Chapter One
“I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me at all.” Daphne checked the locks on each door and window as she passed them.
“I’ve never known anything like it. To have the warning come out, and now, we’re on lockdown and not allowed to leave our homes,” her best friend and colleague, Bethany, said.
Everyone had been watching the news about the virus spreading through each nation. Each country it touched, more measures were put in place. Now, she stood in her modest bed-and-breakfast overlooking some stunning mountains, with absolutely no guests whatsoever. She just knew her grandmother would be turning in her grave if she were to see this place. Open fifty years, and not a day closed.
Now, with new rules, she was closed to everyone. No guests. No workers. Just closed.
This was her home and had been ever since her parents died in an accident when she was twelve. Her grandmother had taken her in, made all the adjustments to her life, and made sure she wanted for nothing growing up.
She’d learned how to run this place from the best person she knew and now, she was … closed.
Rather than feel gloomy, she was going to make sure the place was ready to receive customers again. Until then, she could spend time on her sewing, writing, and of course, enjoying the break. That was all.
“I don’t know how you can be so calm.” Bethany groaned. “I can’t stand the thought of being locked in my house all day.”
“You’re not locked in your house all day. You can go for a run.”
Bethany snorted.
“We can chat any day or night. You know where I am.” She made her way toward the main reception, checking the doors were locked and heading back to the main computer. It was still fired up, and she glanced through everything. “Before you left, you signed out all the guests?”
“I signed out who checked out. There were six families, but they left last night after the announcement. Clive left as well. So much for him getting to be one with nature. I saw each of the staff out. I also handed them all out the checks you’d given me.”
“Good, good.” She didn’t want her staff to go without their wages. She would pay them for as long as she could. Tapping her finger on the edge of the keyboard, she saw from the file they had three people not signed out. After clicking on the details, she paused. “You saw them out, didn’t you?”
She’d been friends with Bethany since kindergarten, so her friend would know exactly who she meant.
“Them?”
“Please tell me you dealt with them. You promised you would.”
Bethany groaned.
Daphne froze. There was no one here, so they had to have been dealt with. “Maybe they just left.”
“Check the keys,” Bethany said.
Eric Cants. Micah Lori. Dean Lighthouse. Three people she’d hoped to never see again. She never wanted to know their names or have anything to do with them. All three had been hugely popular in school and had made it their mission to make her miserable. Horrible. Girls loved them. Guys wanted to be them. She wanted to be as far away from them as possible. Even now, thinking about them turned her stomach.
Not a good feeling.
“The keys aren’t here. I better go check. Crap.”
“Don’t worry about it. They probably left,” Bethany said.
“Yeah, it’s quiet here. Kind of strange. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back.” She put the phone down and checked on the computer what rooms they were staying in. “Okay, let’s go and see what a mess you’ve made of everything, shall we?” She blew out a breath and made her way out of the main reception, going to the doors that would lead upstairs. “I will not think about it. Not even for a second. There’s no reason to think. They’re not important.”
She walked with purpose, coming to a stop at the first room. This was Dean’s room. When they’d arrived, she felt like she’d seen a ghost. Nope, no spirit, just the true form of a tormentor. A bully.
Pushing some hair off her face, she gripped the handle and stepped into the room.
At first glance, it didn’t look like anyone was there.
She moved to the closet and checked, no clothes.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she grabbed the key and left the room.
Room one done.
Onto the second room. She found the exact same thing. No presence, nothing. With the second key in her grip, she relaxed, knowing her worries were completely unfounded. Arriving at the last bedroom, she stepped inside and came to a stop as all three of her bullies stood, each of them with a drink in hand, all looking confident.
Their gazes turned to her. Eric’s green eyes, Micah’s blue eyes, and Dean’s brown ones. All of them focused on her.