Page 22 of Kings & Carnage

The place looked utterly abandoned.

The paint was peeling and two of the windows on the second floor were broken, exposing the house to the elements.

It was beautiful in the way of a lot of abandoned buildings, but also a little spooky, especially in the middle of nowhere.

"What is this place?" I asked.

Neo pulled up in front of the house and put the car in park. "This is where we're going to stay for a while.”

"Okay, but what isthisexactly?" I asked.

"It's Daisy's house," Rock said, as if that should mean something to me.

"Who's Daisy?”

Rock opened his mouth to answer and was interrupted by the crunch of snow behind us. I turned around to see an older-model red car approaching from the woods along the same path we'd driven.

"That would be Daisy," Rock said.

Okay, not exactly helpful, but I didn't get a chance to ask for clarification because a second later everyone was getting out of the car.

I followed suit, groaning inwardly as I unfolded my aching body. I hadn't had a chance to ask the Kings how they were feeling, and I was anxious to get a better look at their wounds and make sure they weren't infected.

I walked around the car with Oscar to join Neo and Rock and we waited as Daisy, whoever she was, cut the engine on the old car. It had been meticulously restored, and while I didn't know much about old cars, I was willing to bet it was worth a fortune.

A few seconds later a petite brunette stepped from the driver's side and out into the cold December sunshine.

She came toward us with a smile and I saw that while she was short in stature, her curves were banging. She had an impressive rack coupled with the kind of tapered waist and full hips that were the stuff of middle school fantasies.

But it was her face that was truly striking. With a smattering of freckles across her nose and big eyes that were an interesting shade of blue bordering on violet, I found myself staring, trying to unlock the puzzle of her unusual beauty.

Then she smiled, and it was so warm that it almost felt like the temperature had risen by ten degrees.

"You made it," she said, looking at the three Kings. Her gaze landed on me. "You must be Willa.”

I returned her smile. "That would be me.”

I was surprised when she wrapped me in a honeysuckle-scented hug. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Daisy. You must be exhausted.”

"I am." Neo must have filled her in when he’d called her from the car. I'd only been privy to the first part of their conversation, owing to my hard-core crash on Rock's lap shortly after finishing the Snickers bar.

"Well, I'll take you into the house and get you guys settled.” She released me from the hug and looked at the Kings. “I brought some blankets and other supplies. It sounds like you might need them. Like I said, no one's lived here for years and the house is in rough shape, but I doubt anyone will think to look for you here.”

"We appreciate it," Oscar said. "We'll try to come up with a long-term solution so we can get out of your hair.”

"No rush on my end," Daisy said. "I won't need the house for another six months. I'm sure you'll have all this sorted by then.”

"It'll be sorted," Neo said firmly. "One way or another.”

I didn't exactly like the sound of it but he was right: we needed an exit plan and we needed one fast.

I could feel the mystery of Emma's disappearance — the disappearance of all the Bellepoint girls — barreling toward some kind of end. We didn't have all the pieces yet, but they were out there, waiting to be pressed into place.

"Let me show you around, then we can bring everything in from the car," Daisy said.

She fished an old key out of the pocket of her jeans as she led us toward the house. "I had the electricity turned on for you, but I would try not to use it after dark. You know how the locals are about the falls, especially at night.”

"The falls?" I asked. We trudged our way through a foot of snow on what appeared to be a winding walkway toward a wide porch that wrapped around the old mansion.

---