Page 16 of Fearless

Sean learned long ago that most people, especially narcissists, loved to hear the sound of their own voice. Asking questions and making comments would be counterproductive at this point. He wanted this man to give him as much as possible. But with each new bit of information Kingsley revealed, Sean was coming to understand that the Wren Project might be bigger than any of them had anticipated.

In the midst of Kingsley’s bombastic speech, an older woman dressed in a crisp black and white dress wheeled in a coffee cart. When Kingsley gave her a curt nod, she left the room. Sean noted the woman never looked around, keeping her gaze lowered at all times.

Kingsley poured coffee and served it black, the way Sean preferred.

He accepted the steaming brew with barely a nod, his mind whirling with questions.

Kingsley took a sip of coffee, swallowed, and gave Sean a large smile. “You have a good poker face, but I can tell by the set of your shoulders that you’re shocked at how much I know.”

“You seem well informed. Want to share how you know all this?”

“Perhaps. We’ll see. Now, I will admit finding out about Emma was quite the surprise. That was something we did not know.”

It didn’t take a great detective to know how they’d found out. Brenda hadn’t been subtle in her attempts to get information. She had shared details on numerous websites about what had happened with his baby girl, including the full names of the key players. Once Sean’s name was out there, that’s all it took for these people to act.

If he’d taken the time to think everything through, rather than reacting with fury, he would have considered that and gone about this a whole different way. But regret was useless. He was here now and would learn what he could.

“That must’ve been tough, losing her twice like that.”

Kingsley’s fake empathy would be laughable if it weren’t so pathetic. The man couldn’t fake sympathy worth a damn. And having any kind of discussion about Emma with this fiend was not going to happen.

“You killed my stepmother.”

“Well, now, that’s a bit harsh.” He shook his head and made an obnoxious tsking sound. “I must say though that hearing of her death was a bit of a shock. The plan was for her to believe your daughter was alive so strongly that she would go to you with the information. Of course, you would see it as the scam it was, and then we would meet up. When I learned of her death, I was actually quite sad, thinking our little ploy would no longer work. And then, much to my surprise, an email appeared. Barring the idea that a zombie was sending me an email, I knew it was you.”

Yes, he had played right into their hands. “You’re a real prick, you know that?”

“Now, now. No need for name-calling. Not only was your stepmother in very poor health, she was going to get scammed by somebody. At least this way, she was useful.” His smirk in full force, he added, “To me.”

Surging from his chair, fury fueling him, Sean flew at the bastard. He was half a second from reaching him when two goons slammed into him, taking him to the floor. He managed to backhand one of them. The other stuck a Taser to his neck, and excruciating pain zoomed through his body.

His body twitching uncontrollably, he glared up at the smug asshole looking down at him.

“I’m impressed,” Kingsley said. “For such a large man, you are quite fast. But being aggressive won’t do you any favors. Now, are you going to behave, or do you need another charge of electricity to control your urges?”

When Sean only continued to glare at him, Kingsley said, “Help Mr. Donavan back to his chair so we can continue our delightful conversation.”

His two attackers grabbed Sean by the arms and dragged him back to his chair. Increasingly incensed, he fell back into the chair.

“Well, now, that was quite exciting, but let’s get back to our discussion. Where were we? Oh yes, your little girl died. Such a shame.”

Reminding himself that anger would get him nowhere, Sean locked his jaw to fight his surging fury. “You’ve obviously done your research on me, Kingsley, but I fail to see exactly why I’m here.”

“First, you’re going to tell me all about OZ. After that, the real fun will begin.”

Already shaking his head, because that would definitely not happen, Sean said, “And the real fun would be what, exactly?”

“That’s quite simple, Sean. We’re going to use you as bait.”

“Bait for who?”

“Your wife, of course. You’re going to tell us where she is, and once we have her, we’ll use you to get her compliance.”

Ice flooded his veins. Of course they would want Serena. She was the brilliant jewel of Option Zero. And Sean was the one who’d brought her into it.

Refusing to show the sickness erupting through him, Sean snarled, “That’s not going to happen. You’ll get nothing from me.”

An evil smirk blended with Kingsley’s smugness. “Not to sound too dramatic, but we have ways of making you talk.”