Page 29 of Fearless

“You introduced me as someone who works for an agency that fights evil. He was desperate enough to ask for help, and you were more than happy to play along.”

“Aw, now that just makes me sound mean.” He leaned forward, and apparently trying to look more sincere, he let a frown furrow his brow. “He was given the rules, Serena. It’s not like he didn’t know what to expect.”

He straightened in his chair, any semblance of humanity disappearing as he continued, “Jenson has six people he loves and is totally devoted to. Yesterday, he had to make the difficult choice of which one of them would die—his wife, three children, his mother, or his best friend.

“I must admit it took him forever to make the decision. In the end, he chose blood over friendship. He chose for his dear friend to die—the man he’d known since they were in grammar school, the godfather to his children, and the man who carried him a mile on his back after he broke his leg while out hunting.”

A sick feeling swamped her, and she swallowed down the bile rising in her throat. “And yet, his mother is the one who died.”

“Yes. Another hard lesson for him to learn. He has no options, no choices here. He forgot that. This very hard lesson has ensured that he’ll never forget again.”

Telling him his logic made absolutely no sense would be pointless. Colton Kingsley was either a sociopath or possibly had narcissistic personality disorder. Whichever one it was, he clearly had no conscience or empathy.

“Let’s take a look at the results,” he said. Proving her belief with nauseating clarity, he took his phone from his pocket and pressed a key. A screen dropped from the ceiling, and what Serena assumed was a live feed showed Jenson Mosley sitting on the floor in the corner of his bedroom, rocking back and forth. His sobs muffled his words, but Serena had no trouble hearing them. “I’m sorry, Mama. I’m so sorry.”

Tears sprang to her eyes, and compassion clogged her throat as she watched the poor man’s misery.

She turned back to look at Kingsley, eyeing him in a new light. She rarely thought of someone as soulless, but in this instance, she was definitely questioning Kingsley’s possession of one. She was no stranger to evil. She saw it every day. She had been fighting against it most of her adult life. She thought she had seen the worst, but this man might very well be the epitome. Not only did Kingsley have no conscience over the sorrow he’d caused, but he was taking great pleasure in its aftermath. Excitement gleamed in his eyes. His smirk revealed the satisfaction he took in his kill.

Yet the murder of Jenson’s mother wasn’t what excited him, Serena realized. No, the killing of Jenson’s spirit was what put the happy sparkle in Kingsley’s eyes.

The plan she had decided upon solidified within her. She might not survive the fallout, but her plan would guarantee one thing—her family and loved ones would not suffer.

Antagonizing him would do no good. Screaming at him for being the spawn of Satan would either entertain or anger him. She wanted neither. With as much calm as she could muster, she said quietly, “This is what you plan for me.”

Surprise flared in his eyes. Had he expected hysteria or anger? Anticipated it? If so, she was happy to disappoint him. She was tired of his games. It was time for some plain talk between them. She had a job to do, and it was time to put it into action.

“Believe me when I tell you this, Serena. I don’t want to hurt you. In fact, it’s my greatest wish that you’ll realize how important our work is to this world, and you’ll join us wholeheartedly.”

“While you’re threatening to kill my family if I don’t comply?”

“That’s just our initial negotiation tactic. Once we are assured of your commitment, there are no limits to what we can give you.”

“Is that why you do what you do? For the money and perks?”

“Oh, no. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Although I do live a good life, I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t believe in our ultimate goal.”

“And the ultimate goal is what?”

“To make everything better, of course.”

Before she could even begin to unpack that ridiculously vague statement, he went on, “But I’m getting ahead of myself.” This time, his smile was both patronizing and a little unhinged as he said, “We have some business to conduct.”

She wasn’t surprised when he clicked a key on the laptop on his desk and more photos of her parents appeared. They were all candid shots. Her mom and dad enjoying their life, unaware that they had been targeted and photographed by monsters. And why would they suspect such a thing? That was the wonder of Francine, Wisconsin. Everyone was not only related to one another, but all were also trusted implicitly.

But someone had infiltrated their community.

“As you can see, your parents would be easy targets. And while it would hurt me to order their deaths, I would do it. Dr. Mosley would be the first to tell you this…if he could talk without sobbing, of course.”

Serena ignored the glimmer of humor in Kingsley’s expression as she prepared to play her part. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and said, “I⁠—”

Kingsley held up his hand. “Wait. There’s something else you need to see. While I’m sure losing your parents would likely break your heart, you have a stoicism and resolve I don’t often see in our guests. So I think you might need additional incentive.”

With the click of a button, another photo appeared, and all breath left her body.

“I understand she turned five just a few weeks ago. We weren’t able to get photographs of the party, but the little dress she’s wearing here will look familiar to you. It was your gift to her, wasn’t it?”

Forcing herself to ignore the photo of her precious niece, Callie, was difficult. The little pink, ruffled dress that Serena had given her fit her perfectly. Jana had put a matching pink bow in her hair. Callie loved dressing up and had been over the moon for the dress.