Olive’s gaze moved from face to face, reading each expression. Tevin appeared shaken but focused as his eyes darted around the group as if he mentally logged every word. Nova’s lips trembled, her hand clutching the back of a chair. Mitzi couldn’t stand still. Trick looked ready to explode. Mara and Warren clung to each other. And Rex—Rex was composed,calm, but his eyes flickered with something else. Something she couldn’t name.
Secrets. Always secrets.
Her fingers brushed the edge of her jeans pocket where the flash drive rested. She needed to know what was on it.
But not now. Not while everyone was watching.
The first opportunity she had, she’d grab her laptop and sneak away. She only hoped the device still had charge. She’d used it some on the drive here, figuring she could plug it in when she arrived.
She waited, pulse steadying as she turned toward Rex.
He stood there, gaze fixed on the fire, the flames reflecting in his eyes.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low and controlled. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
“We stay together.” Rex’s voice sounded clipped and sure—the tone of a man used to command. “No one leaves this room without telling me first. Jason and Trick, make sure every exterior door is locked.”
“We checked them when we were outside—” Olive started.
“Check them again. And barricade them this time. While they do that, Olive and Nova, I want you two to double-check that every window is locked. I don’t want any surprises. Tevin, check what you can on that laptop—with whatever battery power you have left.”
Tevin nodded quickly. “Got it.”
“Mitzi, see if your cell phone signal comes back,” Rex said. “If it doesn’t, I want confirmation that the lines are down across the area.”
Everyone nodded, but the air felt tight, brittle.
Olive began checking the windows. But she glanced at Rex as she worked.
His composure should have been reassuring, but it wasn’t. Not tonight. Not when she’d seen that flicker of unease earlier.
She finished her job and met Rex back downstairs. A question gnawed at her.
“Rex, I appreciate all these efforts we’re putting in. But what if whoever did this is still here?”
Rex met her gaze. “Then they’ll show their hand eventually. People always do.”
His tone was calm—too calm.
Jason came back from the foyer a moment later, brushing snow from his hair. “Doors are locked. If anyone’s out there, they’re staying out there.”
“Unless they’re alreadyinhere.” Tevin gave everyone a pointed look.
No one responded.
They all knew the implications.
Olive’s hand brushed against her pocket again. The flash drive felt heavier now, as if it carried the weight of everything they didn’t know.
What had JJ found? What had been worth killing him for—and then stealing his body?
She needed to see what was on that drive. But not with Rex watching her like a hawk, not with suspicion already simmering in the room.
Rex turned back to the fire, his expression thoughtful. “We’ll take turns resting, two at a time. No one goes anywhere alone. Morning will come eventually, and once the storm breaks, we’ll figure out our next move.”
Olive managed a nod, but her mind was already elsewhere—down in the basement, where the tarp and neatly folded blanket had been. Where the silence had felt alive.
JJ had tried to tell them something.
