Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
A mysterious billionaire saved my life.
Now, I owe him.
My team’s job: Save Juniper from looming peril.
My goal: Convince her she’s mine.
Juniper
I’ve waited years to photograph this place.
This building has secrets–I remember them.
Returning to the uniqueness of Danger Bluff is my dream.
If only that captivating computer genius didn’t ooze Daddy vibes.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Prologue
A flicker of something in the code in front of him made Magnus freeze. His gaze ran over the last hundred lines, searching for something that could explain the anomaly. He checked behind the code to see who had added that section. The origin was completely and deliberately masked.
Setting aside that weirdness for the moment, he dived back into the code, trying to figure out what it did. The instructions were super complicated and messy. Was the person totally inept or uber-crafty? However, when all the pieces fell into place, Magnus jumped from his chair to pace the room.
“That can’t be right!” he shouted into the room. “Fuck!”
Throwing himself back into the chair, he pulled up a copy of his contract and searched for one thing. What the fuck was happening? He was working on a project for the U.S. Department of Defense. It said it right there in black and white. The additional code in his program was sending the data to a different location. It was masking the real recipient, the organization he was actually working for.
How could he have made such a mistake? Magnus had double-checked and triple-verified every step when they’d approached him. He wasn’t working for the U.S. Department of Defense after all. Someone else had tasked him with obtaining high-level data from his own country’s most secure files.
Disgusted with himself for falling prey to a scam, he threw the contract across the room. Whatever he’d thought it was didn’t matter.
The massive amount of sensitive material he had mined from the section of the government tasked with keeping everyone safe made him sick. He’d almost finished his report. Thank goodness he hadn’t revealed his data yet. If he hadn’t spotted that code, Magnus knew he would have hand-delivered the way to shut down U.S. defense systems.
A black-clothed figure passed the camera that focused on the back entrance to his house. A cold chill ran down his spine. They knew he was on to them.
Finally!
He mentally cursed his lack of detecting the manipulation from the beginning. Realizing he’d have to kick his own butt later, now he needed to focus to survive.
Disconnecting everything, Magnus powered off his computer and quickly pulled the hard drive. He shattered it into pieces with a hammer, destroying everything. Powering off his phone, he threw the computer shell and his cell into his laptop bag and ran to grab the go bag he still kept packed, even though he’d left the military several years ago. Every sensor he had was blaring silently by this time.
He paused to listen. His basement office was as impenetrable as he could make it. That didn’t mean someone determined couldn’t get in. It would take them some time, but they would finally invade, and he’d have nowhere to go. The sensors picked up a whisper of motion in front of the door to his lair.
He looked at the monitor with shock to see an apparatus taking shape. Magnus knew he was dealing with an organization even more powerful and treacherous than he could have imagined—and his experiences made that mind-blowing. Seconds later, machinery began to batter at the steel barrier. These guys were going to bypass his last hope in minutes.
A flash obliterated his cameras. Totally blind to what was happening above him, Magnus could only listen and guess. After a scattering of almost silent shots, there was silence for a minute, and the machine resumed battering his door.
Pulling his gun, Magnus took the best defensive position he could find to pick off the invaders as they came down the stairs. If they came down the stairs. There were many other ways they could eliminate him. Fire. Poisonous gas. Explosion.
When the door popped open, a voice called, “Magnus Taverson. We have five minutes to get you out of here before the next wave comes for you. Let’s not waste it.”
“Who are you?” he threw toward the door.
“Friendlies, and your only chance. Four minutes.”
Without second-guessing himself, Magnus shoved his gun in the back of his pants and ran up the stairs. Immediately, two men swarmed into his lair with plastic containers of liquid. He smelled the accelerant immediately as he followed the man who waved him out of the house toward a car parked in his driveway.
“Here.” The man held out a small object that Magnus accepted automatically.
When Magnus looked at it, he saw it was a heavy gold coin with a swirl design. No words. “What is this?”
“Hold on to this marker. You’ll be asked to repay this favor in the future. The car is full of gas, and there’s money in the glove box. Drive and create a new online persona for yourself. This one is toast.”
Before he could ask more questions, a blast of intense heat radiated from his house behind him with a whoosh that made him turn instinctively toward it. When he looked back at the man who’d led him outside, Magnus found himself alone. Without a second glance back, he ran for the car, slung his bag inside, and drove away. Shaking his head, he pulled his baseball cap lower on his forehead when a slew of dark trucks with no lights sped in the direction of the silent house behind him.