Chapter 1

Magnus waited until everyone drifted away from the basement to display Juniper Hazen’s pictures back on screens. She was lovely—all curves and shadows with beautiful blonde hair he knew would feel like silk in his hands. Those green eyes drew him most. Lonely, remote. She gave the impression that she observed life more than she experienced it.

Once he dug deeper into her profile, he found it included curious bits. The first was an article from Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island. It concerned a bank robbery from twenty years ago. There was also a mug shot of the man who’d been convicted of the crime. His sentence had ended three months ago. Finally, there was an obituary for Kyle Hazen, Juniper’s father, dated three weeks ago.

Her father’s death was the easy explanation for Juniper’s sad expression. That didn’t seem to account for the remoteness in her gaze. Or did she not like people? Magnus could thoroughly understand avoiding others like the plague.

Why would Juniper come here, and what was the threat? She would have been twelve when the man went to prison. Had he done something to her? Damn Kingsley for not sending more information.

Wait! He could find out pretty much anything. Adjusting his baseball cap a bit lower to shield his eyes from the bright lights in the basement, Magnus put his fingers on the keyboard. If there were some connection between Juniper and the bank robbery, he’d find it.

* * *

“Aw! Did you sleep down here?” Celeste’s voice echoed slightly in the open room.

“What?” Magnus lifted his head to blink at her. Processing quickly, he glanced at the clock. Eight o’clock. He’d last seen the clock at four.

“She’s pretty. Do you think she’ll like us? Or be like us?” Celeste asked.

“She is very attractive. I can’t imagine that all our assignments will focus on Littles. The odds of that are astronomical,” Magnus said, subtly closing display windows on the screens above. He rose to refill his coffee cup as the elevator doors opened again.

“You really shouldn’t drink that much coffee,” Celeste said, shaking her head.

“It’s not good for you,” Zara added as she walked forward, looking gorgeous as usual.

“I’ll think about cutting down,” he offered to appease them.

“Your nose is going to grow, Pinocchio,” Zara said as she walked toward the lab, where she assisted Celeste’s research.

Magnus took a sip of the bitter brew and grimaced. Maybe it was time to stop drinking coffee. A second sip convinced him not to be so rash.

He should head upstairs to shower. Magnus pulled the neckline of his aged T-shirt and sniffed. Wrinkling his nose, he headed for the elevator. A ding from his computer system made him stop in his tracks and run back toward it. An image of Juniper Hazen walking through the front doors of Danger Bluff and up to the front desk appeared on his largest screen.

Magnus tried to tell himself that he was crazy, but something seemed to click into place inside him. He watched Sadie greet her and check her into the hotel. Sadie’s gaze met his directly as she deliberately looked into the camera. Knowing that Sadie was checking to see if he was watching, he sent her a quick text.

I’m here.

Sadie nodded slightly after glancing at her monitor, and Magnus knew she’d seen his response. Juniper never noticed. The newest visitor looked around with great curiosity. After receiving her room key, Juniper turned to the elevator without hesitation.

Magnus knew from her file that she’d been here as a child. She remembers the resort. This was going to be interesting. How much would be stored in her memory?

Magnus ran to the elevator and jumped inside. He pushed the fourth-floor button and held his breath. It went up one level and stopped. The doors opened, and three people walked inside. A chattering couple who had just come from Rocco’s beginning rock climbing class and Juniper filled the space as he shifted to the back corner.

On the third floor, the couple walked out, leaving him and Juniper alone. He watched her from under the cover of his baseball cap. Breathing in, he could smell her light perfume and, underneath that, a hint of her. He watched her hand trace over the buttons as if considering the floor choices, and she looked up toward the elevator ceiling, thinking hard.

When the doors opened again, Juniper rolled her suitcase to the front. The wheels got caught on the metal divider, stopping her. Magnus reached down to lift the suitcase clear as he followed and celebrated the solid weight of her suitcase. It appeared she planned to stay for a while.

“Thank you.”

