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)
He flinched.
“You heard me. Let me tell you on my own.”
“Are you a secret spy or something?” he teased. Sort of.
She chuckled. “No, Daddy. I’m not a spy. I’ve never done anything illegal. I’m not in witness protection or anything. I’m just a regular citizen. I promise. But don’t look me up. I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”
“You have my word.” Why did Kingsley withhold information about my Little girl? That was the top question on his mind.
“Thank you, Daddy.” She gave him a smile that wasn’t forced. Progress. “Now, go back to your station. I don’t want Eric Rivers wandering around the property without you knowing where he is at all times.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He chuckled as he headed back to his chair. His Little girl was definitely a mystery, and she was going to keep him on his toes for the rest of time.
Chapter Thirteen
Juniper was pretty excited that she was able to help the team with her own problems. She didn’t usually like to have so many people staring at her and hanging on her every word, but these people were her family. A giant family like she’d never had.
It was nice to have girlfriends. She’d enjoyed every moment with them. It was nice to have six huge men looking after her and keeping her safe. And she had to admit; it was also nice to be able to contribute by explaining how she’d accessed each of these secret passageways. It had been a damn long time ago, but she hadn’t forgotten.
The women were there, too, listening closely.
Rocco turned toward Sadie when Juniper was finished speaking. “You probably know the first floor better than anyone. Do you know off the top of your head if any of these entry points might still be accessible?”
Sadie tapped her lips, staring at the map. “I suspect the one in the laundry room is behind that gigantic dryer.” She shuddered as the words came out. So did Celeste.
Celeste glanced at Juniper. “The dryer she’s talking about is industrial. When the human traffickers caught up with Zara, it turned out the laundry supervisor, Mark, was in cahoots with them. He shut Sadie and me in that dryer before kidnapping Zara.”
Juniper gasped. “Please tell me he didn’t turn it on.”
Sadie shook her head. “No. Thank God.”
Still, it had to have been scary.
Sadie looked at the pins on the blueprints again. “We know the one in the library where you looked for the lever in the windowsill is probably covered in drywall. There aren’t any bookshelves there now. I’m not sure about the back of the kitchen. It could be behind the new refrigerator. That would be a bitch to get to.”
Everyone was frowning with concern.
Sadie tapped the map. “I think the janitor’s closet is the best place to try first. There could be a metal shelf in front of the portal, but it would be easier to move than the dryer or the refrigerator. Those would both take special equipment that would attract a lot of attention.”
Magnus glanced at the others. “Let’s start with the janitor’s closet then.”
Juniper agreed. “You better take flashlights. I don’t know how well all those lightbulbs might have held up. Heck, we don’t know if power is still running down there.”
“Good idea.” Caesar took long, quick strides to get to the row of closets across the room. He unlocked one of them and pulled it open.
Juniper gasped. It was an arsenal. Holy shit. There was enough artillery in there to start their own war.
Magnus startled her when he set his hands on her shoulders from behind. “We’re all trained former military, Juni.”
She nodded. Right. Still.
Caesar handed everyone a handgun and a flashlight.
“Don’t you think that’s going a little overboard?” Celeste asked, rubbing her hands together. “I mean, if all the entrances are sealed off, there can’t be anyone down there.”
Juniper looked toward her friend. “We can assume all the entrances inside the lodge are sealed off, but we have no idea about the other end of each tunnel. They are all interconnected and cross in many places. I’m pretty sure there are six locations around the edge of the property where they exit. Maybe those are blocked off, and maybe they aren’t.”
“Good point, Juni,” Magnus said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “I don’t think we want to take the time to check each one. That could take days and create a disturbance. People would see us and wonder what we were doing. It will be faster to attempt to access the tunnels from inside the resort.”
“Are we confident Eric doesn’t know about the tunnels?” Kestrel asked.
Magnus shrugged. “We can’t be sure, but I think he would’ve been in here nosing around if he knew. And more importantly, Edmund must not know either. If he’d known, why would he have killed Juniper’s father trying to get information?”