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)
When he leaned her head back to meet her gaze, he found her eyes wide, but the corners of her mouth were turned up slightly. “Men don’t usually like to find out what I did for a living.”
“Well, those men were all stupid. Your Daddy thinks it’s hot, and apparently, it’s about time I started sharing my workspace with another human being. I have trouble admitting this, but managing the operation side of things is more than one person can handle alone. I need help. I need you. I’m sorry about the fact that your childhood friend is probably in danger. We’ll do everything we can to find her and help her, but Juni… Just, damn.” He kissed her hard and grinned. “Let’s get to work.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Juniper paced behind Magnus, who sat at his bank of monitors. She’d joined Rocco and Kestrel, keeping track of as many cameras as possible. All of them were worried there might be more explosions if the one they’d witnessed several minutes ago didn’t pan out for whoever had lit the fuse.
It was obvious that whoever had set off that first explosion was hoping it would gain them entrance into the tunnel system.
“We’re here,” came Caesar’s voice through the speaker system.
Mangus had ditched his own comm unit and switched to the speaker system so everyone in the basement could hear the communications and know what was happening.
Caesar continued, “It looks like the explosion worked, and since no one is around, I’m guessing whoever it was entered the cave.”
“Shit,” Phoenix grumbled. “We have to go in through the conference room and get the money. We don’t have another choice. We can’t just leave it there for the bad guys to discover.” He looked toward Juniper.
Juniper nodded. “I’ll go with you, of course.”
“Fuck no,” Magnus bit out, jumping to his feet.
Juniper understood his concern, and she wasn’t surprised by his outburst, but there were no other options. She had to go with Phoenix to retrieve the money. She was the only one who knew exactly where it was. Time was of the essence.
Juniper set her palms on Magnus’s chest and met his gaze. “Daddy, you know this is the best option. We’ll be gone ten minutes tops. I promise.”
Surprising not only her but everyone in the room—based on the collective gasps—Magnus whipped off his ballcap and tossed it on the floor. He grabbed Juniper around the waist and tipped her head back.
She had trouble breathing. His look was so intense, and she knew the reason he’d ditched the hat was so that she wouldn’t miss a single nuance in his expression or eyes.
He set his forehead against hers, holding her gaze. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
He kissed her hard and released her. “Don’t let anything happen to my Little girl,” he told Phoenix.
“Never,” Phoenix promised.
“Go.” Magnus pointed toward the door.
Juniper gave him one last look and a smile before she took off at a run with Phoenix.
“Go with them,” she heard him say. He must have been speaking to Kestrel because, moments later, the helicopter expert was at their side.
Juniper’s adrenaline was pumping hard as she jogged next to the two men. They used the stairs to go up the one flight to the first floor. When they stepped out into the lobby, they slowed their paces.
Luckily, no guests were milling around in the lobby. It was getting late. Most guests would be in bed.
Beelining for the conference room, Juniper glanced around constantly. When they arrived, Kestrel pulled a section of the taped plastic covering the door away and held it back for Juniper to climb through.
While the men came through behind her, she hurried over to the windowsill, pushed the lever for the entrance, and scampered toward it.
“Let me go down first, Little girl,” Phoenix stated. He quickly climbed down the crude steps. “Okay. Coast is clear,” he whispered up toward Juniper and Kestrel.
Juniper took a fortifying breath and hurried down the steps, followed by Kestrel a second later. She was relieved to see that both men had flashlights. They were also both armed, she noticed. She wasn’t sure how many weapons they were carrying, but the most obvious ones were tucked into their jeans' waistbands.
“Lead the way, Juniper,” Phoenix encouraged.
Juniper hurried down the pathway, making turns in all the right places, reminding herself it would have taken any of the men far too long to reach the money without her guidance. There were too many turns in the tunnels. She knew these pathways better than anyone except perhaps Sammi.
She tried not to think about where Sammi might be or what kind of trouble she was in. It hurt too much. Sammi had been so much fun to hang with. Juniper hated to think anything might happen to her.
“There.” Juniper stopped and pointed toward the little cove where she’d found the money earlier.