Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
Jack grinned, still processing the shock that the three bears were finally settling down. “Good to hear you’re all getting along.”
Stone’s expression softened. “She’s tucked away for the weekend.” His mouth curved into a wolfish grin that was both a smile and a threat. “We’ll be on rotation, keeping her... occupied.”
“I imagine she has opinions about being sequestered.”
“Many.” Stone laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. “But she understands. The Feast isn’t the kind of event anyone should stumble into blindly.”
“Indeed.” Jack fastened his cufflinks—simple onyx, no flash—and reached for his jacket. “She seems good for you. All of you.”
“She is.” No hesitation. No deflection. “I didn’t think it was possible, J.”
“Neither did I.”
Another chuckle. “Three men, one woman—the logistics alone should have destroyed us. But she...” He shook his head. “She understands how deep our bond goes. Doesn’t try to separate us or compete for attention. She just... fits.”
“I’m happy for you.” He meant it. Finding someone so accepting was extraordinary, so rare Jack gave up hope a long time ago. Like him, the Volkov brothers carried their own dark secrets from a shared shadowy past. If Marigold found a way to brighten their life, she was worth protecting.
“You could have the same, you know.” Stone’s gaze turned appraising. “You don’t have to stay cooped up in this room all weekend. There are over sixty does this year—”
“Those numbers will change. They always do.”
Stone waved away that detail. “Fifty. Still plenty to go around.”
“Not my kind of game.”
“It doesn’t have to be a game. Surely one or two of the applications caught your eye. We could pull a few before the Wrecking Ball, send them privately to your room for some…entertainment.” He arched a brow.
“Not my style.” He adjusted his lapels and straightened the signet ring on his finger. “I prefer to observe.”
Stone barked out a laugh. “Voyeurism then. Whatever works.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “A voyeur watches for pleasure. I watch for patterns.” He moved toward the door and Stone fell into step behind him.
“You are a strange man, J. Thorne.” He rolled the R of his name in that thick Russian accent. “You throw a party that would make Caligula blush, fill it with the wealthiest degenerates in Europe, and then spend the whole night watching from the shadows like some kind of interloper.”
Jack paused and met Stone’s gaze. “Caligula was a Roman emperor, infamous for cruelty and excess, the poster boy for ‘anything goes.’ I assure you, that’s not me.”
They moved through the corridors of The Preserve, past tapestries depicting hunting scenes frozen in eternal pursuit. The security wing occupied the eastern corner of The Preserve, accessible only through a series of reinforced doors that responded to biometric scans. Stone aligned his face with the camera and the door unlocked with an airtight, mechanical shift.
With each locked entry point, the structure shifted more from Gothic grandeur to modern efficiency. “Once we get a scan of your eyes, we’ll set you up with access.”
“I’m sure my computer will work just fine.”
“Damn, you’re a private fuck, J. Let us show off our cool new toys.”
“Fine.” He didn’t mean to offend. But he knew himself. Once things were properly underway, he preferred to stay out of the chaos.
Stone led him through another biometrically sealed door, this one leading to the heart of the security wing.
Hunter looked up from the monitors filling the wall, his massive frame silhouetted against the blue glow. “J.” His scarred face remained impassive.
Jack gave a firm nod. “Hunter.”
“Ready to walk through the upgrades?”
Jack moved closer, taking in the wall of monitors with practiced assessment. The feeds shifted and flickered, each one offering a different view of the grounds, clearly displaying the gardens, the hedgerows, and the many winding paths that would soon be filled.
“Six hundred cameras,” Hunter said, voice low and rumbling like distant thunder. “All motion-sensing. If a feed goes black, it means nothing’s moving. The second there’s activity, it kicks on. No blind spots. No dead zones. And we have the ability to override the sensory locks at any time.”
“Impressive.” Jack studied the crisp clarity of the images. “The resolution’s remarkable.”
“We just installed new updates last month. They’re always improving.” Hunter pulled a tablet from the desk, used his finger to unlock the screen, and handed it to Jack. “Scan this QR code with your phone then download the monitoring app. There’s only one limitation. Family quarters are locked for internal use only.”
“Of course.” Jack waited for the app to load on his screen. “I can view from anywhere?”
“Anywhere on the grounds. You’ll get up to six feeds at once on a single screen. And here—” Hunter tapped a menu on the tablet. “You can set personal notifications for specific zones. If you want to keep an eye on a particular area, the app will alert you whenever there’s movement.”