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I freeze, my blood turning to ice as I hold my breath.

“What are you doing?” Trevor sounds confused.

“I reached out to the Sinaloan gentlemen. It appears they couldn’t care less who facilitates their transport into this part of the state, as long as it’s done.”

“You can’t do this. We had a deal!” Terror is plain in his voice now.

“Frost Valley isn’t the only distribution node in this district,” Dexter replies. “And you’re just a glorified errand boy whose obsession for his ex-wife led to precisely this issue. An unmanageable issue, as far as the Sinaloans are concerned.”

“No, you can’t?—”

POP.

I open my mouth in a silent scream. I’m paralyzed.

That’s all it took. A single bullet right between the eyes to send Trevor falling backward onto the dark, cold ground. The thud of his body reverberates in the silence that always follows a violent death.

My nightmare with Trevor is over, but part of me wonders what Dexter is going to do next.

Boots thud down the path leading from the back of the lodge.

“Don’t move!” Lucas’s voice booms through the darkness.

“Relax,” Dexter replies and puts his gun away. “I did you a favor.”

Lucas reaches my side, and for the first time in what feels like an eternity, I can see the crack of dawn glimmering on my horizon. Hope dares blossom in my chest as I heave a sigh of relief.

Tears fill my eyes as Lucas gives me a quick once-over. “Are you okay, baby?”

“I… yeah, I think so.”

“Thank God,” he replies and snakes an arm around my waist, pulling me close.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I mumble against him.

“What happened here?” Lucas asks Dexter. “All you had to do was walk away.”

“You saw Jake pull the boys back, didn’t you?”

“Then why this?” Lucas questions, nodding at Trevor’s lifeless body.

“The cartel considered him a liability. I needed to make sure they wouldn’t come after me once I pull the plug on Frost Valley.”

“What does this mean for us, Dexter?”

“I’m a man of my word, provided you are, too,” he says with a wry smile. “I’ll move my MC and the drugs out of your town. Based on your guarantee that you won’t come after us.”

Lucas shakes his head and puts his rifle down. “You’re the DEA’s problem, now, Dexter. Not mine.”

“Fair enough,” Dexter chuckles dryly. “You be safe.” He pauses to look at me. “And you… you’re welcome.”

Lucas and I watch as Dexter vanishes into the night, yet another shadow on the mountain. The Harley’s engine roars back to life as he disappears.

“I can’t believe it,” I say as I lock my arms around Lucas’s neck.

He kisses me deeply on the lips, and I can feel his undying love, his relief, and his rage. It all unravels then wraps back around us like the security of a warm blanket.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispers against my lips.