Chapter 117

Nora POV

The second my hands go up and I step into the open, the night explodes again. I keep my palms visible and my eyes locked on the men pouring out of the lodge porch. Five of them, maybe six, are standing all in dark tactical gear with their rifles up and steady. They fan out in a practiced half-circle, cutting off any clean path back to the trees.

One of the men steps forward first. “Hands behind your back. Slowly.”

I comply. One of the men wraps cold zip ties around my wrists, while the other man pats me down thoroughly and finds the gun at my waist, the knife at my ankle, and the spare magazine in my jacket pocket. He takes everything and tosses it to the first guy, who catches it without looking.

They lead me toward the lodge. I don’t resist because there’s no point. But meanwhile, my mind is already raci