Page 85 of Mountain Void

Two kilometers.

That couldn’t be a coincidence.

Lorenz and Ry exchanged a grim look.

The voice on the radio continued. “We forced the trunk open—“ Nausea rose, climbing up Charlie’s throat. Her vision narrowed to the sound of her own pulse, roaring in her ears. She felt Lorenz move a step closer to her, his arm coming to rest on her shoulder. “No sign of the child. It’s empty, except for a baseball bat and a box of painting materials.”

The air rose back into her lungs. Charlie’s whole body shook with relief.

Beau was the first to reply. “Stay with the car, Vincent.”

“Copy. He won’t see us if he comes back.”

If he comes back. The words were like shards of glass.

Charlie’s gaze dropped to the ground for a second, struggling for control.

Beside her, Lorenz’s hand remained steady on her shoulder.

“We keep moving,” he said, already reaching for the radio. “Beau, we’re approaching the upper ridge. We’ll continue this way. There’s a chance he could have pushed higher, meaning to return to the car later.”

“Agreed,” Beau replied. “Hugo and I are angling toward the northern slope. Damien’s team will cover the lower access points.”

“What if he’s not planning on coming back to the car?” The words slipped out of her before she could stop them. “What if—”

Lorenz

It was the fear in her voice that he couldn’t stand.

It was raw—as if her brain had been working full-time to keep the panic at bay, but now she couldn’t help but see the worst possible outcome.

“He hid his car for a reason. We just need to find them,” Lorenz said, looking to ease Charlie’s mind, but not willing to lie to her.

He forced his focus back to the terrain. The wind came in sharper bursts now, funneling along the ridge. Lorenz shifted so his body protected Charlie from the worst of the wind.

Then it started to snow—not the soft, drifting kind, but the hard, needling kind that hurt as it hit exposed skin.

And every minute, the sky got darker. Beside him, Charlie’s body shook with cold.

“The storm’s almost upon us,” Ry said softly.

Lorenz nodded. For the hundredth time, he wished Charlie had gone back to school with the others.

He adjusted his route slightly, angling toward a rocky outcrop that he knew would mark the ridge line. Soon, they’d have to head back down. Soon—

There was a small structure down there. Low, squat, half-hidden against the mountain. So well-camouflaged that they might have missed it if they hadn’t been staring straight at it.

“A hut,” Charlie gasped, her breaths coming in little puffs.

“That’s an abri d’été,” Ry confirmed. “A backup shelter for summer hikers.”

Charlie’s gaze fell. “This time of year, there won’t be anyone there we can talk to.”

Behind him, Ry said nothing. But when Lorenz glanced back briefly, and their eyes met, Lorenz knew they were both thinking the same thing. They could wait out the storm inside the hut.

Charlie needed to get warm.

If they were lucky, there would be some dry wood inside.