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Surprising her, he nodded and said, “You’re right. I was waiting to see if anyone else was curious about him. Apparently, he wasn’t as well liked as I’d thought.”
When no one responded, he huffed out a chuckle. “Very well. I won’t tell him that his fellow housemates didn’t seem to miss him at all.” Turning his gaze to Serena, he said, “Jenson has moved on to his new location.”
“Why does he have a new location?”
Kingsley tilted his head slightly, as if puzzled that she’d ask such a question. “Because it was time. He’s serving his purpose, and that’s all you need to know.”
That wasn’t all she needed to know, but if she pushed, she was certain to make him angry. An angry Kingsley was no good to her since he had a tendency to act like a petulant child. Her only recourse was to either ask Smith or wait until Kingsley was in one of his talkative moods.
But the knowledge that she could just be moved to another location at a moment’s notice was unsettling on many fronts. She wasn’t sure Sean knew the exact place where he’d been held, so she had been feeding information about her location to her team. But none of that would matter if she could be moved somewhere else.
Kingsley went on to ask his usual conversation starters about everyone’s activities outside their work assignments. With such limited subject matter, Serena easily tuned them out as she considered the ramifications of not being here when her team came for her. If she alerted them to come for her now, all of this would be for nothing. She’d learned only a minuscule amount of what she needed. Admittedly, capturing Kingsley and his people would give them the opportunity to gather information, but she truly believed she needed to stay here as long as possible and learn as much as she could before she called in the cavalry.
“Do you agree, Serena?”
Thankful she had a brain that often allowed her to focus on multiple levels, she had no trouble jumping back into the discussion of cross-training activities.
“I do agree that running, swimming, and biking can get you in excellent physical condition, but I also think yoga can add a balance that’s often overlooked for optimal fitness.”
Since Kingsley’s expression was a mixture of both surprise and admiration, she knew he’d likely noticed she was distracted and had tested her. She was far too wary of him to feel the least bit smug.
“Excellent point, Serena,” Kingsley said.
When the conversation turned to the differences and benefits between yoga and Pilates, she chimed in with her own thoughts. Even though she’d been able to keep up with the conversation before, she didn’t like being distracted. Clues could be missed in the seemingly innocuous chatter.
When the conversation dwindled to nothing, Kingsley placed his napkin beside his plate and stood. His gaze touched on each person at the table, with the exception of Serena. “I hope everyone has a productive day.” Turning his eyes on her, he gave her his plastic smile and said, “Serena, please follow me. I have something I’d like to show you.”
Even though the man often singled her out, she was more than a little surprised he didn’t mention that her plate was still half full. Not that she planned to eat any more. Her appetite hadn’t been up to par since she’d been here. However, his lack of attention to that matter made her think something more was going on other than his daily taunting.
She nodded goodbye to the others and followed Kingsley. His office was on the second floor, and she worked on the third floor. Instead of climbing the stairs, he went down a hallway, stopped at another door, and slid in a key to unlock it.
After opening the door, he turned to her and smiled. A chill swept through her. This was not the Kingsley who pretended to care in order to manipulate, or even the arrogant one who bragged about his power. This was the Kingsley who’d tortured her husband. The one who’d deliberately poured scalding liquid over a woman’s hand.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“I thought it would be helpful for you to see another aspect of your new home.”
On the surface, calling this place her new home was both ridiculous and revolting, but this was Kingsley playing his games. She suspected that this was just one more way for him to feel superior.
Instead of commenting, she noted the steps leading into darkness and felt the cool dampness of the air. This was most likely the basement, where interrogations and torture were conducted. This was where he’d kept Sean.
“I’m not going any farther until you tell me why we’re going down there.”
Though fire flared in his eyes, a smile tilted his mouth. “I find it amusing that you believe you have a choice. However, I’ll indulge your little rebellion this once. I merely wanted to show you a part of the house you haven’t seen. I don’t intend for you to stay.”
Knowing he was right that she had no real choice but to do as he said, she followed him down the dark, narrow stairway. She noted that with each step, the air became more frigid and fetid. If hopelessness had a smell, this would be its scent.
When they reached the bottom, Serena did her best to show no emotion but found it almost impossible. The large room held six small cells. Each cell contained a small cot and a toilet. What turned her stomach and brought horror to her heart was the middle part of the room, where the interrogations took place. There were some chairs and a large, narrow table, but also various torture devices and tools. Hooks hung from the ceiling. The beige flooring had numerous dark stains covering the surface. It didn’t take much imagination for her to know that people had likely bled to death here.
Kingsley had been quiet while she’d taken everything in, observing her for a reaction. She refused to allow him to see her horror, but she knew without a doubt that this was where Sean had been tortured.
Her expression one of boredom, she shrugged. “Doesn’t look too busy.”
“No, the last person we had here was Sean, but I’m sure you figured that out already.”
Turning to face him, she asked, “Why did you bring me here?”
“I’m just showing you an area you haven’t seen before.”
