Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“I see why,” Magnus muttered.
Kestrel’s hackles rose for no good reason. He considered punching Magnus’s shoulder for ogling his girl.
My girl? What the hell was he thinking? She was no more his girl than anyone else’s. He didn’t have a claim on her. Just because Rocco and Hawking had found their perfect Little girl during their assignments didn’t mean the same would happen for Kestrel.
Nevertheless, he felt a strong pull toward her, and he knew none of the guys would challenge him on this. They’d joked about Kingsley having some bizarre matchmaking abilities, but so far, the man had been spot on, so it was assumed even before opening this jump drive that the woman would end up being Kestrel’s perfect Little girl.
“I know her,” Celeste declared, leaning in closer. “I mean, I don’t know her, know her. I mean, I’ve seen her before. She’s been featured in a few magazines as one of the world’s most beautiful humans. Each time, it was noted that she didn’t choose to give an interview to accompany the photos.”
Sadie gasped and leaned between everyone to get a better look. “I know her, too. We all do. Kingsley sent me her resume, and I hired her. She’s been working here at Danger Bluff in housekeeping for a week.”
Kestrel jerked his gaze to Sadie. “Are you serious? How could I have not seen her before?” It seemed impossible. If he’d seen this woman at any point in his life, he would have remembered it.
Hawking responded. “We’ve been beyond busy lately, Kestrel, focusing on wrapping up our last mission.” He pulled Celeste into his arms and held her protectively.
“Plus,” Sadie added, “now that I think of it, Zara hides her looks at all times. I’ve never seen her without a ballcap pulled down over her eyes. She lets her hair conceal her face, wears baggy clothes, and rarely speaks to anyone. I just assumed she was shy or introverted.”
Kestrel didn’t even have to ask Magnus to start panning through every camera inside and outside the resort's main building. Magnus was sharp and on it, already scanning through the many monitors spread out in front of them.
After a few seconds, Kestrel spotted her. He pointed toward one of the monitors on the right. “There she is. Why is she still working at this hour of the evening? It’s after six.” He glanced at Sadie. “What are her hours?”
Sadie winced. “I don’t know why she’s working. Her hours are six AM to two. No one likes that shift, and she said she’d prefer it, so she took it. She starts in the laundry room in the early morning, getting all the carts ready for the rest of the staff to clean rooms.”
Kestrel leaned in closer. Zara was in the laundry room now. She was folding towels, concentrating hard to get them each perfect. When she didn’t like one, she redid it. The night manager in the laundry came up to her while Kestrel stared at them and tapped his watch. When Zara shook her head, the man rolled his eyes and walked away.
“I’m sorry,” Sadie murmured. “I didn’t realize she works more than her assigned hours. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
Kestrel pushed to standing. “Nope. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. She’s my assignment.” He had no idea what he would say, but he’d be in the laundry room before the sun came up in the morning, starting his assignment.
Chapter Three
“Zara… I told you not to come in this morning.” The firm voice came from Mark, the man in charge of the laundry room.
Zara slid right by him with a stack of perfectly folded sheets. She shrugged, hoping he would leave her be if she just kept working.
He didn’t. He followed her. “Zara, it’s five-thirty in the morning. And that would be fine if you hadn’t been here working until eight o’clock last night. You may only work eight hours a day, five days a week. Those are the rules.”
She shrugged as she put the sheets on the shelf. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Then you need a hobby or to sign up for one of the excursions or go shopping in town. You can’t work sixteen hours a day.” He stood firm, hands on his hips, feet planted. He even gave her his deepest scowl, though she knew inside he was a softy, so it was hard for him to pull off an effective reprimand.
“I can work as many hours as I want, Mark. I can only get paid for eight hours a day, but if I like to spend my free time folding laundry, who’s going to stop me?”
“I am.”
At the sound of the new voice behind her, Zara spun around so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet and fell.
The newcomer stood at the entrance to the laundry room. He also had his hands on his hips, trying to look formidable and imposing, just like Mark. She didn’t know who he was, and for a moment, she feared maybe he’d been sent to kidnap her.