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)
“Wonderful, sir. I appreciate your help.” Sadie set the receiver back on the phone cradle and looked up with a smile. My replacement will be here in a few minutes. Could I get you a cup of coffee?”
“No, thank you. I have a tight schedule. Now that you know someone is on the way, could we head for the helicopter pad?” he asked, moving toward the open door.
“I’m so sorry. I can’t leave the desk unstaffed. It shouldn’t be too long,” Sadie assured him. To her delight, a large crew of workmen who had been working on the pool piled in through the front door. They streamed inside, walking between her and the newcomer who stood a few feet from the desk.
Hearing the rumble of voices, she looked away from the workmen to see Rocco and Kestrel filling the opposite hallway. Immediately, she felt more secure.
When she turned back to the man who’d been so impatient, she saw him getting into a van at the curb outside. “He’s leaving!” she called to Rocco and Kestrel, and they sped up to a run. Bursting through the door, she heard Rocco reciting the license plate. Scrambling for a piece of paper, Sadie tried to write it down, but her mind couldn’t hold on to the information.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered as the men approached her.
“That was definitely suspicious. I got the license plate number, and I’ll report it to the police, but I don’t think we’ll get far,” Kestrel guessed. “Our odds are better at finding something out about him from Magnus. He’s running his picture through facial recognition.”
“That entire encounter just didn’t feel right,” Sadie mentioned as she braced herself against the top of the desk for support.
Rocco immediately circled the desk and wrapped his arm around her waist for support. “I’m glad your radar was on point today.”
“A helicopter pad should be level, but three degrees off wouldn’t hurt anything.” Kestrel frowned. “I wonder what he wanted to do over in that corner of the resort?”
“I don’t know. Several cabins sit close to the pad, but that’s in the far corner of the grounds,” Sadie explained.
“There’s a road that runs along the other side of the resort,” Kestrel added. “I noticed it when I took the helicopter up for a test flight yesterday.”
Rocco grabbed his phone and selected a number. “Magnus, do you have eyes on the road that runs next to the heliport?” Rocco’s expression sharpened. “Run the time back on that view. Is there anyone out on the road?” After another pause, he said, “Get us any information you can on that van.” Rocco tugged her closer as Sadie started shaking.
“Someone was waiting out there?” she whispered as Kestrel stepped away.
“A van,” Rocco said. “Magnus will get us more information.”
“I thought they couldn’t find me here,” she murmured.
“Your old boss?” Rocco probed.
“I…I don’t know,” she lied. Sadie didn’t want to involve him in something dangerous. She hadn’t truly believed Sylvester Pushkin would come after her or send someone else. Whatever Pushkin and his men were involved in was more serious than she’d thought. Now, she was scared.
Her mind flew a thousand miles a minute. How could she get out of New Zealand without Pushkin knowing exactly where she was headed? She needed to run. Again. It was the only answer.
Rocco shook her gently. “Stop it.” He looked up at Kestrel. “Would you man the desk for Sadie for a few minutes?”
“Of course.”
Rocco steered Sadie down the hall into the conference room where the team had met together for the first time. He closed the doors and locked them, appreciating the heavy wood that would muffle anything that happened inside. “You need to tell Daddy everything that happened at your previous job, Sadie.”
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about. I told you.”
“You glossed over most of it, Cookie, and you know it.”
She licked her lips, staring at him. It seemed like he knew more than he was letting on. How was that possible? Trembling, she cleared her throat. “You already know how much trouble I’m in, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I’ll be much better equipped to help you if you tell me every detail in your own words, sweetheart.”
She searched his eyes, wondering how he knew so much.
“Would you like to keep lying to Daddy and see what happens?”
“Rocco, don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure this is a big misunderstanding, and that van is a total coincidence.” However, she knew that wasn’t true even as she spoke the words.
“That’s two.” His phone buzzed, and Rocco looked down at his screen. “Hawking just reported that the fencing separating the resort from the highway that passes it was cut.”
“Not over by the helicopter?”
“That’s exactly where the barrier was removed. Start talking, Sadie. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on,” Rocco told her sternly.