Page 62 of Fearless

“Maggie, would you please fix me a cup of tea?” Kingsley said.

“Of course, Mr. Kingsley.”

Going to the stove, Maggie picked up a gently steaming kettle. Placing a teabag in a mug, she poured the hot water into it and turned to the counter where Kingsley waited.

He gave her a half smile as she slid the mug in front of him, and then she waited. Neither of them said anything, and Serena thought it was one of the strangest moments she’d ever seen. Maggie’s face was still pale and blank, but there was a sad, almost resigned slump to her shoulders.

Finally, Kingsley said, “I’ve forgotten, Maggie. Are you right- or left-handed?”

“Left-handed, sir,” she whispered.

“Sorry, couldn’t hear you.”

“Left, sir,” she said louder.

He continued to look down at his tea, his long, thin fingers dunking the bag. When it appeared that she was about to turn and leave, everything changed.

“Hold out your right hand.”

Her hand trembling, Maggie did as he asked.

Kingsley took one sip of his tea and said, “Just the way I like it.” He then grabbed Maggie’s forearm and poured the hot, steaming tea over the woman’s bare hand.

Maggie let loose a cry of pain.

Gasping, Serena took a step forward, opening her mouth to scream at the monster.

Smith slapped a hand over her mouth as his other arm wrapped around her and pulled her away, preventing her from running into the room. All the while, he was whispering in her ear, “If you interfere, he’ll hurt her worse, maybe even kill her. Do you understand?”

Despite the fury bubbling through her body, Serena had no choice but to nod her agreement.

The hand over her mouth loosened, but the arm holding her stayed firm. She was actually glad of that, because she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t go running into the kitchen if he let her go. Rage and something she couldn’t even define wanted to take over her mind and do to Kingsley what he’d done to Maggie.

“Clean up the mess on the floor,” Kingsley said calmly to Maggie. “After that, you may treat your burn.”

Though tears rolled down Maggie’s lined face, and her lips trembled, she nodded meekly and whispered, “Yes sir.”

As if he hadn’t just committed a heinous act, Kingsley sauntered out the door. Thankfully, he went in the opposite direction of where Serena and Smith stood. If she were anywhere close to him, she knew she wouldn’t be able to restrain herself.

With one hand, Maggie bent down and mopped up the spilled tea with a rag.

Releasing her, Smith said, “You only have a few minutes before you’ll be expected to be back in your room. You can’t be late.”

With no choice, Serena turned away from the pitiful sight and marched toward her room. As much as she hated to admit it, Smith had done her a favor. If she had intervened, it could have been much worse for Maggie. Not only that, it could have delayed or even possibly destroyed her mission here.

But she made a promise to herself and to Maggie that, someday soon, Colton Kingsley would know how it felt to be helpless and powerless. He deserved no less.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

OZ Headquarters

Montana

“All right, everyone,” Ash said. “We’ve got a lot of intel to share and plans to make. Thanks to Sean, we know where Serena is being held. We’ll get to that and more in just a few minutes. Before we go any further, Donavan has something to say.” He met Sean’s eyes. “You need to tell them what you told us yesterday. They deserve to hear it, and I think you’re ready to talk.”

Sean didn’t flinch, even though his gut roiled. Not talking about Emma for so long and now having to tell the story twice in as many days felt as if someone were carving his heart out with a spoon. That didn’t matter. Nothing was more important than getting Serena back. If he had to spill his guts all over the floor, he’d damn well do it. And Ash was right—these people were his family. He’d turned his back on them and had treated them like they didn’t matter. They deserved answers, and they deserved an apology.

“I want to apologize to each of you for turning my back on OZ and abandoning all of you. None of you did anything wrong.” His eyes went straight to Hawke. His friend, his brother whom he’d thought had died. Instead of celebrating his life, he’d acted angry that he wasn’t dead. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but not telling you I was happy you were alive when I first found out is one of my biggest.”