What were they missing?
When they turned back to the door, Olive paused.
The faint sound of voices came from downstairs.
They hurried down, their footsteps quick but careful on the steps.
Mara stood in the great room near the fire, her robe pulled tight around her and worry written across her face.
“Is everything all right?” Mara’s voice trembled slightly as she stared at Olive and Jason.
Olive shook her head. “We heard something upstairs.”
Mara pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, dear. I thought maybe it was Warren.”
Jason’s gaze sharpened. “Warren?”
She nodded. “He said he was going to step outside and check the generator. It’s so cold inside, and he thought maybe he couldfix it. He’s pretty handy. I told him not to, that it was too cold and too dangerous outside. But he didn’t listen. That was about twenty minutes ago.”
Olive’s stomach dropped. “He went out in this storm?”
She hadn’t even heard a door open or felt a cold draft from it.
“He snuck out the side door attached to our suite—he didn’t want to wake anyone. He said he’d be right back.” Mara’s eyes darted toward a window. “He’s a hard head. Never wants to listen.”
Jason exchanged a grim look with Olive.
As Olive turned toward the window, a thought chilled her even more than the storm outside.
If Warren had gone out there to fix the generator, then someone might’ve wanted to make sure he didn’t come back.
Everyone except Rachel and Bradford was awake now, gathered in the flickering light of the fire.
Mara wrung her hands, pacing near the door. “Warren shouldn’t be gone this long.”
Rex’s jaw was tight, his eyes unreadable as he turned to Olive and Jason. “You two gear up. Check the generator and the surrounding area. Don’t go any farther than you have to.”
Olive nodded. Jason already reached for his coat. Trick opened his mouth as if about to offer to go also. Then he closed it again, no doubt realizing that everyone would shoot down the idea.
Mitzi handed Olive her gloves, her gaze more serious than usual. “Be careful.”
“We will be.”
“Everyone else needs to stay inside,” Jason told the crew in the great room.
“We will.” Rex met Olive’s gaze. “If Warren’s out there, find him. But if you can’t—don’t risk yourselves. It’s too dangerous right now, and I don’t want any more casualties.”
His voice was calm, but Olive saw the flicker of unease.
“I mean it.” Rex gave her a pointed look. “Don’t try to be heroes. Don’t go the extra mile. Check and come back inside.”
Rex really felt strongly about this. It actually surprised Olive.
The people who worked for Aegis weren’t the type to back down. They went above and beyond.
But Rex waited until they both agreed before breaking his gaze.
He was dead serious.
