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’sfavoritepet. 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.
