Ten more feet and she’d be inside. Talking with Mantis wasn’t as fun as riling Lovell, but it would do.
“I have a sort of eidetic memory—it’s spatial, though. If I study a map, I remember it. I was always good with directions as a kid, but I had a personal security guy once—former CIA—who figured out my ability when he forced me to study maps of the cities we traveled to. He wanted me to know my way around in case we ever got separated. Then it became almost a game. I think it amused him.”
Lovell’s growl was lost in the whoosh of blessed, beautiful, warm air as Marley opened the door to the clubhouse. The men stood aside as she hobbled in. She paused inside, her gaze scanning the crowd, looking for one face.
A gasp had her looking to the far right. Callie shifted around Gabe and rushed forward, throwing her arms around Daphne.
Forcing her frozen arms to move, Daphne circled them around her little sister and held on tight. “You’re okay,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief for the first time in hours. “You’re safe.”
Callie spoke words not dissimilar from hers, but Daphne didn’t pay much attention. All she cared about was the comfort, the assurance, the love she felt holding her sister.
Feet shuffled around them, and the door clicked closed. A few more seconds passed, and the last of the adrenaline seeped from her body as the warmth of the room permeated her thick coat.
“I’m getting you wet,” she mumbled, reluctantly releasing Callie. Callie gave her one more squeeze, then stepped back.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Don’t, Cal. If anyone is sorry, it’s me. You shouldn’t have been there alone with me,” Daphne said.
Her sister’s eyes searched hers, then drifted to the cut on her cheek. “We need to get you warm and cleaned up,” she said, pulling her over toward the fire. Two women Daphne assumed, based on pictures she’d seen, were Charley and Juliana, moved away from the large love seat and gestured for her to sit.
Daphne eyed the couch.
“If you can’t get up again, we’ll make sure you make it to bed,” Lovell all but whispered in her ear, startling her. She’d been so focused on seeing Callie, the rest of the room had sort of slipped away. Probably not something she’d share, given Lovell was already worried she had a head injury.
“I’ll be fine,” she muttered.
“Let me take this,” Charley said, reaching for the blanket now draped across her shoulders.
“And I’ll take your coat,” Juliana said.
“I have a blanket for you,” a much younger voice chimed in.
Daphne glanced around as she fumbled with her zipper. Warm hands, big fingers, gently pushed hers out of the way. Nothaving the energy to fight, she let Lovell remove her coat as her gaze landed on a young girl. Tall and gangly with dark hair in a short bob, her worried eyes tracked Lovell’s movements.
“You must be Kendall?” Daphne said.
“I am. Now, sit,” she said, gesturing to the couch.
“Bossy, I like it,” Daphne replied, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever. Not that she hadn’t found ways to amuse herself as she’d trekked through Mystery Lake, but her cheeks had been too frozen to move.
“You need something warm to drink, too,” Kendall said, holding out a blanket for her. No small throw-sized one either; the down comforter looked as if it had been pulled from one of the beds.
“Coffee, tea, water?” a woman with purple-tipped hair asked.
“Dottie?” Daphne ventured.
“The very one. Once you’re settled, we can do the rest of the intros, but as Kendall said, let’s get you warm and dry first.”
“Any chance you have decaf coffee? I don’t usually drink the unleaded stuff, but I don’t need caffeine now.” She paused. “Although it probably wouldn’t make a difference,” she added. Exhaustion hadn’t fully sunk its claws into her yet, but it was dancing around the edges, testing her perseverance.
“We have decaf. You want a little extra something in it?”
Daphne smiled. “A little whiskey wouldn’t go unappreciated.”
“Is that smart?” Lovell asked. She slid him a flat look. He stood, arms crossed, feet wide, staring at her. When he’d divested himself of his winter gear, she hadn’t a clue. “You might have a head injury.”
“She just walked who knows how far in a freakin’ blizzard. If she wants whiskey, she can have whiskey,” Kendall replied. Then turning back to Daphne, she rolled her eyes. “They mean well, but they can be a tad overprotective.”
