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)
“Mother fucker,” he shouted. “Shoot them, Edmund.”
Juniper watched in horror as Edmund lifted his gun, aiming it at Kestrel.
A shot rang out, making Juniper scream. She wasn’t alone. Sammi screamed at the same time. They were both still screaming when a new voice filtered into Juniper’s mind. Magnus? Where was he?
Juniper didn’t have time to fully register that thought because money was flying all over the tunnel. It was making it difficult to make out where anyone was located.
“No!” Someone screamed. “You fucking asshole. That’s my brother’s goddamn money.” Eric. He even dropped to his knees, trying to gather up the bills raining down all around him.
“Leave it, Eric,” Edmund shouted. “We’ve got the other bag. Let’s go.” Edmund grabbed the second bag from against the wall, turned, and ran deeper into the tunnel.
Eric scrambled to get to his feet to take off after his brother, but he didn’t make it two steps before someone shot him in the leg. The guy dropped back to his knees, howling in pain. He rolled onto his back and grabbed his shin, crying from the agony.
Kestrel turned back toward Juniper and then glanced behind her.
She finally jerked her gaze around to find Magnus at her back. He nodded toward Kestrel. “I’ve got this. Go after Edmund.”
Juniper crawled toward Sammi, who was still on her hands and knees, appearing to be in shock. Out of her peripheral vision, she watched Phoenix pick up Eric’s weapon. While he and Magnus hurried toward the injured man, Juniper scrambled toward her friend.
When she reached her, she threw her arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. “It’s over. You’re safe,” she told her as the two rocked on their knees, hugging each other close.
“My parents…” Sammi cried out. “They’re taped to dining room chairs in their own home.”
Juniper smoothed a hand down her friend’s hair. “The police have already been sent to them. They’re safe now.”
“Oh, God…” Sammi broke down and cried as if now that she knew her parents were no longer in danger, she could finally let go.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Juniper couldn’t stop shivering. She knew she was in shock, but her body refused to lose the panic. Too much had happened and continued to happen, even two hours after the incident in the tunnels.
Magnus had carried her out of the maze, holding her so tightly against him that she’d struggled to breathe. Phoenix had offered to carry Sammi, but she’d insisted on walking on her own.
The two of them were now wrapped in blankets, huddled next to each other in the middle of the sectional in the basement. The other Littles kept bringing them drinks and snacks, but Juniper couldn’t swallow a thing.
Sammi kept crying. She’d been through a lot and was about to tell them all about it. They’d had to wait to hear her story until after Kestrel had caught up with Edmund and tackled him to the ground.
Apparently, once Caesar and Hawking had determined no one was at the blast site, they’d headed for the dock and taken the boat out to the cave entrance Caesar had investigated underwater earlier. They’d entered through there and met up with Edmund at the same time Kestrel took the man down.
The authorities had been called to arrive at the cave by boat, which was where they entered and found, first, the Danger Bluff Daddies with Edmund before heading in deeper and arresting a hogtied Eric. Both men had been taken into custody.
That was how much Juniper understood so far. Her mouth opened to ask her Daddy more questions as he joined her on the couch. He didn’t sit next to her, though. Nope. Not her Daddy. He scooped her up and settled her on his lap.
Sammi smiled and blushed. “I guess I don’t have to ask if you’ve met anyone.”
Juniper finally seemed to stop shivering as she snuggled into Magnus’s embrace. “I’ve definitely met someone.” She tipped her head back and smiled at Magnus.
Everyone gathered around to sit on the sectional and chairs so they could all hear as Magnus began, “It would seem the explosion at the cave entrance we initially investigated had been set as a diversion so that we would all go running to investigate it while Edmund snuck in from the cave entrance at the ocean to retrieve the money.”
“That makes more sense to me now,” Juniper murmured.
Magnus continued, “A team of local police collected the money and took it to the station.”
“That’s good.” Juniper frowned. “Do we know who put it there or how Edmund and Eric found it?”
“I do,” Sammi whispered. Her usually pale cheeks were bright red.
Juniper stared at her friend. It made no sense that Sammi would have had anything to do with the money. They’d only been thirteen when the bank robbery had occurred.
Sammi took a deep breath and began. “Until that last summer you were here, few people knew about the tunnels. You and I used to play in them undetected. Between that summer and the next, when my parents ended up selling the resort and moving us to the North Island, a lot changed.