Her voice was low and melodic. It had an immediate effect on his body. Magnus quickly controlled his reaction as he answered, “My pleasure. Enjoy your stay.”

She paused after stepping out of the elevator and waited as if to see what he would do. Of course, he exited after her. It was the “top” floor on the elevator anyway. Juniper walked to the hallway and turned left.

Magnus turned in the opposite direction from her as she walked toward her room. Once around the corner, he counted to five and retraced his steps to the stairwell near the elevator. After entering, he placed his hand against the door, blocking off the stairs up to the private floor. When it opened, Magnus gained access and slid through the barrier. He flew up the flight of steps and into the community room. A murmur of voices in the private apartments informed him that at least a few people weren’t at work yet.

Once in his apartment, Magnus walked to the bathroom. After ripping off his cap, he stared at himself in the mirror. What just happened?

* * *

Juniper leaned against the door in her room. Why was her heart beating so fast? She hadn’t even seen that man’s face. It must have been all the travel. She was just tired.

To distract herself, Juniper unpacked a few things and used the bathroom. After changing and touching up her makeup, she decided to look around the hotel. It had been twenty years since she and Sammi had played inside these halls. They’d become great friends on her first visit when she’d been six and huge partners in crime when they’d been twelve.

The two of them had corresponded back and forth for several years, but slowly, that had fizzled out. Each of them had become too busy with school and new friends to stay in touch with someone on the other side of the world, especially after Sammi’s parents had sold Danger Bluff and moved to the North Island.

Pulling on a pair of comfortable shoes and grabbing her camera case, Juniper left her room and headed out the front door. Everyone was friendly and greeted her. Enjoying their holiday away from responsibilities and work, the vacationers were a cheerful group.

“Can I help you find an activity?” a friendly voice asked. Juniper recognized the woman from the front desk.

“No, thank you.” Juniper paused as she consulted the woman’s name tag to jog her memory. “Sadie.”

“Just let me know if I can be of assistance. We have some amazing experiences. I think you mentioned you’ve been here before. Ever see the resort from above? We have helicopter rides available.”

“Neat. No, I haven’t ever done that. It’s been a while since I was here,” Juniper confessed. “Twenty years.”

“Oh, they definitely didn’t have helicopter rides then. There are new owners now,” Sadie shared.

“Yes. I was great friends with the owners’ daughter back in the day,” Juniper reported. “It looks much different. I’ll enjoy comparing then and now.”

“Ooh, I bet there will be some changes,” Sadie said with a smile.

Shielding her eyes, Juniper looked up at the building behind her. “It’s interesting. There are five floors and a basement. Only four floors are accessible by elevator.”

“The resort just reopened. The renovations aren’t complete yet,” Sadie answered smoothly.

“Oh. That makes sense. Well, I’m off to explore,” Juniper said and gave a small wave as she turned to walk away.

“Have fun!”

The front of the resort had changed a lot. More parking lots and fancier landscaping. The giant tea tree in the front corner was still there. Twenty years ago, a swing had hung from one of the large branches. She stepped off the path to walk under its massive canopy. On a whim, Juniper pulled out her camera and focused on one particular branch. She could see the two slightly narrower areas on the branch where the swing’s ropes had attached. Smiling at the memory of gliding through a breeze, Juniper remembered how free she had felt back then.

Yielding to a whim, Juniper sat down against the massive trunk and relaxed. It was beautiful here. Yes, there were more sounds of people and traffic than there had been back then, but it was still a breath of fresh air.

A memory popped into her brain.

“Want to see something no other guest gets to see?” seven-year-old Sammi leaned forward to ask.

“Of course!” Juniper answered.

“There’s a secret passage in the library that leads out the back of the house. It’s an old escape route. There are a bunch of them around the hotel.”

“No way. Show me.”

Sure that it no longer existed, Juniper stayed where she was. Her lips turned up in a smile. That secret passage had been so cool when she had been a kid. She’d never wanted to leave Danger Bluff.