Page 25 of Mountain Target

“I’m going to need that image,” Beau said, and tuned out the scientist. None of the questions that popped into his mind were as urgent as the calls he had to make.

“I’ve got the most important things in here,” Dr. Bristow finally said, clutching the tablet to his chest. “My team has the rest of our things. We’ll take everything to the hotel and set up our lab there.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Beau said briskly, his hand already on his phone. “Let me make a call, and I’ll be right back with you.

Beau moved a few steps away before pressing the call button. If Bristow was wrong, Beau would have gotten the colonel out of bed for nothing. But if he was right, they could be facing a catastrophe.

“Colonel,” he began, “It looks like we have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” the colonel asked, tapping away at a keyboard. It didn’t sound like he’d been sleeping after all.

“Dr. Bristow claims a large-scale disturbance is imminent.”

“An earthquake?” the colonel breathed. “When?”

“He doesn’t know when exactly. Dr. Bristow’s gathered the data he needed. He says they need time to analyze it, but he’s going to send you an image.”

The colonel let out an uncharacteristic expletive—he wasn’t a man given to swearing.

“We need to know when this will happen, and where the epicenter will be. Can Bristow give us that?”

“I hope so,” Beau said. They couldn’t evacuate the entire valley, so they were going to need that information.

“Get them back down here with their data, right now. Tell them they’ll have all the resources they need. I need to contact the mayor.”

As he hung up the call, Alex, Hugo, and Ry walked up to him.

Beau wondered if he looked as shaken as he felt.

“We’re in trouble, aren’t we?” Alex asked. Of all his team, he was the one who’d worked the longest with Beau.

“Dr. Bristow thinks an earthquake is imminent.”

“Imminent like what?” Ry asked. “By geological standards, imminent could mean a century from now.”

“Look at them,” Hugo said, pointing at the wild gesticulations of the group of scientists. “Whatever they’re talking about, it’s not going to happen a hundred years from now.”

A flash went off in the vicinity, momentarily blinding them.

“Get that out of my face,” Beau growled.

The slim photographer apologized and quickly slunk back. “Sorry, just trying to capture the moment.”

Beau turned back to his men. “Alex, Hugo, make sure the scientists have everything they need. The colonel wants them back in town now.”

Beau debated whether to call Damien, then decided against it. Better to let him and his team sleep for a few hours longer, since there was nothing any of them could do until the scientists went through their data.

There was also another call he wanted to make—a call he’d been itching to make ever since he got the first inkling that there might be danger ahead. He wanted to speak to Valentina.

But what will you tell her?

That she and Ren should leave town and go … where?

There was nothing he could say until they knew more about what was going to happen—if anything was going to happen at all.

And, in any case, he didn’t have her number. Something he planned to remedy as soon as he got back home.

Beau clenched his molars together. He wasn’t used to feeling like this—helpless, impotent.