Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55087 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Hey, Sadie.” A deep voice that did funny things to her insides captured her attention, and she looked up from the computer screen to see Rocco walking forward, looking at his phone.
“I just got a list of group activities for mountain climbing experiences.”
“Sorry, Rocco,” she said quickly. “I sent out a trial reservation. I didn’t know it would send a message to you that people were in your classes.”
“Mr. Moneybags, his wife Fifi, and their five kids, Sally, Chip, Jeff, Ann, and Peter, were scattered through a bunch.” He stopped and looked up at her, his lips twitching. “You’re sure these are fake reservations? I’d like to meet someone named Mr. Moneybags.”
She scrunched her nose. “Not very original, is it? I’ve just deleted it. I needed to check that the reservation system was working. The advertisements go live this afternoon.”
“It’s hilarious. I really wanted to see what Peter Moneybags looked like.”
As Sadie searched for something to say, her gaze landed on the package she’d set aside. “This came for you.” She quickly handed over the small mailer envelope.
“Wow. I wonder who knows I’m here.”
Sadie watched his face change from teasing to serious as he examined the package.
“Who knows? Maybe, it’s a welcome gift? Thank you, Sadie,” he said, breaking his focus on the item in his hand to look at her.
“You’re welcome.” She held her breath, waiting for him to excuse himself. To her relief, his focus returned to the package.
He opened it and looked inside before meeting her gaze. “Hey. I’ll see you tonight,” he said, excusing himself.
“Okay.” Sadie focused on the clipboard in her hands and held her breath as he walked away. When he disappeared from sight, air gushed from her lungs. Damn. She would have to figure out how to be around him without reacting so strongly to his presence.
Chapter Six
Rocco pulled the flash drive out of the packaging and scrambled to catch the piece of paper that tumbled toward the floor. Looking over the flash drive, he discovered the only clue to its contents was the same symbol on the coin he had been given. Unfolding the paper, he read:
Rocco Thompson, your marker has been called into effect. Here is your assignment. Protect Sadie Miller. The encrypted drive contains all the background information I can provide you.
Baldwin Kingsley III
Rocco’s first thought was Baldwin Kingsley III… Was that the name of their mysterious benefactor, the man behind all this?
Next, Rocco’s dominant personality pushed to the forefront of his mind the idea that Sadie was in trouble. I need to see what’s on this jump drive immediately. However, he didn’t have the equipment to open any encrypted files. Clutching the drive, Rocco jogged to the elevators.
As he reached for the pad to hit floor five, he remembered he would need his keycard to access it. “Ugh. Come on…” he mumbled to himself as he pulled the card from his pocket. Sure enough, floor five lit up, and he was able to select it.
When the elevator opened on the fifth floor, dead silence met him. “Hey! Is the computer guy up here?”
No one answered.
Damn. They must be all downstairs.
Dashing back into the elevator, he stared at the numbers for the floors he could access. Five showed up with his keycard. Not the basement. What triggered the lowest floor? He stared at the display, trying to figure out what to do next.
“How do I get to the damn basement?” he growled. Immediately, the elevator descended. Nothing showed on the display. Was it voice-activated?
When the doors opened, Rocco stepped into the command center. “Whoa!” burst from his lips. As he looked around the room, he tested his memory of the guys he’d met previously, recalling each of their names. They were all extremely fit but so different.
“We wondered when you’d get down here,” Phoenix remarked. “Thank goodness Magnus read the directions in the envelope. The rest of us didn’t know to say the word ‘basement’ after using our cards.”
Rocco tried to laugh as if he’d definitely known the answer. The look in the other men’s eyes told him he wasn’t fooling them.
“We’re looking at the building specs. There’s more to this resort than you think,” Kestrel informed him.
“My mission just arrived. All the information is here,” Rocco shared, “but it’s encrypted. And it would seem our new boss’s name is Baldwin Kingsley III. Anyone know who that is?”
They all shook their heads.
“Never heard of him,” Magnus muttered. “But I’ll do a search and see what I can find.”
Rocco headed directly for the computer section. Magnus sat in front of a bank of computers. “Sorry, guy. I need to take your spot for a few.”
“Not going to happen. The system activates only for me. Everyone else has tried,” Magnus informed him.
“You’re our computer genius. Change that,” Rocco directed.
“Not happening. I could shut down and rebuild the whole system. Unfortunately, there’s a kill command I can’t bypass. We’ll lose all our intel if I attempt to alter or go around anything,” Magnus muttered.