Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
“You keep referring to the group as a team like you’re in the military,” she pointed out.
He shrugged. “At one point, we all served in the military, but we’re our own team now. Kingsley brought us together to complete whatever missions he assigns to us.”
The doors opened before she could question him further. She stepped out of the elevator into a world she hadn’t known existed under the resort’s main building. “Wow.”
To say it was a command center was an understatement. It looked like something out of a movie. There was an entire bank of computers and monitors with so many flashing screens.
Hawking set a hand on the small of her back, encouraging her to step farther into the room. “Let me introduce you to Magnus.”
Just then, the man sitting in a fancy chair in front of the computer station spun around so he faced her. It was hard to see exactly what he looked like with his ball cap pulled down, shading his face, but she could tell he was built. All of the six men in the room who were looking at her were huge and muscular.
As they approached, Hawking said, “This is Magnus. We all have specialties around here. He’s our computer guru.”
Celeste held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Magnus took her much smaller hand in his. “You, too, Little girl.”
She gasped. How did he know she was Little? She lifted her gaze to Hawking, wondering if he’d told all of his team. The thought embarrassed her.
Sadie wiggled free of her Daddy, Rocco, and came skipping toward them. “Don’t worry, Celeste. These men may all look fierce and growly, but they are also all Daddies at heart.”
“Hey…” Rocco growled. “Who’s growly?” He was the only man she’d formally met so far because he’d brought Sadie to her room on the fourth floor earlier in the day.
Sadie giggled and rolled her eyes. “You are, Daddy.”
He snickered as he pulled her back against his front and kissed the top of her head. He clearly adored her, and Celeste was jealous of their relationship.
Was it possible she could have something like that with Hawking? He seemed to think so. Heck, Hawking seemed certain she was his.
The other three hunks in the room introduced themselves one at a time. She hoped she would remember their names. Kestrel, Phoenix, and Caesar. She tried to commit them to memory.
Magnus spoke. “I went through your computer earlier. I suspect whoever your boss hired to find you used the IP address to track you down. Your phone, too.”
“But I turned them both off,” she argued, wrapping her arms around herself.
Magnus cringed. “I found a tracer on your computer that appears to download automatically when a device connects to the research facility server.”
“Why are they always a step ahead of me?” she asked.
“Bad guys,” Magnus answered pointedly.
Hawking set his hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay now, Celeste. You’re safe.”
She gasped as a thought came to her. “But they know where I am, and they’ll come back and try to get me and put you all in danger. I should go somewhere else and—”
Hawking wrapped his arms all the way around her and pulled her back against his chest. “Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re not going anywhere, and you’re safe here.”
Sadie groaned. “Yeah. Don’t even try to talk these guys into letting you leave for their safety. Been there, done that. It’s not going to happen.”
Celeste turned to look at her new friend. “You were in danger?”
“Girl, three men tried to climb the side of a cliff, shooting at me. Lucky for me, these six oxen saved the day.”
Celeste gasped, staring in shock at Sadie. “Someone shot at you? Why?”
“I might have sort of taken some data I wasn’t supposed to have from my work that proved my boss was a very bad man, and he wanted me dead.”
Celeste’s knees went weak. She jerked her head around to look at Hawking. “That’s kinda what I did.”
Rocco cleared his throat. “I don’t think you’re helping Celeste feel better, Cookie,” he said to Sadie. “Maybe keep the details to yourself for now.”
Sadie cringed. “Sorry, Daddy. Sorry, Celeste.”
Caesar cleared his throat. “This place is a lot safer than it was when we first arrived, Celeste. We have it fortified from every angle.”
Hawking groaned. “And yet, a woman walked right into the resort today, grabbed a uniform and a cart, and pretended to be on staff. She even went to Celeste’s room and got her to open the door.”
Phoenix scowled. “You’re right. I don’t like it. I’m glad she ended up being harmless, but I also don’t know how we can lock down any better than we already have. We don’t want to alarm the guests. This resort will end up closing in a week if people find out they could be in the crosshairs of gunfire. Guns aren’t even legal in New Zealand.”