Page 55 of Mountain Trial

Luc sighed in relief. Now he just had to get back on the chair and―

Luc cringed as Mako proceeded to kick the wheelchair chair angrily. The empty chair teetered for an instant, then, as it passed its center of gravity, fell onto the ground. A black object dropped with a metallic clang.

Fuck.

“What the hell―”

“You fucker. Are you even crippled, or just a really good actor?” the mercenary asked. “Get up!” he ordered, kicking him once behind the knee. Even though he couldn’t feel it, the impact send Luc rolling.

Fuck you.

Luc raised himself on his bruised forearms and looked daggers at the blond mercenary looming over him.

A black shape moved beside him―it was Kat. Her flowing, black dress was torn, revealing a lot more leg than it had earlier that evening. She started crawling towards him.

“You … you stay away from me,” Luc growled. Even as he glared at her, he hoped Kat understood that he was acting―but at that moment all that mattered was making sure Mako believed him.

“What, you don’t want your whore to help you up?”

Mako kicked him again in the legs. Luc let his body roll with the impact.

“Jesus, Mako, lay off, he’s obviously a cripple,” the other mercenary said. He’d already dropped Scott back on his chair and was wiping his hands on his trousers, like it was contagious.

“A cripple with a fucking gun. What the hell is that for?”

Luc swallowed hard.

“I carry it for protection.”

“Protection? At a party?” Mako sneered.

Bull strode by, his expression deadly.

“This is a PAMAS G1. It’s a gun used by the Army,” Bull noted, bending down to pick it up and checking the magazine in a quick, efficient move.

He knows his way around guns.

Bull placed it inside his belt.

I hope you blow your balls off.

“I wouldn’t know anything about that. A friend gave it to me. I carry it for protection,” Luc repeated stubbornly.

At a signal from Bull, Mako lifted him back onto his chair. Luc lifted his legs in turn, placing his feet on the foot rests, then focused on getting his fear and his breathing back under control.

He sneaked a look at Kat to make sure she wasn’t doing anything stupid. She was still on the ground, with the rest of the hostages. Anybody looking at her would have noticed the tears in her eyes, and figured she was afraid. Luc knew her well enough to know she was furious.

Their eyes met for an instant, and Luc tried to convey the importance of staying still. She and Damien couldn’t take on six armed mercenaries with their bare hands and expect to survive.

They still had no idea what this was about, what the men wanted―but if he knew one thing, it was that the best way to ensure survival was not to let on that she was a gendarme.

Luc needed Kat to live.

He realized Bull was speaking again, and turned his attention quickly to the man.

“You know, I was in a wheelchair once, for a few months,” Bull said. His voice was soft now, almost conversational in tone. Luc didn’t like it one bit. “Wasn’t sure I would ever walk again. Would you like to know what I found out during this time?”

Not really, asshole.