Page 9 of Hide Little Traitor

“That doesn’t matter. I thought I owed you the courtesy of letting you know that Chloe is safe. You can all return to New York. I’ll have your next assignment to you by the end of the week.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he ends the call, leaving me just as frustrated as I was before.

“Was that Kingston? Is she okay?” Ronan asks, shifting to the edge of his seat.

I nod slowly. “He didn’t give me much other than that.”

“So we don’t know where they are?” Camilla asks.

I shake my head. “But I know where we can start.”

CHAPTER SIX

CHLOE

NOW

It’s been hours since Kingston left me with more questions than I had when I woke up here.

At first I thought I could wait him out, that eventually he would come back and answer the million and one questions I have, but it’s been hours, and I’ve drained the bottle of water he left beside the bed and devoured the protein bar I found in the drawer.

It’s been days since I’ve eaten anything with substance, and my stomach grows louder each time it growls, giving me no choice other than leaving the safety of this room.

It’s not familiar, which makes me think we’re not in Atlanta, where he brought me ten years ago, but maybe he’s moved since then.

Slipping from between the sheets, I pad toward the window where soft light peeks through the drawn curtains. The soft gray fabric beneath my fingers pulls easily along the rail, but when I find myself staring out at a large garden with what looks like a forest beyond, I realize I’m not in a city at all.

I could be anywhere in the country or beyond, and I would have no idea.

Pressing my eyes closed when a wave of nausea rolls over me, I slide the curtains shut and move toward the bathroom.

I do my business as quickly as I can and avoid the mirror at all costs, instead spending the time it takes to brush my teeth looking around at the solid marble surfaces and luxury products in the shower, ignoring the fact that each one of them is exactly what I had at the De Marco estate.

It has to be a coincidence.

Once I’m finished, I move toward the door and drag in an unsteady breath. I can do this.

One of the things I’ve refused to acknowledge since I woke up is that I’m no longer wearing the hospital gown Camilla helped dress me in. Because that would mean Kingston, or his doctor, changed me while I was unconscious, and after Ralph’s assault, my fragile mind can’t handle that possibility.

One thing at a time.

I pad out of the room and down a long hallway before I reach a grand staircase.

Where the hell are we?

The last time I saw Kingston, he had a penthouse in the heart of a major city. But this is a mansion in the middle of nowhere if the view outside my window is anything to go by.

Ten years is a long time, I remind myself.

I clutch onto the railing and take my time on my way down the stairs. I’m still a little dizzy, from the drugs or the concussion, I’m not sure, but I don’t need to add falling down these steps to my list of problems.

When I make it to the bottom step, I close the distance between me and the window beside the front door, where I find another garden and more dense forest.

Yep, definitely in the middle of nowhere, which means it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, to run.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I turn left in my search for the kitchen but stop dead when I find Kingston standing at a bay window, his hands shoved into the pockets of his suit.

His shoulders are relaxed, and for a moment I wonder if he knows I’m here, but then he glances over at me, intense brown eyes meeting mine.