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)
Laughter-turned-coughing emanated from Magnus’s workspace.
“Daddy! This is a private conversation,” Juniper told him pertly.
“Daddies take care of their Littles,” Magnus reminded her with a stern look that made her forget her thought of correcting him. “We’re always listening to prevent poor choices that might warrant correction.”
“Oops!”
Turning back to her food, Juniper hurriedly took a bite. “Mmmm. This is good.”
“Porridge Day is one of my favorites,” Zara shared.
The two Littles chatted easily. Juniper loved finding out new things about the resort and the other Daddies. It all seemed like a modern-day fairy tale that the six men had come together to form a team. Their relationship felt much closer than just a random group. Maybe it was because they were all Daddies…?
Chapter Eighteen
When breakfast was over, Zara stood to report to the lab to assist Celeste, who had been working for several hours already. “She’s an early bird. Celeste is also a bit of a control freak. She likes to get everything set up for the day before I get there.”
“Don’t work too hard,” Juniper said.
“Oh, we will. But it’s amazingly interesting. Are you into science?”
“Not at all,” Juniper confessed. “But I can take great pictures if you need visual documentation.”
“That’s a great bonus. I’ll tell Celeste if that’s okay.”
“Of course. I’d love to help,” Juniper offered.
As soon as Zara left, Juniper thought about what she could do for the day. She looked around the room and considered the art area, but coloring didn’t sound fun by herself. Working out? Nah, too sweaty.
Her gaze landed on the rough brick wall next to the exercise area. The texture and colors of the old brick invited her to see what it looked like through her photographic lens. Suddenly, her hands itched to hold her camera.
“Can I go get my camera, Daddy?”
“I’ll clear an elevator for you if you promise not to take pictures of anything vital here in the command center,” he said with a steely tone that clued her in that this was non-negotiable.
“Of course.”
Back on the fifth floor, Juniper tiptoed through the common areas to reach Magnus’s apartment door. “Our door,” she corrected herself in a whisper. Inside, she headed for the playroom and grabbed her camera from the bookshelf.
Distracted by the books, she took a few minutes to choose one to read as well. She might as well stack several things up for herself to do. Juniper sighed deeply. Who was she kidding? Juniper knew she was going to go absolutely stir-crazy if she could only be on the fifth floor or the basement.
Setting her camera back on the shelf where it would be safe, Juniper squared her shoulders. She knew that Rocco had Edmund Rivers’ brother, Eric, on his schedule for today. She wished they’d talked about the time. Dropping to the carpet, Juniper sat cross-legged and grabbed her tablet.
It looked like the average reader, but Juniper had designed the device herself. Accessing the internet, she probed delicately through the connections to find a backdoor. Once inside, she hacked into the Danger Bluff activity schedule. It wasn’t highly protected, but it was restricted to a small group of people who could see the names. Quickly, she created an access for herself that mimicked Magnus’s. He would have to be directly looking for it to find her clone. With a few fancy keystrokes, Juniper was able to convince the system to give her a view of everything.
There. Eric Rivers, rock climbing, ten o’clock.
Checking the time, she discovered she had a half hour before Eric would report to the cliffside where his experience would take place. Rocco had set up forty-five minutes to work with him. Guessing that Eric would leave his hotel room at least ten minutes before the appointment, Juniper figured that she would have at least an hour free from the threat of the henchman discovering her.
Could she even get into the library? Surely, they’d have it locked. An image flashed into her brain, and she dashed back into the common area. There on a hook by the wall hung a huge cluster of keys. She knew instinctively that the keyring contained the power to open all the rooms and buildings. Before she could convince herself that this was a bad idea, she grabbed the collection on the wall, shoved it into her pocket, and sent her Daddy a text.
Going to read in my room for a bit. I’ll call the elevator when I want to come down to the basement.
He answered quickly.
Have fun. Enjoy your playroom.
Now, how could she get out of the top floor without him knowing? Juniper couldn’t use the elevator. He’d just take control of the car and send it directly to the basement. Running back into her room, she looked out the windows. There was a ledge out there that she could shimmy across. However, that seemed dangerous, and how would she get down five floors? Shimmy down the rainspout?