Chapter 1

The humidity of the Fakahatchee Strand was a second skin, a familiar weight I carried every day. But on my day off, it felt different, lighter. I was deep in the preserve, off-trail, checking on a cluster of young cigar orchids. The air was thick with the scent of wet earth and decaying leaves, a smell I associated with life, not death.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, a harsh, unwelcome sound in the cathedral of cypress trees. It was Mark, my friend and fellow ranger.

"Leo, you need to come in."

His voice was tight, stripped of its usual humor.

"What's up? It's my day off, Mark."

"It's the Super Ghost. It's gone."

The world tilted. The Super Ghost was our crown jewel, a massive, ancient Ghost Orchid, federally protected and priceless. It was more than a plant, it was a local legend. My life's work.

"I'm on my way."

The drive to the ranger station was a blur. My mind raced through possibilities. A professional poacher? A thrill-seeker? The reality was worse than anything I could have imagined.

Mark had the security footage cued up on the monitor in the back office. The timestamp was from last night. Two figures, moving clumsily in the dark, their headlamps cutting through the blackness.

The first figure was a man, wiry and cocky even in the grainy footage. He was trying to look tough, but his movements were uncertain. The second figure turned toward the hidden camera, adjusting her designer hiking jacket.

My breath caught in my throat.

It was Chloe. My wife.

She was supposed to be on a "girls' trip" to Miami. I had paid for the five-star hotel, the spa treatments, everything. I watched as the man, Kyle, a "crypto-bro" she'd been following on Instagram, clumsily sawed the orchid from its host tree. Chloe held the flashlight, occasionally taking a selfie with the dying flower. They were laughing.

A violation. Not just of federal law, but of everything I was. They had trespassed into my sanctuary and desecrated it.

An hour later, as federal and state officers swarmed the park, my phone rang again. It was Chloe.

"Leo? Oh my god, thank god you answered!"

Her voice was high-pitched, frantic. The voice she used when she'd maxed out a credit card.

"Uncle Leo, it's me, Chloe! Listen, I'm in a little bit of trouble. Just a tiny fender-bender near the Everglades, and my wallet got stolen. I need you to bring some cash for bail, it's just a misunderstanding, I swear."

Uncle Leo. The code we used when she was with her parents, so they wouldn't know she was asking me for more money.

My voice was ice. "Where are you, Chloe?"

"The Fakahatchee ranger station. Please hurry."

I walked from the back office into the main station. Chloe was in handcuffs, her face a mask of theatrical panic. Kyle was beside her, trying to look nonchalant. The stolen orchid lay on an evidence table, its spectral white petals already wilting.

When Chloe saw me, her eyes widened, but she kept up the act.

"Uncle Leo! Thank you for coming!"

Kyle, seeing my ranger uniform and my position of authority, stepped forward, a smarmy grin on his face. He extended his cuffed hands as if for a handshake.

"Sir, it's an honor. Kyle. Your niece has told me so much about you."

I looked from his stupid face to my wife's. Then I looked at the lead federal agent.

"This is my wife, Chloe," I said, my voice flat and dead. "And I have no idea who this asshole is. Charge them both."