They were helicopters.
From the FBI.
Warren had found a radio in the hunting cabin and gotten in touch with them.
Their choppers had landed in a nearby field. JJ, Rachel, and Bradford were now in custody—JJ receiving medical care.
Michael was under protective watch again, bound for a safe house somewhere far from Winterlight’s reach.
The agents had asked their questions—dozens of them—and then left.
Now, the lodge was quiet again. Too quiet.
The storm had passed.
Olive glanced out the window as her thoughts swirled. The world outside the inn lay blanketed in white, the snow glittering under a sky finally cracked open to pale blue. Sunlight filtered through the frost-streaked windows, turning the floorboards to gold.
The peace felt fragile, temporary, like glass that could crack if she breathed too deeply.
“Hard to believe it’s over.” Jason appeared beside her.
“Yes, it is. But at least it ended with the good guys winning.”
“It did. But things felt close at times.”
Olive nodded. “Too close.”
Behind them, Rex cleared his throat, and everyone turned toward him.
“I owe all of you an apology,” he said. “For keeping things from you. I suspected there was a mole within our company, but I didn’t know how deep it ran. I thought if I could contain the circle, I could control the fallout.” He shook his head. “I was wrong.”
Mitzi rubbed her arms, her usual sass dulled. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I should have trusted all of you,” Rex said. “You’ve all proven yourselves time and time again.”
He hesitated then—a rare pause that softened his expression.
Then he spoke again. “Years ago, I led a team overseas. Good people. Smart people. We were infiltrated from the inside, and I didn’t see it until it was too late. Three of them never came home.” His voice caught briefly before he continued. “Since then, I’ve believed that the fewer people who know what’s really happening, the safer everyone is. But I realize now that secrecy doesn’t protect—it isolates. And isolation nearly got us all killed.”
Silence filled the room, other than the fire crackling in the hearth.
Olive noted that he didn’t mention what kind of team he’d led overseas. FBI? CIA? Another organization?
And he probably wouldn’t share. The man was a mystery.
But as she glanced at Mitzi, she noticed her colleague had a new look in her gaze as she watched Rex.
Almost like . . . affection?
Wait . . . were the two of them dating?
Olive didn’t know. And she wouldn’t ask.
But she suspected there was something between them, which might explain why Mitzi had been so outspoken this weekend.
The thought made her want to smile.
Rex exhaled. “I’ve spent a long time trying to be the man who fixes everything on his own. But this retreat reminded me I’m not meant to do this alone. None of us are.” His gaze swept over the group, steady and humble. “So I’ll start again—with you. And with God’s help, I’ll try to do it better.”
