Page 124 of Kings & Carnage

"Another minute to the closest trailhead," I said.

After that it was anybody's guess. The trails weren't cleared in winter. We hadn't had a big snowfall in a while and I could only hope some of the existing snowpack had melted.

I pulled into the parking area at the trailhead and slammed on the brakes, grabbing my phone and opening the door before I even turned the car off.

"Let's fucking go," Rock said.

I held up the phone, relieved to see that Willa was still near the cabin where Dean Giordana had died, where he'd tried to kill her.

That she was there again, alone and probably scared, made me feel like I was losing my fucking mind.

We'd found a list of names in Laszlo Nagy's office that had included prices next to them, a list I'd pocketed just as the fire alarm had gone off. Had he trafficked other girls to my father and the other alumni involved in the disappearance of the Bellepoint girls?

I didn't know, and right now I didn't care. Right now it didn't even feel like it mattered. All that mattered was her.

Willa.

Her name beat like a drum with every pump of my heart.

I'd never even told her I loved her, had never even told her about the ring I'd been screwing up the courage to give her.

It's not too late.

I didn't know whether it was a plea or a statement of fact.

I'm coming, Willa. I'm coming.

We hit the trailhead and I was relieved to see that there was only about six inches of snow, probably because of the trees that grew on either side of the trail, blocking some of the snowfall.

It was dark as fuck, no moon to light our way, and I held my phone up with the flashlight on to illuminate the path in front of us.

We'd covered up with some of the gym gear that I kept in the Hummer — sweats, T-shirts, and one hoodie currently worn by Oscar — for emergencies, but it was nowhere near winter appropriate.

It was fucking cold and all I could think about was Willa in her angel costume, hoping whoever had taken her was keeping her warm but knowing they didn't give two fucks about her.

I stifled a scream of primal rage and kept running.

We ran until my lungs burned, the path seeming to go on forever, like one of those dreams where you run and run and get absolutely fucking nowhere.

Finally, I looked at my phone and saw that we were close, the red light of Willa's tracker blinking just ahead.

"We're almost there," I said to Rock and Drago.

Less than a minute later I caught the flicker of a fire, the scent of wood smoke.

I stopped running and held out my arms to stop Rock and Drago. "Wait. The cabin’s just ahead. There's a fire outside.”

We were about ten feet back from a clearing. It was quiet, but I couldn't be sure the clearing was empty through the cover of the trees and undergrowth.

We'd armed up with the handguns I’d started keeping in the Hummer — courtesy of Hawk — but I had no idea what we were going up against. Barreling into the situation out of desperation to save Willa could backfire if we were severely outnumbered.

I withdrew my weapon and watched as Rock and Drago did the same.

"Circle the clearing," I whispered. "Come at it from every side.”

Rock and Drago fanned out in different directions and I waited a couple of minutes for them to get into position before advancing through the trees to the clearing.

The safety was off on my weapon, ready to fire, and I scanned the clearing, now visible.

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