Frostbite (Pros and Cons Mysteries #7)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER

ONE

TWO WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

The tires slipped and, just for a second, the SUV fishtailed on the narrow mountain road.

Quickly, Jason Stewart corrected and brought the vehicle back into line.

Olive Sterling’s fingers tightened around the door handle as her pulse pounded in her ears. “That didn’t feel reassuring.”

Jason’s mouth ticked as he focused on the curve ahead. “Relax. I’ve got this.”

“Those were famous last words for a lot of people.”

The wipers squeaked across the windshield, struggling to keep up with the thick, wet flakes cascading from above. A gray-blue sky pressed low over the Smoky Mountains, swallowing the last of the daylight. Pine trees flanked them on either side, dusted in white.

Beautiful.

Picturesque.

Also dangerous when the road was barely wide enough for one vehicle and had no guardrails.

“This is supposed to be a retreat,” she murmured. “Retreats should be sunshine and hammocks, not switchbacks and black ice.”

“Technically, Rex called it ‘mandatory rest and review.’” Jason took the next curve more slowly. “He didn’t say anything about hammocks.”

Mandatory rest. Olive had almost laughed when she’d read those words in the email.

Rest wasn’t something she did well. Her brain didn’t know how to be quiet.

But Rex hadn’t given her an option.

“You’re taking the week,” he’d said. “You and Jason and the rest of your field team. And you’ll go where I tell you. Eat what I tell you. Pretend to enjoy yourselves. Those are your orders.”

Olive hadn’t argued. Not much, at least.

“See?” Jason jerked his head toward the windshield. “We’re almost there.”

Ahead, a wooden sign emerged from the snow: The Wayfarer Inn. Private Road.

An arrow pointed toward a narrower lane branching off to the right.

This was it. The start of their retreat.

According to Rex, no one else lived or stayed within a six-mile radius of the place.

He’d been very particular about the location.

The lane climbed, the asphalt disappearing under a fresh layer of snow. A few tracks had already been cut through—other vehicles, probably from Aegis.

Out of habit, Olive began counting the tire patterns. Two sets heading up. One set coming down.

She squinted.

No wait—there were two sets coming down.

Her mind logged the numbers whether she wanted it to or not.

The lane crested, and a moment later the inn came into view.

It was big, but not hotel big.

Three stories of weathered wood and stone, with a wraparound porch and a line of warm, yellow windows. Smoke curled from a massive stone chimney, disappearing into the falling snow.

A smaller outbuilding sat off to one side—maybe a shed or a generator house.

A large deck stretched toward the slope behind the inn, where dark tree trunks rose like sentries.

The place should have looked inviting.

So why did Olive’s stomach knot? Maybe Rex was right—she did need some time off.

She was starting to see danger in the most inconspicuous places.

Jason pulled into a small, plowed parking area in front.

Two other vehicles already sat there, snow climbing halfway up their wheels.

Tevin’s van was hard to miss, the boxy shape dusted in white.

Last Olive had heard, Mitzi, Nova, and JJ were riding here with him.

Next to it was a dark SUV with Tennessee plates—probably belonging to staff here at the inn.

The rest of the team would arrive soon, and more vehicles would fill the spaces.

Jason put the Range Rover in Park, killed the engine, and turned toward her. “You okay?”

Olive unclenched her hand from the door handle, her knuckles white. “I’m fine. My spine just likes to practice for worst-case scenarios. It’s a hobby.”

“Tell it to pick a different hobby.” His gaze softened. “We’re off duty, remember? As off as we ever get.”

She observed him a moment.

Jason had the kind of presence that didn’t demand attention—it quietly commanded it. Broad-shouldered, steady, the sort of man who made stillness look intentional.

His dark hair was a little too long, always curling just enough to hint at rebellion against Aegis regulations. A faint scar cut through one eyebrow, a souvenir from some past army mission he didn’t like to talk about.

His eyes were a cool, unreadable gray, but every so often—usually when he was teasing her—they softened, revealing something warmer beneath the surface. He carried himself like a man who’d seen too much and learned to live with it, who found calm in chaos and made silence feel safe.

And maybe that was what unnerved Olive the most. Because Jason didn’t just see things; he noticed them—her, especially. And noticing could be dangerous.

The two of them had officially been dating for two months now. But Jason had been her first love back in high school. Olive still couldn’t believe that life had brought them back together.

That God had brought them back together.

She wanted to believe Jason’s statement—that they were off duty. But being off duty didn’t erase all the things she’d seen.

The bodies.

The betrayals.

The nightmares that still woke her up in a cold sweat, heart pounding, ears straining for sounds that weren’t there.

“Let’s just get inside,” she said. “Before the walkway freezes solid and we’re stuck out here, trying to build an igloo out of any drone parts Tevin left in the van.”

Jason chuckled. “Tevin would be very impressed if we did that.”

“And he’d enjoy it.” She smiled at the thought of her favorite tech guy.

As they climbed from the SUV, cold air slapped Olive’s face. She tugged her knit cap over her ears and zipped her coat higher.

Snowflakes stung her cheeks as she circled to the back and grabbed her duffel.

Jason took it from her without asking.

“I’ve got it,” she protested.

“I know.” He slung both her bag and his over one shoulder. “But I’m trying out this new thing called ‘being a good boyfriend.’ I’ve heard girls really dig that.”

“Dig that?” She rolled her eyes at his word choice, but her lips twitched. “Personally, I like not being treated like I’m breakable.”

“Funny, I like you not being dead.” He gave her a pointed look. “Guess we’ll both have to compromise.”

He shifted the bags and reached for her free hand as they started toward the front steps.

Snow crunched beneath Olive’s boots. The breeze disappeared a moment, and the air held a pristine stillness—like the world paused its breath.

