Page 44 of Keeper of Talon Mountain
"Rendezvous point?" Sarah asks, navigating another hairpin turn with practiced ease.
"The lodge," Gabe says. "We regroup, verify the files uploaded successfully to Tommy, then we figure out our next moves. This isn't over—Crane's wounded but not dead."
The truck carries us down the mountain, back toward something that might be safety or might just be a brief pause before the next fight. My hands have stopped shaking. The rifle sits across my lap—not grandmother's gun anymore, not really. Mine now. Blooded.
Three days. That's how long it took for everything to change.
14
GABE
The lodge appears through the trees like salvation, familiar and solid against the morning light. Sarah kills the engine and for a moment we just sit there, the silence broken only by the tick of cooling metal and our own ragged breathing.
"Inside," Sarah says finally. "We need to verify the upload, coordinate with Tommy, and figure out what Crane's next move will be."
We move stiffly, adrenaline crash hitting hard. Mara's hands shake as she opens the truck door. I catch her elbow, steadying her. Her face is pale except for the angry red scratches from the granite chips, small cuts that have stopped bleeding but will bruise.
"You did good," I tell her quietly.
"I shot someone." The words come out flat. "Maybe killed him."
"You saved Sarah's life. He was hunting her."
"That doesn't make it feel better."
I don't have an answer for that. Nothing makes taking a life feel better, justified or not. The weight just becomes something you carry.
Inside, the lodge feels different. Safer, maybe, or just familiar in a way that matters after facing death on a frozen mountainside. Zeke's already there, along with Nate and Zara. They must have come straight from their positions.
"Tommy confirmed the upload," Zeke says without preamble. "Files hit every destination. FBI's already issuing statements about opening an investigation. Three major news outlets are running stories. It's done—the evidence is public."
My legs go weak. I sit down hard on the nearest chair.
"Crane?" Sarah asks.
"Pulled back from Grotto Falls. We lost track of him after that—he's in the wind." Nate moves to the window, checking angles out of habit. "But with the files public, he's got bigger problems than us. The Committee's exposed. They'll be too busy managing the fallout to come after individual targets."
"For now," Sarah adds, pulling out her phone. "Let me check in with Rhett and Colton."
While she makes the call, I watch Mara. She's set her rifle carefully in the corner, moved to the kitchen sink to wash the blood from her face. Her hands are steadier now but still trembling slightly. Zara appears beside her with a first aid kit, begins cleaning the cuts without saying anything. Sometimes silence is better than empty reassurance.
My phone buzzes. Unknown number. My thumb hovers over the decline button, then I answer. "Andrews."
"Gabriel." Crane's voice, but different now. Strained. Controlled fury barely leashed. "You've made a serious mistake."
"Have I? Because from where I'm standing, you're the one whose entire operation just got exposed to the world."
"The Committee will survive this. We always do. Bureaucracies have short memories and even shorter attention spans. In six months, this will be yesterday's news and we'll be back to business as usual."
"Maybe. But you won't be there to see it."
Silence stretches across the connection. When Crane speaks again, his voice is cold. "This isn't over between us."
"Yes, it is. You've got nothing left to threaten me with. The evidence is public. Mara's safe. My sister's safe. You can't touch any of us without drawing attention you can't afford."
"There are always ways, Gabriel. Always pressure points that can be exploited."
"Then I suggest you focus on the pressure points currently tearing apart your organization instead of the ones you've already lost." I pause. "This is me walking away, Crane. I suggest you do the same before what's left of the Committee decides you're too much of a liability to keep around."
