” Gael shouted, pumping his fist up in the air.

Jens quickly reached over and looked at the defibrillator’s monitor. What he saw made him smile widely. He murmured some soothing words to the man in both French and English.

“Let’s move him into the recovery position,” Jens said. “Careful with his leg. It’s broken.”

Jens rocked back on his knees, suddenly exhausted. He stood up, almost dizzy now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Sarah walked quickly towards him and pulled him decisively into her arms. He squeezed back—careful not to hold her too tight.

“He’s going to be okay?” she whispered.

Jens wasn’t about to give her anything other than the truth. “He needs to get to the hospital, but we’ve given him a fighting chance.”

“You were amazing.”

“So were you. Thank you for helping me.”

She moved away as Drake appeared next to them. Jens looked at the big man, surprised he hadn’t even noticed him coming onto the roof.

“Jens.”

“Drake, this is Sarah. She’s—”

“Tess’s sister. Of course. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sarah.” Drake looked towards the edge of the roof. “I’ve rigged a quick pulley system so we can get him off the roof—I figured you wouldn’t want him moved much.”

Jens nodded. “Thanks, Drake. This is perfect.”

“Did you see what happened?”

“It looked like he was trying to land when the chute collapsed and tangled around his body—he didn’t stand a chance of landing safely.”

Drake, an avid paraglider himself, nodded. “Looks like he was lucky he was already low enough. And that the two of you were here, of course.”

“Do you have to go with them?” Sarah asked, suddenly looking worried.

Jens shook his head. “Drake and Gael are both trained paramedics. I’m not leaving you, Sarah.”

An inscrutable look crossed her eyes, then was gone in an instant.