7. 7 – Hatter
7 – Hatter
N o.
I stagger back, a heavy weight appearing in my chest before I lunge for the railing again, scanning the crowd with increasing desperation.
I’m wrong.
I have to be wrong. Please let me be fucking wrong.
It was just a girl with blond hair.
That’s it. I force my breathing to steady as I keep looking, my eyes bouncing from person to person as they keep dancing, keep swaying.
She’s not here. Slowly, my shoulders begin to loosen.
Alyss Lidell is at home, safe and bright and well away from this cesspit.
I’m seeing things. It wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve done that, conjuring images inside my head to negate the horrors of the real world. Sometimes, they even overtake reality.
I prefer those times.
Mad Hatter , as Red likes to call me.
With a sigh, I step back from the railing and continue down the steps, making my way to the bar. The scent from the smoke and the thousands of roses that adorn the walls mix together, and my stomach flips as I duck behind and retrieve a beer.
Then I pause. Swap it for a bourbon, the workers around me giving me suspicious looks before I duck back beneath the counter again.
There isn’t a single individual at Wonder that welcomes my company, not when I’m known to be Red’s favorite pet. Not that I would want it, in any case. The staff here accept money in exchange for morals, turning a blind eye to the darkness beneath and traveling with the club.
If anyone asks to leave, Red gives them exactly what they want, smiling and thanking them.
And then they just… disappear.
Once you enter Wonder, you don’t get to leave. Not without Red’s permission.
My hand raises to the collar. It feels like it’s cutting off my air, although there’s room to slip my finger underneath.
My eyes wander over the crowd again. I pause when I spot Buck, his head ducked as he speaks to someone. His back blocks my view, but I squint, tilting my head to the side in idle curiosity.
He’s never been with anyone here as far as I know. Red wouldn’t care if he was. But clearly someone has caught his eye tonight.
Buck nudges them back, arms wrapping around them as he makes his way toward the staff area.
His head tilts to the side—
I straighten.
You’re seeing things again, Hatter.
Frowning, I move through the crowd. Following, as Buck pushes them along the dancefloor toward that private area with an urgency that borders on desperation.
Patrons aren’t permitted in the staff areas. Aren’t permitted anywhere but here, penned in beneath Red’s steel gaze for selection by the watching investors.
Beneath Buck’s raised arm, I catch a glimpse that makes my heart stop. Blond hair shifts between his hands as she looks up at him and his head lowers—
Faster. I’m moving more quickly now, almost shoving people aside, and I force myself to slow. The last thing any of us need is to attract attention.
They disappear from view and I swear under my breath. My feet cover the ground slightly faster until I reach the door, hidden in plain sight against the club wall with invisible hinges and a pressure sensor that I push against, slipping into a dark hallway that leads down to the staff quarters.
There is only one exit, and it’s not this way.
I stay where I am, hidden in the shadows as my gaze lands on them.
Alyss Lidell has her hands on her hips. “—if I’m going to die, it’ll probably be this way rather than on the dancefloor.”
My heart ceases to beat. A buzzing erupts in my ears.
She’s here .
I would never forget that voice, husky and deep. Would never forget the sounds she made as I moved inside her, tasted her, memorized her for all the days that would follow without her.
I didn’t think I would see her again.
But Alyss Lidell is here. And that means—
My feet eat up the short distance between us. Alyss stiffens at my approach, half-turning, before I dart past her and throw myself into Buck. My hand wraps around his throat, gripping it as I shove him against the wall with a crash, his head banging into the metal. Alyss cries out as I focus on him.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I roar it in his face. Shock crosses his expression as he stares at me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” He shoves me back, his eyes darting between me and Alyss. “Fuck off, Hat. This has nothing to do with you.”
Ignoring him, I turn to face her. She’s pale as she watches me. “What the hell are you doing here, Alyss Lidell?”
Buck inhales, his eyes narrowing. “You didn’t say Hatter was your friend, trouble.”
She meets my gaze without flinching, brushing off his words. “I needed to get in. You gave me a way.”
My throat tightens, understanding and something resembling hurt cutting off my air with icy talons.
The ticket. She found it, then. But her face, the resolution there, the knowing as she glances around us… my chest constricts further.
“Did you plan this?”
Did she know I was part of Wonder, when she crossed the bar last night?
Was what we shared real, or another of my hallucinations?
Does she know?
She says nothing, and I step back. But then – something flickers on her face, a glimmer in her eyes. “It was… no. I didn’t know. How could I have? Just a coincidence.”
She found my ticket. My entrance, my pass.
And now she’s trapped.
“Why are you here,” I breathe in growing horror. “You don’t even know what you’ve done , damn you .”
Buck glances at me, brows furrowed. Alyss studies my face before she pulls out a phone and turns it to show me.
A younger version of Alyss greets me, laughing, gray eyes bright and dancing at whoever is behind the camera. A blond-haired man, identical to her in every way but broader, taller, has his arm wrapped around her, a grin on his face.
“My brother,” she says hoarsely, as I stare at that photo. “Adam. He was here, Hatter, at Wonder. Six months ago – I’m sure of it.”
My chest tightens at the desperation in her words. Slowly, hollowly, I shake my head. “I don’t recognise him.”
The words threaten to stay buried in my throat, but I force them out, watch her eyebrows drop down in disbelief. “That doesn’t mean he wasn’t here.”
“It does,” Buck says quietly. “We know every single face who walks through those doors, trouble.”
Our eyes meet briefly over her head; silent, mutual agreement passing between us. We have to get her away. Her face tightens, but Buck cuts her off. “We need to get you out of here. Right now.”
Alyss stares at us, fists clenching. “But—,”
“He’s right. You can’t be here.” I scan the hall, and Buck points.
“There’s a broken window that way, in the storage area on the right. We can push out the glass, lift her up and she can climb out. Too high and small for them to bother with, but she might be able to squeeze through.”
She laughs under her breath. “Why can’t I go out through the front entrance? Even if it’s locked, they’ll unlock it if I want to leave.”
“No,” I say harshly, holding her gaze. “No, they won’t , Alyss.”
She reads the truth on my face. And she pales, her eyes lowering as she takes in the collar. “What the hell kind of place is this? What is that?”
“Hell is the right word.” Both Buck and I reach for her hand at the same time, and I pin my eyes on him coldly. “Back off.”
He holds up his hands. “We just need to hurry the fuck up. If Red finds out—,”
“If Red finds out what, exactly?”
Fear.
It dries my mouth, wraps around my ribs, restricts my breathing as we all turn.
Knave grins, crossing his arms as he steps forward. “Well, well, well. Seems you two have been breaking all the rules lately.”
We both move at the same time. I step in front of Alyss, shielding her as Buck drags her back and does the same, both of us facing the asshole who can’t stop smirking.
Because we’re in a heap of fucking trouble, and he’s loving every moment. Delight shines in his eyes as his hand slips down to the baton at his waist.
“Now, now,” he almost coos. “Don’t hide your new toy away, gentlemen. Sharing is caring. Red is very keen to meet her.”
“Alyss.” I say her name quietly. My eyes travel over the men with him, lurking behind. I count before glancing at Buck. He nods.
Five.
This will be the only chance she’s going to get.
“ Run .”