Page 108 of Locked in Wonderland

He glanced back over his shoulder at his parents. “It would be such a waste for him to gather dust in the gallery.”

Queenie regarded her son with an indulgent fondness that made me want to throw up. Not that it was an option with a ball gag in my mouth unless I wanted to choke to death.

“You go through so many pets,” she said with a smile on her lips.

Kellan turned back to me and climbed onto the wooden parapet so he could peer over it. His gaze raked over me at an agonizingly slow pace, lingering on my crotch for so long that I began to think he had X-ray vision.

“I want this one,” he said. “It’s pretty.”

It.

The single word sent a chill through me. My heart hammered against my ribs, my palms slick with sweat. I leaned to one side so I could see past him. There was only one place I was ever going to look.

Nico.

There was no way he couldn’t be paying attention now.

Except he wasn’t.

He stared down at his phone, his brows slightly knit in concentration. What could possibly be so important that it took precedence over the shit show unfolding in front of him?

I couldn’t speak. I needed him to speak for me. I needed him to tell these people exactly what they could do with the idea of me becoming Kellan’s pet.

“So, can I have him?” Kellan asked, petulance creeping into his voice.

“Of course, darling,” Queenie replied. “There are plenty of exhibits in the gallery. What’s one less?”

Grinning from ear to ear, Kellan hopped off the parapet and sauntered back the way he’d come. He stopped in front of the man crouching on the floor, looming over him until the man finally surrendered to the inevitability of looking up.

“I don’t need you anymore,” Kellan said.

The man nodded and lowered his gaze back to the floor.

“Do you know what that means?” Kellan asked.

The man shook his head.

I wished I knew his name. Someone should. I wondered whether his girlfriend had gone to the police after she got home. Not that it would do any good when they wouldn’t investigate.

“It means you can go,” Kellan said.

“Go?” The man’s voice came out thin, as though he hadn’t had the chance to use it in a long time.

Kellan pulled an exaggerated frown. “Unless you don’t want to. Unless you’d rather stay a dog?” He crouched until they were eye to eye. “Is that what you want, Todd?”

Todd.

His name was Todd.

It was good to know it finally.

Todd shook his head. “No... Not at all. I just thought—”

He was already scrambling away from Kellan, his eyes fixed on the door only a few meters away. He crawled up the first few steps on all fours before remembering he was human and cautiously pushing himself upright.

The audience watched with malicious glee.

That should have been my first clue.