Page 25 of Mountain Struggle

The Annecy team had investigated Tess as well—something Damien had already done before hiring her—and had found nothing in her past that might make her a target either.

They’d tried to trace all vehicles in the area that day, hoping to strike lucky, but this was still a wild region—perhaps one of the last such areas in Europe. Cameras were few and far between, and they hadn’t been able to detect anything unusual.

And so the investigation had stalled.

The other reason life hadn’t gone quite back to normal for him, was the time he and Tess had spent together in the cave. Damien kept remembering what she’d looked like standing half-naked in the cave, what she’d felt like when she’d pressed her lips to his. And the kiss—the feel of her tongue against his—he closed his eyes at night and could almost feel her in his arms.

He’d lost count of the number of times he’d jerked off in bed at night thinking about Tess.

I’m an asshole.

It didn’t help that he often caught Tess giving him long, soulful looks.

She’s attracted to you.

You’re attracted to her.

What’s the problem?

But he knew what the problem was, of course—and it wasn’t even just one problem. She was way too young for him. She worked for him. And, most importantly, Jamie cared for her. Damien couldn’t do anything to jeopardize that relationship.

He needed to think with his head—not with his dick.

“You look like you swallowed a frog,” an American-sounding voice said. Damien looked up to see his father walk in from the yard—looking at the older man, it was easy to see what he would look like thirty years from now. They were both the same height, with broad, wide shoulders, pronounced cheekbones and a square chin. Only the eyes were different—where his father’s eyes were dark, Damien had inherited his mother’s bright blue eyes. That, and the hair, since his father’s dark hair was now more salt than pepper.

“Dad,” Damien acknowledged. He and his father didn’t have a great relationship. His mom had been the glue that bound them together, and after she died, it was easy for the two men not to see each other for weeks at a time, even while living in the same small town.

That had changed when Jamie had come into their lives. Damien had watched, amazed, as his stern, slightly absent, father turned almost overnight into a doting grandfather. Now, not a day went by without his father calling or coming over to spend time with Jamie.

His father leaned on a stool in the kitchen counter.

“What’s going on, son?”

Damien pondered how to answer that. His father had been out of town with friends of his when Jamie had disappeared, and by the time he got back Jamie and Tess were back home, so the two men had never spoken about it.

“Jamie’s not here. He and Tess went out with the bikes.”

John rapped his knuckles on the kitchen counter.

“I know. I saw them as they were leaving. I actually came to see you.”

That’s new.

Damien walked up to the counter and sat down opposite his father.

“Are you okay, Dad?”

John frowned, making the wrinkles on his face more pronounced. “That’s what I should be asking you.”

“What do you mean?” Damien asked, trying not to let his impatience show.

“What’s going on between you and Tess?”

Damien breathed out.

“Nothing’s going on between us. Did she say anything to you?”

“No—but I’m not blind. Anyone can see the two of you haven’t been the same since … since the incident. I just want to know what you’re going to do about it.”