Page 40 of Mountain Challenge

“Not a chance. That screw’s not going to hold.”

“It’ll hold. I put it in myself,” Beau said stubbornly. “Now clip yourself to the board and go. That’s an order.”

Ry hesitated. Beau was his friend, but he was also his boss, and the leader of their particular unit. And Ry understood why the chain of command was in place—it made them able to work safely and efficiently. What’s more, he trusted Beau. But that bolt gave him a bad feeling. And he’d also learned not to ignore his instincts.

“I said it’s an order, Lieutenant,” Beau growled. Ry stiffened. He could not disobey a direct order. He readied himself to move—away from Beau and towards the line holding Terence in place—until he realized what Beau was holding in his hand. An ice drill. He’d taken off his glove and was holding the ice drill inhis hand. If Beau was getting ready to drill a new hole, then he wasn’t as sure as he claimed that his ice screw was going to hold.

Ry took a deep breath, readying himself to disobey a direct order. Because he wasn’t going to leave Beau to die in this fucking hole. Not if there was anything he?—

In the end, the ice around the screw made the decision for him. The ice broke and Ry lunged explosively—like a drunk football player, if football players were to play while hanging off a rope. He grasped Beau around his chest, his hold slipping as Beau started to fall.

No.

He wasn’t going to fucking lose him.

An animalistic sound emerged from Ry’s throat. He leaned sideways—as far as he could go, and grasped Beau’s hand with his left arm. His shoulder screamed—agony poured through him, but they had more important things to worry about. Like whether his own ice screw would hold.

“It’s holding,” Ry said. They weren’t falling.

“Fuck.”

Fuck, indeed. “I’ve got you,” Ry groaned through clenched teeth. “Wrap your hand around my wrist.”

When Beau hesitated, Ry saw red. “If you ask me to let you go, I swear I’ll drop you,” Ry threatened. Despite the cold, sweat poured down his brow.

Beau chuckled darkly. Moments later, his fingers tightened around Ry’s forearm. Ry was glad Beau’s gloves were already off. He could get a much better grip.

“Don’t fucking let go,” Ry threatened. He readied himself—taking a deep breath because this was going to hurt—and pulled. He pulled with all he was worth, until his shoulder felt like it was going to pop out of his skin, then kept pulling. Red stars filled his vision, but slowly—too fucking slowly—Beau’s body came up to where he needed him to be.

Ry’s teeth were clenched so hard, he couldn’t get a single word out. But he didn’t need to. Beau reached out with his other hand and clipped himself onto Ry’s harness. Ry held on for a while longer, because signals were misfiring in his brain and he couldn’t get his fingers to release their hold, even after Beau had drilled himself a new anchor against the ice wall.

“Thank you,” Beau said, sounding composed. Despite the pain, Ry laughed.

“You’re fucking unflappable, mate.” He’d never called his bossmatebefore, and Beau’s eyebrow arched to let him know the slip hadn’t gone unnoticed.

“I’m lucky you had my back, is what I am.”

They moved on autopilot, and Ry was glad for the training that got him back on the ledge with Terence. There was a question in Beau’s eyes now. “I’m okay to go up with him,” Ry said.

Beau nodded. “Okay.”

Please let there be no more surprises.He couldn’t cope with more surprises. But Alex and Hugo pulled them up smoothly, and soon the sky—when had it gotten so dark—was visible up top.

This was the tricky part. Using his uninjured arm, Ry angled the board almost vertical, glad that Terence was unconscious for this part.

And they were through. Alex and Hugo pulled them both up at the same time, quickly getting them away from the hole.

“You don’t look so good, man,” Alex said. “Sit down while we bring Beau up.”

Keeping his injured arm tight against his side—the only position that seemed to lower the pain from a fucking eleven out of ten—Ry took a moment to monitor Terence’s blood pressure.

“How is he?” Beau asked. Ry hadn’t even realized they’d pulled him out already.

“Unconscious but stable.”

“We can move him?” Ry nodded. Well, his friends would have to move him. He didn’t think he could make his own way to the helicopter, let alone help carry the board.

“How are you?”

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