The biting Appalachian wind whipped through the skeletal branches of the oaks clinging to the mountainside, mirroring the icy dread creeping into Ethan's bones. Betrayal, he was learning, was a venom far more potent than any copperhead's. To think he had actually trusted... No, he couldn't afford to dwell on that now. Anger was a luxury he couldn't afford. He needed to focus. He needed a plan.