The three mercenaries in custody refused to make an identification one way or another, and all three men only identified their leader as Mikhail, no last name.

Given that there had been no sign of anyone in the forest and there was no proof any other mercenaries remained at large, the search of the Lake Olympus basin and beyond came to an end. The op was over. It was time for cleanup to begin.

Yesterday, inholding landowners had been permitted to reenter their cabins. Repairs on the lodge would begin next week.

With the success of the SEAL mission, Mikhail’s suicide, and the Russian oligarch’s assets being seized as he now topped the FBI Most Wanted list, the nightmare was over.

“I’d like to meet with your boss when I’m in Port Angeles,” he said. “To explain.”

“You don’t need to. I’ve talked to him. He doesn’t know the details, obviously, but with everything that happened, he’s ready to accept you had your reasons. He acknowledged that if I can forgive you, he certainly wouldn’t make waves or do anything to jeopardize your retirement.”

Xavier’s brain stopped working the moment she uttered the words “I can forgive you”.

“You…forgive me? But what I did was unforgivable.”

“Apparently not, because I do forgive you. I think I stopped hurting over it that night in the lodge, when you explained about the…thing.”

He smiled at her way of avoiding revealing Top Secret information on an unsecure cell phone. “Thank you. I—I’m speechless.” He picked up the ring box from his dresser top. Last week, his mother had shipped her mother’s rings to him. He was more eager than ever to fly north and see Audrey, but their planned two week vacation wasn’t nearly enough.

It was fast, but it was right. If Audrey wanted to wait until after the baby was born to get married, that was fine with him. He didn’t care when they actually did the deed so long as it was a settled matter that they planned to be together forever. In sickness and in health, until the end of their days.

“You don’t need to say anything. Just come back to me as soon as you can.”

“I will. I promise. Who’s staying with you tonight?” he asked.

“Undine. Jae’s working today. Honestly, it feels weird having babysitters now, but I’m not ready to be alone.”

“And I’m glad you don’t have to be. Just a few more days and I’ll be there. In the meantime, have fun with your pregnant girls’ time.”

She laughed. “We’re already sick of the subject. This much time together is too much of a good thing. We’re now binge-watching Leverage and planning our own con games.”

“Isn’t the point of the show to use cons to help the good guys?”