Chapter 13

Juniper was pretty excited that she was able to help the team with her own problems. She didn’t usually like to have so many people staring at her and hanging on her every word, but these people were her family. A giant family like she’d never had.

It was nice to have girlfriends. She’d enjoyed every moment with them. It was nice to have six huge men looking after her and keeping her safe. And she had to admit; it was also nice to be able to contribute by explaining how she’d accessed each of these secret passageways. It had been a damn long time ago, but she hadn’t forgotten.

The women were there, too, listening closely.

Rocco turned toward Sadie when Juniper was finished speaking. “You probably know the first floor better than anyone. Do you know off the top of your head if any of these entry points might still be accessible?”

Sadie tapped her lips, staring at the map. “I suspect the one in the laundry room is behind that gigantic dryer.” She shuddered as the words came out. So did Celeste.

Celeste glanced at Juniper. “The dryer she’s talking about is industrial. When the human traffickers caught up with Zara, it turned out the laundry supervisor, Mark, was in cahoots with them. He shut Sadie and me in that dryer before kidnapping Zara.”

Juniper gasped. “Please tell me he didn’t turn it on.”

Sadie shook her head. “No. Thank God.”

Still, it had to have been scary.

Sadie looked at the pins on the blueprints again. “We know the one in the library where you looked for the lever in the windowsill is probably covered in drywall. There aren’t any bookshelves there now. I’m not sure about the back of the kitchen. It could be behind the new refrigerator. That would be a bitch to get to.”

Everyone was frowning with concern.

Sadie tapped the map. “I think the janitor’s closet is the best place to try first. There could be a metal shelf in front of the portal, but it would be easier to move than the dryer or the refrigerator. Those would both take special equipment that would attract a lot of attention.”

Magnus glanced at the others. “Let’s start with the janitor’s closet then.”

Juniper agreed. “You better take flashlights. I don’t know how well all those lightbulbs might have held up. Heck, we don’t know if power is still running down there.”

“Good idea.” Caesar took long, quick strides to get to the row of closets across the room. He unlocked one of them and pulled it open.

Juniper gasped. It was an arsenal. Holy shit. There was enough artillery in there to start their own war.

Magnus startled her when he set his hands on her shoulders from behind. “We’re all trained former military, Juni.”

She nodded. Right. Still.

Caesar handed everyone a handgun and a flashlight.

“Don’t you think that’s going a little overboard?” Celeste asked, rubbing her hands together. “I mean, if all the entrances are sealed off, there can’t be anyone down there.”

Juniper looked toward her friend. “We can assume all the entrances inside the lodge are sealed off, but we have no idea about the other end of each tunnel. They are all interconnected and cross in many places. I’m pretty sure there are six locations around the edge of the property where they exit. Maybe those are blocked off, and maybe they aren’t.”

“Good point, Juni,” Magnus said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “I don’t think we want to take the time to check each one. That could take days and create a disturbance. People would see us and wonder what we were doing. It will be faster to attempt to access the tunnels from inside the resort.”

“Are we confident Eric doesn’t know about the tunnels?” Kestrel asked.

Magnus shrugged. “We can’t be sure, but I think he would’ve been in here nosing around if he knew. And more importantly, Edmund must not know either. If he’d known, why would he have killed Juniper’s father trying to get information?”

Phoenix nodded. “Good point.” He looked toward Rocco. “How about you and I head for the janitor’s closet? We’ll all keep our ear units on so we can stay in communication. We’ll let you all know if we’re able to access the portal and when we’re in.”

Magnus nodded in agreement. “I’ll watch you from every angle I can and warn you if anyone wanders by, especially if they’re suspicious-looking.”

Hawking nodded. “I’ll make sure the morning staff on security detail is ready to start and extra vigilant.”

“I’ll wander the grounds,” Caesar said.

Kestrel stood. “I’ll go prepare the helicopter. I have two tours booked for this morning. Please let me know if I need to cut anything short. You know I’ll be wherever you need me.”

When the men had all scattered, Sadie gave Juniper a hug. “I’ll be up at the front desk. Text me if you need to.”

“We can stay with her,” Celeste offered.

Zara nodded in agreement.

Juniper shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Go cure cancer,” she told the two scientists with a smile.

Suddenly, she was all alone in the middle of the enormous basement. The rush she’d gotten from being needed and important took a dive and left her feeling out of sorts.

“Little girl.”

She jerked her head up to find Magnus looking at her from his station.

“Come here, Juni.”

She shuffled toward him. “I don’t want to interrupt your work. I’ll order us some breakfast or, uh, make sure there’s enough toilet paper in the bathrooms.” She winced as those ridiculous suggestions left her mouth.

Magnus chuckled. “Come here, Little girl.” He held out a hand.

She rushed into his arms, needing him to hold her more than anything. She hoped she wasn’t upsetting him. He’d made it crystal clear he didn’t like anyone, including her, in his workspace.

She’d thought a lot about what he’d said to her and realized she needed to honor his work preferences. The man was territorial about his station. She could understand that. She wasn’t exactly the kind of person who was used to working on group projects either. She’d been working from home for that very reason. If someone had come into her house and offered to help her with her job, she would have told them to fuck off.

“I’m sorry I was naughty earlier,” she murmured against his neck, feeling her Little side come to the surface.

He lifted her and settled her sideways on his lap. He even took off his baseball cap and set it on the desk before cupping her face. “You were not naughty, Juni. I was caught off-guard, and I reacted badly. I want you to stay here with me and keep me company this morning.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. Was he serious? “You’re just saying that because you’re afraid to let me out of your sight.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m saying that because I love you, you’re my life, and I need you near me.”

“I can sit on the couch and stay really quiet while you work, Daddy,” she offered.

“No. You can sit right here on Daddy’s lap, where I can inhale your sweet scent and touch your sexy body.” He smiled, kissed her on the lips, and turned toward the computer. “Would you like me to tell you what all I do?”

“Sure, Daddy. If you want. You don’t have to, though. I can sit here like a little mouse. You won’t even know I’m here.”

He kissed her neck. “Tell me if you get bored.” He pointed toward a monitor. “See that one?”

As he rambled on about what everything at his station was used for, she felt pretty damn guilty. Maybe she should just tell him now what she’d been doing for a living.

Nah. She wasn’t ready for that confrontation yet. Besides, she could tell he felt kind of powerful and important telling his silly Little girl about the big computers. Would he spank her ass later when he found out? Probably. But she wasn’t sure that would be a bad thing. After all, she’d learned she rather liked getting spanked.