13. 13 – Hatter
13 – Hatter
N o.
I prop myself up on shaking arms.
“Careful.”
I stare around the room. Not somewhere I’ve been before, but I’ve heard enough of Red’s games – seen enough – over the years that it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work it out.
Wonderland . Or whatever iteration of it Red has come up with for this, her latest game.
And we’re the entertainment.
Slowly, my eyes shift to Alyss as I swallow. “I’m… I’m sorry.”
My voice is a croak. Alyss sits silently on the bed beside me, her gaze steady. “Did you leave the ticket at my apartment on purpose?”
“No,” I breathe. “I was…,”
Lost . Lost in her. Not paying attention.
Careless. I was so fucking careless with that small piece of time that I stole, and now we’re all going to pay for it.
You’re a fucking fool, Hatter.
Alyss slowly shakes her head. Her eyes travel over the room. “Then it’s not your fault. You didn’t put us in here. She did.”
She holds up a bottle of water. When my hand shakes, she undoes the cap and hands it to me. “They took the collar off.”
I reach up, feeling only bare skin. Another message. “Good.”
I drain half of it, offering the rest to her, but she shakes her head. “No sharing. They’re pretty clear on what happens when you don’t follow instructions.”
She nods her head, and I turn to see the sprawled body across the floor. A pool of deep, sticky red spreads from underneath, others in the room giving it a wide berth.
My stomach flips, clenches, and I whip back to look at her, my brow furrowing.
She looks… calm. Collected enough, although her face is even paler under the harsh lighting. “Why are you not…,”
Panicking?
A small smile tips up her lips. “Not much point in losing our heads over something we can’t change. The question is, how do we get out of this?”
I stare at her. And that sinking feeling echoes in my chest again.
Nobody gets out of Wonderland.
Instead of answering, I reach for her, my eyes assessing her expression before I rub my thumb over her cheek. “I didn’t think I would see you again.”
She sniffs. “Well. You didn’t exactly leave me your number. Or a note.”
The smallest sound of amusement comes from my throat. “I don’t have a phone, Alyss Lidell. And where I was going… I never wanted you to follow.”
“No.” She looks down at her hands. “You… lived there? At Wonder?”
I nod. “For a long time.”
“With Red.” Her lips twist on the name, anger flitting through her eyes. “She thinks you belong to her.”
My heart thumps inside my chest. “I don’t. Or…not in the way she wants. But I signed myself over to her a long time ago.”
Gray eyes meet mine. “Why?”
The words lock in my throat. Silently, I shake my head in silent request.
I would tell her, if she pushed. But it might make the thoughts come back, the thoughts that twist and ruin my mind.
I need my head to be clear. Need to find a way to make sure she survives this.
The hourglass is already trickling, seconds frittering away like specks of sand.
Alyss leans forward, and I take a breath as her forehead drops to my chest. She doesn’t stiffen as I wrap my arms around her. Instead, she softens against me, turning until her cheek is pressed against my heart. “My… friend is here too. He tried to follow me in on your ticket.”
I tense. “Then he’s lucky to be alive.”
Red must have liked something about him, to throw him in here instead of just disposing of him.
“Yeah,” Alyss whispers hoarsely. “I’m getting that. But just so you know… he doesn’t like you very much.”
My brows dip. “Why?”
When she glances up at me, I feel a flush rise on my cheeks. “I see. So you and him…,”
She hesitates. “It’s complicated.”
But she doesn’t pull away as I run my hand down her back. “It always is.”