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It was harder than normal to concentrate. She kept taking surreptitious glances at the clock. The information Smith had shared with her this morning on Kingsley’s whereabouts indicated that the young man was much better informed than she’d originally thought. Not only that, he was willing to take chances to help his fellow housemates. Would he be willing to tell her more? She would see.

When twelve thirty finally arrived, she stood and headed to the door. If Kingsley happened to be watching or viewed the recording later, hopefully he would take her obvious haste as hunger for lunch. She wouldn’t worry about that now. She wanted to find Smith and see if her thoughts about him were true. The instant she opened the door, she was relieved to see him waiting for her.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” he said. “Kingsley will check in to make sure everyone showed up for lunch. I don’t know what you need to know or want to know.”

“Okay. Let me just ask you some things quickly, and we’ll worry about the other later. Are you here of your own free will?”

“No. None of us inside the house want to be here. Some of the soldiers are loyal to the organization, but I don’t know who they are.”

“I want to do what I can to help you and the others.”

An expression of gratitude crossed his face. “Thank you, Serena. Considering what you’ve been through here, you’re very kind.”

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “We’re all in this together. Okay?”

“Yes. Yes. Of course.” He took out his phone and brought up a photograph of her from last week. “If you’ll wear this tomorrow, we can talk longer. I spliced together some footage from when you wore this outfit and can put that in place of the live feed. It’s only a few hours, but it should give me time enough to tell you as much as I can.

“You’d better get to the dining room for your lunch, or they’ll notice you’re late.”

Her optimism through the roof, Serena gave Smith one last quick smile and scooted toward the dining room as fast as she could. This was going to work. She just knew it would. This time next week—maybe even sooner—she and the rest of Kingsley’s captives could very well be headed home.

And Kingsley? She couldn’t wait to see him behind bars.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Los Angeles, California

Excitement zoomed through Colton as the limousine drove down the long, elegant drive toward the sprawling mansion in the distance. Not wanting to show his nervousness or vanity, he covertly slipped a small mirror from his jacket and checked his appearance one last time. He’d gone gray a little earlier than he would have liked, but he knew it gave him a distinguished look that went well with the maturity he wanted to exhibit. This conference was the most important one of his life. This was his moment, his time. He wanted everything to look perfect, including himself.

He hoped the tuxedo he’d packed wasn’t wrinkled. Since he’d feared his luggage could be lost and he’d have nothing to wear, he had opted to pack his suits in a carry-on. This conference was the biggest event of the year for WREN, and this was the first time he’d been invited to attend all the activities.

His hard work was finally paying off. All the years of menial grunt work and sacrifice were finally accumulating into a life-long dream. Having started this quest in his teens, he had sometimes wondered if he’d ever make the impact he desired. He’d been working a long time toward this goal. Admittedly, he hadn’t yet reached the pinnacle, but this was as close as he’d ever come. He was already one of the youngest house governors in the organization. Three years ago, when he’d been given the HG assignment, he’d been over the moon. By anyone’s standards, he had excelled. But now he was ready to move on to bigger and better things.

Leaving the compound for any period of time was always a risk, but he had trained his soldiers well. They knew what insurrection and disobedience looked like and would follow through with the necessary discipline. Each member of the household had a specific protocol attached to them. Some were of so little importance, they could be eliminated immediately. Others were to be detained for his judgment.

The soldiers weren’t allowed within the walls. They were there to make sure there were no escapes or infiltrations. Since he had 24/7 surveillance throughout the interior and could tap into any room at any time, he wasn’t concerned about what was going on inside. Besides the fact that his inside staff was also well trained and feared discipline, he had complete faith in Smith. The man had proved himself loyal, and Colton had no qualms about trusting him.

With that assurance, he could truly enjoy this week. And, oh, how he had earned it. He easily pushed out of his mind the things he’d had to do to get here, but he wouldn’t go back there. From here on out, Colton Kingsley would be reaping the rewards of his hard work and sacrifice.

This annual conference was where big things happened. While a couple hundred worker bees enjoyed the amenities and extravagance of a five-star hotel, pretended to be more important than they were, and tried to rub shoulders with the upper echelon, the real elite were three floors above them, making decisions that would impact every corner of the world for generations to come. That’s where he wanted to go. It was where he belonged.

He had a feeling that nabbing Serena Donavan might well be the prize that pushed him over the finish line. She had been an elusive target for almost three years. He had set multiple traps for her, and one had paid off. Colton chuckled at the knowledge that Serena would be infuriated to know that she had helped him advance his career. She was definitely not one of his fans.

The mansion appeared before him, and Colton almost lost his breath. This was his first time seeing it in person. He’d seen plenty of photographs and footage and had always dreamed of being able to walk up those steps and have people recognize him and whisper about his accomplishments. Today was that day.

Mansion was actually a misnomer, because he lived in a mansion, and the structure before him was at least three times larger. He’d heard there were thirty-nine bedrooms, forty-three bathrooms, two ballrooms, and three kitchens. No one from WREN lived here full time, but according to his sources, a staff of thirty resided here to have it ready when one of the elite traveled to LA.

He intended to be one of those elites very soon.

The limo circled the giant statue of Zeus holding his infamous lightning bolt and then stopped in front of the thirteen steps that led up to the grand entrance. Colton took a bracing breath and straightened his shoulders. The next few days would be some of the most exciting times of his life. The accolades would just be a small part of the process, but he was honest enough to admit they counted for a lot with him. He’d earned them and would relish every single one.

When the chauffeur opened the door, Colton stepped out of the car and breathed in a long, deep breath of rarefied air. Logically, he knew the air was no different than most places, but to his mind, it smelled different and felt like silk on his skin.

“Mr. Kingsley?” a British voice said.

Colton turned toward the distinguished-looking fellow standing a few steps away. Dressed in a somber black suit, he wore an expression that was an interesting mix of haughtiness and respect. Colton decided he liked it.

“Yes,” he answered with an equally haughty air.