Larkin’s belongings had been returned to his family.
But one small item had been given to me.
Rex’s old collar.
Bloodstained.
Burned along one edge.
I had kept it in the bottom drawer of my desk for six years.
Sarah whispered, “Larkin died protecting evidence he had already sent home with you.”
I sat down on the cot.
For six years, the answer had been in my house.
Twenty feet from where I slept.
Vale hadn’t known.
Until now.
“What changed?”
Sarah looked toward Cross.
“The ceremony.”
Cross nodded.
“We displayed photographs from Rex’s service. One included him wearing the original collar after the cache discovery.”
“And Vale saw it.”
“Yes.”
Sarah continued.
“He realized Larkin might have used Rex.”
I stood.
“So today wasn’t about killing me in a diner.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“They needed you arrested.”
I understood.
“A search warrant.”
Sarah nodded.
“If Harlan could make you look dangerous enough, authorities could search your truck, maybe later your home. Vale wanted that collar.”
Butch groaned from the floor.
I looked at him.
“Five thousand dollars.”
He gave a weak smile.
“I should’ve asked for ten.”
Harlan laughed.
“You’re all too late anyway.”
Everyone turned.
He was still restrained.
Still bleeding.
Still smiling.
Cross grabbed him.
“What did you do?”
Harlan looked at Sarah.
“Vale isn’t waiting for a warrant anymore.”
My blood went cold.
“He knows where I live.”
Harlan smiled.
“He’s already there.”
The next hour became a race.
Cross finally made the call he should have made from the beginning.
Not local authorities.
Not military police.
A federal tactical team outside Vale’s chain.
Sarah gave them names, account numbers, facility locations.
Emily handed over recordings she had secretly made at the diner.
But I didn’t care about any of it.
I cared about one thing.
The collar.
My house was two hours away.
Vale had a head start.
Cross was too injured to travel.
Sarah refused to stay behind.
“You’re not coming.”
“I’ve been locked in a room for three weeks.”
“You can barely stand.”
“Then drive smoothly.”
I stared at her.
For the first time in eighteen months, I saw the woman I remembered.
Stubborn.
Infuriating.
Alive.
“Fine.”
Emily came too.
Her reason was simple.
“Harlan knows where my mother lives.”
Federal agents took Harlan and Butch.
Before they loaded Harlan into the vehicle, I approached him.
He smiled.
“You think finding your wife makes this a happy ending?”
“No.”
“Vale will kill everyone in that house before you reach the door.”
I leaned close.
“You’ve misunderstood something about me all day.”
“What’s that?”
“I wasn’t angry when Butch poured water on Rex.”
Harlan laughed.
“You looked pretty angry.”
“No.”
I glanced at Rex.
“That was restraint.”
His smile faded.
We left.
We reached my property at 4:37 in the morning.
The front door was open.
No lights.
I stopped the truck fifty yards away.
Sarah reached for my arm.
“Jack.”
“I see it.”
Emily whispered, “Agents are ten minutes behind.”
“Too long.”
Sarah shook her head.
“You promised me you were done fighting.”
I looked at her.
“Technically, you were dead when I made that promise.”
For one second she stared at me.
Then she laughed.
A tiny, broken laugh.
It was the most beautiful sound I had heard in eighteen months.
I touched her face.
“We do this carefully.”
She nodded.
Rex jumped down.
I didn’t command him to heel.
He already knew.
We approached through the trees.
The porch light was shattered.
The lock broken.
Inside, furniture had been overturned.
Drawers emptied.
Books thrown across the floor.
They were searching fast.
My office was at the back.
A man stepped into the hallway.
Rex saw him first.
We took him quietly.
A second man fled through the kitchen.
Emily locked herself in the truck and called the approaching team.
Sarah and I continued.
Then we reached my office.
General Adrian Vale stood behind my desk.
He wore civilian clothes.
Gray jacket.
Black gloves.
A pistol in one hand.
My old wooden memory box in the other.
He looked almost disappointed.
“Jack.”
I stared at him.
“General.”
His eyes moved toward Sarah.
For the first time, the confidence disappeared.
“You.”
Sarah stepped beside me.
“Surprised?”
Vale recovered quickly.