Page 4 of Hero's Prize

“I’m thinking a frontside 720 out of the helo. Really grip them from the beginning, you know?”

Colton Harrison stood near the top of Grand Teton, the highest of one of the most majestic sets of mountains in the United States. Hell, the whole world. He looked around, turning slowly, taking it all in.

“You know, do the flip late, so it looks like you’re about to crash headfirst straight into the mountain before the stunt even starts. We’ll have both the A-camera and B-camera pointed on you at that point—do live cuts back and forth to make it more dramatic.”

Colton was only vaguely listening to the head of his PR team, Tony Salaun, as the man continued to talk about how the snowboarding stunt on Sunday could be made as epic as possible.

They’d already gone over all these details before. Multiple times. With a stunt of this magnitude, they tried to prepare for every possible outcome. What Colton did for a living was dangerous—many of his stunts being life-threatening.

But he was never reckless.

Tony walked away, dictating points into his headset while jotting down more info in his paper notepad. Normally, he wassurgically attached to his electronic notebook, but it was too cold up here for the computer tablet to work.

“That dude is a little intense.”

Colton chuckled as his friend Thomas “Bear” Bollinger walked over to stand next to him.

“Tony and his public relations team are the best at what they do.” That was why Colton had hired Tony around a year ago. The guy was young and hungry and determined to make a name for himself. Ten years ago, Colton had been in the exact same mind-set and had had the exact same hunger. So, he hadn’t minded giving Tony a chance.

But yeah, the guy was intense. Wanted to make sure every shot was planned perfectly so Colton could get as much publicity mileage out of it as possible.

“You don’t seem very enthused about your guy being a PR rock star.”

Colton shrugged. Bear had been one of his best friends since the time they could walk. The two of them—along with Colton’s twin, Tucker—had been getting into trouble together their whole lives.

Colton didn’t keep secrets from Bear.

“I don’t know, man. I’m just feeling a little off.”

“About the stunt? Do we need to put a hold on it?”

Colton spun slowly to look at the stunning view available in three hundred and sixty degrees around him. A low fog had moved in, so they were actually above the clouds, giving the whole place a sort of surreal feel.

“No, it’s not the stunt. Everything is shaping up perfect for Sunday. Weather is supposed to be clear and brisk. And I’ve got the best pilot in the country handling the most dangerous part.”

Bear grinned. “Derek would be both stoked and mortified that you called him that.”

“Regardless of whether your brother can take a compliment, it’s still true.” Colton pointed up to where he’d be starting the stunt on Sunday. “Hovering the helicopter near that ridge will be one of the most dangerous parts of the day.”

Bear’s brother, Derek Bollinger, was an exceptionally accomplished airplane and helicopter pilot. He worked for Teton Helitack team, performing all sorts of insane maneuvers while fighting fires and rescuing lost or injured civilians.

There was no one Colton would trust more to get him to the top of this mountain, able to hold the helicopter steady so low to the ridge, while Colton jumped out on his snowboard.

“Sure,” Bear chuckled. “You speeding down that mountain at Mach 1 isn’t dangerous at all.”

Colton cracked a grin. “Not even a little bit.”

Despite the joke, Colton still felt off. Not because of this stunt. Or…notjustthis stunt.

He’d been feeling off for the past couple of months.

Bear cleared his throat. “Want to talk about it? Whateveritis.”

Damn it. For being a mechanic, Bear Bollinger was way too damned observant.

Colton let out a huge sigh. “Well, Doctor, let me think. Really, all my problems started when I was a baby and my mother dropped me on my head. I don’t think she ever really loved me. She?—”

Bear laughed and slapped him on the back, which he could hardly feel through their thick jackets. It was fucking cold up here. “All right, asshole, I get it. You don’t want to talk about whatever is bugging you. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if Aunt Girl had dropped you on your head on purpose.”

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