Free Mr. Dangerous by Alexis Gold Page A

trunk, she checked to make sure the birds were secure, then climbed up the tree slowly. As she made her way closer to the bird’s nest, she lost her balance and nearly fell, letting out a slight yelp of panic.
     
    “Don’t fall!” her brother yelled up at her.
     
    She regained her composure and continued her climb. As she approached the nest, she kept her legs tightly secure on the tree trunk and scooped the baby birds out from her shirt one at a time. Reaching into the nest, she gently placed each baby bird into the nest and stacked the sticks back up to fix the hole from which they fell.
     
    Smiling with satisfaction, she slid back down the tree and jumped down onto her feet. Her adventure was a success, with only minor cuts, scrapes, and splinters on her hands from the roughness of the tree.
     
    “Wow!” Calvin said excitedly. “You’re a hero.”
     
    “You’re a hero, too. We were heroes together by saving the baby birds. Now they can live happily in their cozy nest.” She smiled.
     
    The two walked back to the backyard and toward their mother who stood on the patio looking very angry.
     
    “Where did you two think you were going?” her mother yelled, hands on her hips. Before Jasmine could explain, her mother pulled her into the house and told her she was grounded for being a bad influence on her brother and straying too far from the house.
     
    “But, Mommy, Jazzy was being a hero!” Calvin defended her.
     
    “Well, sometimes being a hero isn’t the right thing to do,” her mother explained.
     
    Jasmine didn’t care what her mother said, however, because she still saved the birds – that was all that mattered.
     
    Suddenly, her memory was disrupted by a loud “ping” sound which came from her laptop sitting open on her desk. She wondered who would be sending her an instant message, as she usually only used it to communicate with old high school friends and family members such as her parents down in Florida.
     
    Hopefully, nothing was wrong with anyone. She bit her lip and jumped out of bed, sitting down on the office chair next to her desk. Shaking the mouse to wake up her laptop, she was greeted with a message from an anonymous sender. She didn’t even know anyone could be anonymous on an instant messaging service, but what could be the harm? She decided to engage the sender who sent the message that read:
    ANONYMOUS: Hello, Jasmine. Do you have a moment to chat?
     
    Fieldsofjasmine92: Hello. Who is this?
     
    ANONYMOUS : Do not worry who I am. I am here to warn you.
     
    Fieldsofjasmine92: Warn me about what? I’m still curious who this is. How did you find my username? Why can’t I see your username?
     
    ANONYMOUS: So many questions, but I have so little time to offer. This is a secure line, so I cannot show you my username. That means that our conversation can be entirely private.
     
    Fieldsofjasmine92: Why does our conversation need to be private?
     
    ANONYMOUS: In case they are listening.
     
    Fieldsofjasmine92: In case who is listening? You aren’t making any sense.
     
    Jasmine was becoming frustrated. The anonymous chatter was not giving her answers, but he was the one who had reached out to her. She felt a twinge of anxiety. It was strange enough that someone was contacting her from a “secure line” to have a private conversation, but the creep factor was heightened with the way the chatterer spoke. She felt goosebumps cover her arms as if someone was watching her. Deciding that a bit of light would help her feel better, she walked over to the door and flipped on the light switch at the entrance of her bedroom. When she returned to her office chair, a new message was waiting for her.
     
    ANONYMOUS: There are very bad people in Rootsville right now, Jasmine. I know you saw the news. I am here to warn you that The Morning Bell is next. Stay alert. Do not trust anyone.
     
    Fieldsofjasmine92: How would you possibly know that?
     
    ANONYMOUS: Let me create an addendum: