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“Almost two months.”
Kingsley was standing behind her, but the pride in his tone was evident.
“So all the threats you made against my family were really for nothing.”
“Oh, no, not so. You just happen to have a lot of people you care for, which gave me plenty of ammunition to work with.”
She couldn’t deny that. She’d been blessed with a multitude of people to love. She would never regret them.
“If you’ve had Sean all this time, why didn’t you show me earlier?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He is my biggest bargaining chip. I wasn’t going to reveal him to you until much later, but you tipped my hand with all your machinations.”
She was somewhat surprised at his honest answer.
“You tortured him for information?”
“At first, yes. When we couldn’t break him…well…a man’s got to have some fun in this job. I must say your husband has provided endless hours of enjoyment.”
Which meant Sean had likely been tortured daily. Every particle of her body wanted to rush to the man she loved. She wanted to hold him, kiss him, and tell him everything was going to be okay. That they would get through this together.
“What’s your end game here, Kingsley? What do you want from us?”
“You know what I want, Serena. That’s never been in question.”
“And Sean?”
“He’s going to keep you in line.”
Meaning they would torture Sean each time she didn’t do what they wanted. It would be a simple, incredibly effective method to get her to comply.
She could not allow that to happen. Negotiating his release was the only option. She couldn’t concentrate on what she needed to do while worrying about what Kingsley would do to Sean if she defied him.
“No, that’s not the way this will go.” She made the statement calmly, with an indisputable resoluteness.
“Oh really?” Kingsley drawled as he walked around her chair to stand in front of her. She wasn’t surprised to see his eyes gleaming with a wicked excitement. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. “And exactly how is it that you think you’re calling the shots?”
“Because I have something you want. You torturing Sean will not benefit either of us. I won’t be able to concentrate if I’m worrying about him. You’ll eventually realize that and have to find another way to manipulate me. You’d be wasting a lot of time.”
“Interesting.” This was all a game to him. He’d likely employed similar tactics with his other captives, to varying degrees. Few people were equipped to deal with wickedness of this magnitude. And even though she had the training and experience to handle the evilest people on earth, dealing with Kingsley might well test her abilities to the max.
“All right, then, tell me what you’re thinking, Serena. How should this go?”
“Release Sean. Have him taken to a hospital. Let me see that in real time. Once I know he’s safe and being cared for, I’ll agree to work for you.”
Kingsley burst out laughing, which wasn’t a surprise. As an opening bid, it revealed her ultimate goal, which was to save Sean’s life. She didn’t regret it, though. The man knew what Sean meant to her. Pretending otherwise would be pointless and weaken her position.
“You’re already going to be working for me. How does letting him go benefit me?”
“Because my full cooperation is necessary. Instead of using threats and coercion, wouldn’t it benefit you more to have my total commitment?”
His eyes narrowing, he cocked his head. “And just what would your total commitment look like?”
“You tell me.”
“Hmm. Let’s see.” He paced in front of her. She wasn’t sure if he was actually giving her offer serious thought, or if he was enjoying playing with her. He stopped and turned toward her. “Your full cooperation and commitment would require that you not only follow all my orders to the letter, but that you’ll eventually lead a team dedicated to hacking into any database, no matter what organization or country, disseminate the information, and report your findings.”
“I can do that.”
