Page 2 of King’s Kismet

“Lo,” my father murmured. “I’m serious.”

“Where are they?” I inquired, observing their odd body language. “That sounds like two jobs.”

“They’re in the same place,” my dad admitted, still toying with his facial hair. “A camp in the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.”

I furrowed my brow. “Why are they in the same place?”

“One was abducted,” Sam informed me, too carefree, like he was trying to make a joke. “The other doesn’t know the trouble he’s walked into.”

“Do you know where they’re at within the camp?” I slowly asked, watching them tense.

“No,” Papi muttered, scowling at his vampire co-mate. “Our intel could only give the general location of the camp itself.”

“How general?” I prompted.

Nate glared back at Papi as he answered me. “Within three square miles.”

“That’s better than nothing,” my dad said, attempting to be encouraging. “The Red River Gorge is nearly thirty thousand acres, forty-five square miles.”

I sighed. “When do you want me to go? And how long do I have to complete the job?”

“ASAP and ASAP,” Papi oh-so-helpfully informed me.

“With no intel, I’m going in blind,” I pointed out. “I’ll have to take a few days to find and then study the camp so I can get them out with none of us getting injured.”

Nate wobbled his head as he counted on his fingers. “Take a day or two, but I don’t think you’ll need more time than that.”

“Oh?” I scoffed. “Then you do it.”

“No one needs to live,” my dad griped, then pursed his lips. “Except for the fae king and the druid prince.”

Jack snorted. “You should have started with that.”

I shot him a quick grin before turning back to my parents. “Who’s cleaning up my mess?”

“We’ll come through and clean once you’ve found the exact location,” Papi promised. “You’ll have to take us back there, though. And—”

I held up my hand to stop him. “And who are they to you?”

“They’re…” Nate trailed off, looking at Charlie and Sam for the right words.

“Friends,” Jack answered, leaning his head against mine. “They’re friends of the Kings, and they need help, Lo.”

“Fine,” I grouched. “But I’m going to make a mess of it.”

I stepped backward, letting the void envelop me with its frigid temperatures. The last thing I heard was my parents chuckling.

The next thing?

Franklin setting my pink duffle bag of weapons on the kitchen counter of the apartment I shared with Jack.

“You already knew they were going to ask me?”

The ancient vampire tipped his head. “Yes, madam. I also knew you would accept.”

“How?”

“Were you really going to turn down the opportunity to test your limits with murder and chaos? This is the perfect job for you.”