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)
“Thank you, Little girl.”
“Here, Rocco. You both should drink these.” Caesar appeared at their side with cold bottles of water.
“Thanks, Caesar,” Sadie said, trying to keep her emotions from welling up too much but failing as tears tumbled from her eyes.
“It’s okay, Little girl. We’ll keep you safe.”
“You did.” Realizing what kind of danger they had dealt with, she asked, “Are you all okay?”
“I think Kestrel has a hangnail,” Phoenix joked as he joined them.
“Where is he?” Sadie asked, looking up.
“He’s back at the helipad. He’ll bring the authorities here,” Hawking said as he joined the group, holding a crushed Danger Bluff metal water bottle in his hand. “I found this. We may have to call him Hawkeye from now on instead of Kestrel. He dropped this bottle with perfect accuracy. That had to sound so loud when it hit the van.”
“Kaboom,” Caesar added, making an explosion gesture with his hands.
“They probably pissed their pants,” Phoenix suggested as the sirens got louder.
Hawking glanced at his phone. “They’re about a minute out. We’ll walk through the scene with them since you guys were just hanging from the rocks, hiding from all the action.”
“Did someone let Magnus know we’re okay?” Rocco asked, looking at the massive men who stood in front of them.
“The rest of us have our earpieces in and can talk to him,” Caesar ribbed Rocco. “Besides, that man knows everything, even when he’s blind.”
Rocco reached up to pluck the earpiece from his ear and held it up. “Battery’s dead,” Rocco said with a rueful shake of his head.
“Shit,” Caesar responded. “Guess we better charge these every night. Maybe yours is faulty. Have Magnus take a look at it. They’re brand new.”
As the cars drove into the area, Phoenix, Caesar, and Hawking walked toward them to meet with the officials.
Rocco stayed with Sadie as the police interviewed everyone. Seeing Rocco’s injury and how shaken up she was, the authorities had recommended they go to the hospital for treatment, but Rocco had assured them they had this level of medical treatment available at the resort and just wanted to get cleaned up and rest after their ordeal.
He answered a lot of the questions for them as Sadie claimed honestly that as a beginning rock climber her focus had centered on clinging to the bluff. There wasn’t much information they could get from two people who had hidden throughout the skirmish other than who they were and why they were in New Zealand.
When the authorities transported the van and bodies away, Sadie’s last bit of energy evaporated. Rocco led her to the jeep and tucked her into the passenger seat. After buckling her safely inside, he drove back to the main building.
“What am I going to do, Rocco?” Sadie asked as they pulled up in front of the resort. “I can’t just stay here, but I sure don’t want to be out in the world for them to find me when they come after me again.”
“That’s not happening, Little girl. You’re staying close to us. Give the team time to handle this for you,” Rocco told her gently before circling the car to help her out.
“The team? What are you guys? No one panicked. Everyone came running. How are six random resort employees on a team that handles bad guys with guns and a plan to kill a front desk manager? This is like out of a movie. Now on the big screen, you thought they were only the security guy, the scuba instructor, the IT expert, the climbing pro, the helicopter guide, and the maintenance supervisor, but they form The Team,” she said, putting those last two words in capitals with the emphasis in her voice.
“You’re tired, Sadie, and need a shower and food. Let’s take care of those things first before I answer all the questions bouncing around inside your head.”
Those kind words destroyed the shaky supports Sadie had bolstered herself with to stay functional. He was right. All the bad guys were gone. If her old boss sent more people, it would take at least a couple of days for them to reach the resort. Her legs started shaking with the effort to stay upright.
“Come here, sweetheart. Let me take care of you.”
Rocco swept her up in his arms and carried her through the building to the elevator and directly up to their apartment. Stripping off their dusty clothes, he led her into the shower and quickly washed the grime and sweat from her body before propping her up against his chest to wash her hair. His fingers scrubbed gently over her scalp, drawing a groan of appreciation from Sadie’s throat. It felt so good.
When he finished pampering and cleaning her up, Rocco wrapped a towel around her damp hair and body before scooping Sadie back into his arms to carry her to his big bed and tuck her between the crisp sheets. Immediately, her eyes closed. Sadie felt his lips press against hers for a brief second before his presence moved away.