Maybe this retreat would be more fun than she’d anticipated.

Stillness could be good . . . right? The Bible even talked about it. Be still and know that I am God.

She could do this. She could relax and try to enjoy herself for once.

Before Olive even crested the porch, the door opened, and Tevin stood there, his arms wide and his smile even wider. “Olive and Jason—welcome to our very own Hallmark movie.”

Olive gave him a look. “Hallmark movie?”

“I just found out that one—Mistletoe and Madness—was filmed here last year. You’ll see why this inn is the perfect setting. Just you wait.”

Olive exchanged a look with Jason before stepping inside.

Her eyes widened as she soaked in her temporary home away from home.

Tevin was right—the inn looked like it belonged on a Christmas card.

A massive stone fireplace dominated the great room, its mantel draped in pine garland and twinkling white lights. The air smelled faintly of wood smoke and cinnamon, and someone had tucked sprigs of holly and strings of fairy lights into mason jars along the windowsills.

A small tree stood near the far corner, trimmed with red plaid ribbon and a handful of handmade ornaments shaped like stars and snowflakes.

The flicker of the fire threw long, uncertain shadows across the walls, and the ticking of an old clock seemed to pull her back in time to a simpler era, when the holidays were homemade and cozy instead of commercialized and hectic.

“Where’s everyone else?” Jason scanned the room.

“Nova and Mitzi are getting cookies in the kitchen—Mitzi really isn’t happy about her broken arm.”

On her last mission, Mitzi had broken her arm while fighting a drug lord posed as a North Dakota farmer.

“Mara—she’s one of the owners—apparently makes a killer sugar cookie,” Tevin continued.

“They’re all decorated like the most adorable little snowmen—that’s what I hear, at least. Heartwarming, right?

I haven’t tried them yet myself, but they smell amazing.

Anyway, Rex ran into town an hour or so ago to grab a few things at the store.

And Trick isn’t here yet—but he’s sick, though he won’t admit it. ”

“He’s still sick?” He’d been coughing the last time Olive saw him, his usual spunkiness subdued.

“He claims it’s allergies, but we all know that’s not true,” Tevin continued. “He insists on coming, despite the fact that he’ll only be spreading his germs. Oh, and JJ is in his room.”

JJ Price had joined Aegis only recently. He was a quiet kid with quick hands and a quicker mind. He had an easy smile, a habit of over-apologizing, and a wild obsession with Pac-Man. But she couldn’t help but like him.

Jason set their bags down.

Olive knew she was about to be immersed in a whirlwind of team bonding and Christmas celebrations.

She just needed a moment to collect herself before that happened. Since she’d lost her entire family when she was a teenager, the holidays had been hard. Many times, she hadn’t even celebrated. This retreat would be challenging for her.

However, if she could take on different personas for the cases she worked, then certainly she could pretend to have fun here—and make people believe she was being genuine. No need to ruin the fun for them.

“Listen, I’m going to step outside and stretch my legs a minute—before the snow becomes so deep we’re trapped inside,” she started. “The ride was longer than I expected, and I need some fresh—albeit cold—air.”

Jason gave her a questioning look. “Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all.” In fact, Olive had been hoping he would offer.

The truth was, not only did she want a moment of quiet before everyone congregated, but she also had ulterior motives.

After everything that had happened recently, she wanted to check out their surroundings for herself. She needed reassurance that everything was safe and secure.

Once she knew more about the area, maybe she truly could relax and enjoy this early Christmas celebration.

Stepping back outside with Jason, Olive paused on the porch, glancing at the mountain scene around her.

It truly did look like a snow globe with the white-tipped trees and rolling mountains.

Then she noticed the tracks on the sidewalk below the front steps.

At first glance, they appeared to be a mess of footprints stamped into the fresh snow—boots going toward the inn, boots heading away from the inn to the parking area.

But as she looked closer, her mind sorted the different tread patterns. One set of prints, partially filled in by falling snow, angled away from the front porch toward the side of the inn. Those prints disappeared around the corner toward the smaller outbuilding she’d seen when they pulled in.

“Olive?” Jason’s voice held a question.

She pointed. “Someone walked away from the inn.”

“It’s a cabin in the mountains. Someone could have gone to get more firewood or to enjoy the scenic hypothermia like we’re doing.” Jason shifted, his studious gaze on her. “You don’t just want to stretch your legs, do you?”

She didn’t answer. It didn’t matter anyway.

Jason already knew the truth.

“I just want to see where these footprints lead,” she said. “Humor me.”

Jason followed as she veered off the beaten path, the snow instantly deeper around their ankles. The wind cut sharper at this angle, slapping curly dark hair across her face.

Olive squinted against the icy breeze and trailed the prints around the side of the inn.

The smaller building came into view—a long, low structure made of wood planks and metal roofing.

A single security light hung above the door, haloing falling snow in yellow.

The footprint trail led straight to that door, then back toward the inn.

But another set branched off, faint and irregular, angling toward the back of the property.

Olive paused, running her flashlight over the prints and studying them.

Jason paused beside her. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure yet.” She followed the second trail with her eyes.

The prints continued toward the tree line, then cut right, skirting along the edge of a sloping yard.

Something dark lay ahead, half-buried near the wooden steps of a second, smaller building tucked at the edge of the trees.

Olive’s heart gave a small, hard thud. “Do you see that?”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “Yeah.”

They sprinted ahead.

Snow rose to mid-calf, dragging at her jean-clad legs, but adrenaline pushed her forward. The cold bit at her face and wrists, sneaking under the sleeves of the snowflake sweater she’d forced herself to wear so she could look festive.

As she and Jason drew closer, the dark shape resolved itself.

Not a log.

Not lawn equipment.

A person.