Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53862 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
“I’ll head downstairs and check while you dress,” Magnus said.
Kestrel nodded and turned to wave Zara to his side. “Come on, Little girl. Magnus, will you make sure everyone gets breakfast?”
“I’ll make sure the Littles eat,” he answered. “Go get dressed everyone. Any requests for breakfast?”
“Waffles?” Celeste suggested.
“Mmm! Good choice. I love waffles,” Zara called over her shoulder as Kestrel ushered her through the door into their apartment.
“I like waffles,” Juniper agreed.
“Lyra? Sadie?” Magnus asked.
“Waffles are awesome,” Sadie agreed.
“Lyra?” Phoenix asked, rubbing her back.
“I don’t think I can eat,” she confessed.
“You need energy in your body. Do you normally like waffles?” Phoenix probed.
“Yes.”
“Waffles are great, Magnus. Thanks,” Phoenix told his teammate.
Caesar nodded and disappeared to get dressed as well.
“Come on, Crash. Let’s get dressed. Is it itching?” he asked, watching her scratch underneath her chin.
“It doesn’t usually,” Lyra assured him as he allowed her to enter their apartment first.
“Oh, I see what’s wrong,” he commented as he followed her inside. “You pulled your nightie on backward and inside out. The lace is itching you.”
“Oh, no. Do you think anyone noticed? They’d know I didn’t sleep in it this way,” Lyra said as she double-checked what he noted.
“No one noticed, and if they did, they’d assume that your silly Daddy put it on the wrong way last night,” Phoenix assured her.
“I don’t want them to think you’re a bad Daddy.”
“Hopefully, they won’t leap to that conclusion due to one nightgown mishap,” Phoenix assured her with a smile.
After a record-fast shower for the two of them, Phoenix asked, “What would you like to wear today?”
“Leggings and my happy shirt.”
“You got it.”
In just a few minutes, Phoenix had helped Lyra dress, and he’d brushed her hair while she took her birth control tablet. When she was ready, he drew her in for a kiss.
“Be careful, Daddy,” she urged.
“I will. The team will take care of me. You be safe. Don’t go outside—and stay away from the windows,” he warned.
Shuddering at the thought that someone might target her inside Danger Bluff, Lyra promised, “I’ll be super wary.”
“That’s my good girl. Head on out to the gathering area. I can hear the other Littles.”
“Bye, Daddy.”
Lyra had almost reached the door of the apartment when she whirled and raced back to look for her phone. It was missing from the charger. “Daddy, can I have my phone?”
“No, Crash. I need it in case the bad guys contact you. If I have any news, I’ll pass it along to Magnus, who’ll relay it. Why don’t you take Harry with you to breakfast?”
“Okay.”
Lyra dragged her feet as she walked to the bedside. She felt so completely powerless to help the situation. This didn’t feel right. Clutching the stuffie to her chest, she stopped near Phoenix and said, “I have to say something. This is my life. I feel like I’ve been completely shut out. I know you all are keeping me safe, but I don’t like not having any input into the decisions being made.”
Phoenix lifted her to sit on the dresser, putting their eyes at about the same level. “I’m sorry, Lyra. That’s not a good feeling. I’m just trying to keep you safe. What would you like to know?”
“I want to go with you,” Lyra said.
“That’s not possible, Little girl. They’re expecting your representative.”
“Fine. I won’t go, but I’m going to sit with Magnus and listen to everything that goes on. You’re going to let me do this, Daddy,” she said firmly.
“Okay, Crash. I’ll have Magnus get you an earpiece so you can listen in. I’m not going to give you a mic because you’ll distract me, and that could be fatal,” Phoenix told her bluntly. “You can talk to Magnus, and he’ll relay anything he thinks is essential. There can’t be a lot of chatter to distract everyone.”
“Are you taking the diamonds?”
“Yes, but we don’t plan to surrender them.”
“I’m scared.”
“I need you to think positive thoughts. We don’t want the universe to even blink,” Phoenix said with a smile.
She turned and walked to the door. Lyra still wasn’t happy with not going, but she understood why. The small pieces of the plan Phoenix had changed for her made her feel less excluded.
Nine o’clock rolled around quickly. Kestrel’s report from the air had come in earlier. There was no sign of activity at the location where Boyd’s phone had pinged yesterday. Now, the phone appeared to be off, as no tracking information was available.
“You need to be perfectly quiet. If you can’t, you’ll need to leave this room and go back upstairs,” Magnus stated firmly.
“I’ll be so quiet you won’t know I’m here,” she promised.
The other Littles had been sent away. Sadie was working at the front desk as usual, rescheduling boat tours with Hawking, rock climbing with Rocco, and helicopter flights with Kestrel. She didn’t envy Sadie’s job at all today. Zara and Celeste were in the lab, working on their experiments now. There hadn’t been enough time to check every diamond for serial numbers, but the few they’d examined were blank. It did not surprise anyone that they were untraceable. Juniper had decided to wander around the grounds with her camera. Lyra missed all of them.