Page 21 of Fearless

Returning to the bedroom, she went straight to the floor-to-ceiling window, pushed aside the heavy curtains, and looked out. Finding out her location was her number one priority. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the night. All she could detect were a few dark structures in the distance.

She did note the smell of the ocean, and she thought she could hear waves crashing. That helped a little, but there were plenty of oceans in the world. She was going to need a little more information than that to determine her location.

She turned from the window and surveyed the room, noting that it was both well decorated and quite spacious, with a queen-sized mahogany bed, a small nook in the corner with a sofa and two chairs, a large dresser, and a chair and desk in another corner.

Cameras throughout the room were evident as well, blinking like tiny red eyes from multiple places in the ceiling. Kingsley wanted her to know she was being watched at all times.

She opened the closet and found it filled with clothes. She was once again disturbed to see that not only were the clothes in her size, they were also things she would have picked out herself. Dresses, skirts, blouses, and a few pairs of jeans and khakis were all placed neatly in the appropriate places. Low-heeled shoes, sneakers, and—oddly enough—even bowling shoes were arranged on a shelf.

She walked out of the closet, and she was sure her astonishment would be noted by whoever was observing her. These people had been planning her abduction for a while. How had they known where to find her? How did they know so many personal things about her? What were their plans?

With no other choice, Serena made the decision to ignore the cameras. She needed to focus on what she could control, what she could learn, and then what she could do to escape.

Doing what she would normally do to prepare for bed wasn’t the easiest when she knew someone was watching, but that was the least of her worries. Her mind often worked on problems while she was busy doing something else.

She grabbed the first pair of pajamas she found in a dresser drawer and marched into the bathroom. Telling herself she didn’t care if there were cameras everywhere, she stripped down and walked into the spacious shower. Beneath the hot, soothing rush of water, she allowed herself a few moments of fear. She would be tough and unemotional in front of Colton Kingsley, but for now, she needed to let herself be vulnerable. The toughness would have to return soon enough.

Closing her eyes against the water spray, she prayed for strength to withstand the challenges she faced, courage to do what she needed to do, and wisdom to know what to do. She was a woman of faith and believed that good would always prevail over evil. That didn’t mean she wasn’t scared. She was as human as anyone else, and even though she’d been trained to endure and survive torture, that didn’t mean she didn’t dread what lay ahead.

Feeling calmer, she quickly finished her shower, grabbed a towel, and dried off. As she put on the pajamas and continued her routine, her mind worked on the scenarios of why she was here. She suspected Wren wanted to use her skills. A couple of years ago, when Wren had hacked into OZ, she had been infuriated and felt that she’d let OZ down. She had sworn that would never happen again and had made the protection of OZ’s intel a major priority. Creating an impenetrable firewall had been one of the most difficult and mentally challenging projects she’d ever completed. It was also one of the most satisfying because, despite many attempts by their enemies, no one had been able to break into their network since then.

She had known she would be calling attention to herself and had taken extra precautions because of that. It apparently hadn’t been enough. How they’d found her and who was to blame would have to wait. She had more than enough on her plate right now.

Bedtime routine finished, she walked back into the bedroom and noted that someone had been there. A tray with several small sandwiches, chips, cookies, and two small cartons of milk sat on a small desk in the corner. Though her stomach was knotted with nerves, she knew she’d need nutrition if she was going to outsmart these people.

A handwritten note had been placed beside the plate.

Serena, maintaining your health is vitally important. Please be assured that this food will not harm you in any way. I hope you have a restful night. See you in the morning. CK

With no choice but to trust Kingsley, at least in this, she managed to down a couple of the sandwiches, two cookies, and both cartons of milk. After finishing, she had to admit that she felt much better.

Even though exhaustion weighed on her heavily, she returned to the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she stared at the mirror, she wondered if it was two-way glass. Was Kingsley staring at her now? It felt creepy and incredibly invasive, but since there was nothing she could do about it, she ignored the feeling.

Returning to the bedroom, she crawled into bed. She seriously doubted she would be sleeping any tonight, but lying in the dark would be good cover. She had a lot of planning to do.

The instant Serena Donavan entered the bathroom, Colton switched off the camera. He was no voyeur, and his interest in his newest acquisition held absolutely no sexual component to it. Admittedly, she was an attractive woman—even lovelier than in her photos. He remembered that the first time he’d seen her picture, he’d been surprised at how well her name fit her. She had a serenity to her face that belied what he knew was going on in her mind. The woman had an off-the-charts IQ, and he imagined there were very few times that her mind quieted. He thought back to their conversation earlier and couldn’t help but smile. She had been so composed and direct and was as impressive as he had hoped.

He hadn’t watched very much of the feed from her room. There was no way out for her, and watching her get ready for bed didn’t interest him. When she was in his presence was when he was the most intrigued. Watching those intelligent eyes sparkle and flash with a variety of emotions, knowing her brilliant mind was working to try to outsmart him was both energizing and thrilling. He had been looking forward to their meeting for so long, and now that she was finally here, he could hardly contain his excitement.

Intelligence had always been his thing. Even when he was a kid growing up in poor neighborhoods, he’d sought out the ones with smarts. Seemed he had a sixth sense when it came to detecting brilliance. It was how he’d escaped poverty. Colton knew he was no genius. He had a basic understanding of a variety of things, but what he knew better than anyone was people. He could see them for what they were, and he could manipulate them to do what he wanted. It was his gift.

Some were more difficult than others. He could already tell Serena would be one of the most challenging he’d faced. But everyone had something to lose, and Serena had more than most. It would take some time to get her to obey, but the reward would be more than worth his efforts.

His mind went to another challenge, one he had yet to conquer. After almost two months of trying, he was close to calling it a draw. Still, he would wait on the final judgment. Serena was the key—her cooperation was of utmost importance. He had several tools in his arsenal to ensure her acquiescence. This particular one, though, might well be his most valuable.

Thankfully unbothered by conscience, he had no qualms about using emotions to manipulate and control people. He would do whatever it took to gain what he needed.

Before turning in for the night, he clicked on the camera feed in the bedrooms of his other guests, noting that they’d all turned off their lights and gone to bed. He doubted they were all asleep, though. Not all of them had accepted their fate, and that was understandable. The human spirit could be indomitable, and while he admired its resiliency, that didn’t mean he would do anything about their circumstances. After all, he had a job to do, too.

He clicked on one last camera and felt, once again, the odd combination of both rage and admiration. This one wasn’t in a luxurious bedroom, but in a small cell in a cold, bare basement. This particular “guest” had brought him both monumental fury and immense satisfaction. Which was likely the reason he was so torn over his plans.

Giving a philosophical shrug, Colton rose from his desk and gave a giant all-over body stretch. Truth be told, he’d been a little nervous about meeting Serena. He wasn’t easily impressed, and most people were singularly unimpressive. So when he had finally worked out how to grab her and when, he’d been quite anxious. The plan couldn’t have gone better.

All in all, it had been a successful night. And tomorrow, the real fun could begin.

Chapter Ten

Serena crawled out of bed before dawn. To say she hadn’t slept well would be an understatement. She wasn’t even sure she’d closed her eyes. But what she did have was a completely different perspective than she’d had the night before. Her hours of sleeplessness had given her plenty of time to think and to plan.