Page 117 of Locked in Wonderland

I blinked. There were instructions. And then there was expecting me to exhibit a sudden flair for acting. I’d promised him I’d do what he’d said, though, so I was at least going to have to try.

I thought about Warren. The lies. The manipulation. The way every smile and every touch had been designed with one goal in mind: to bring me here so I could be offered around like a tasty snack. I thought about all the people who’d known and said nothing. Percy. Lola. Zane and Zeke. The list was endless. I thought about being drugged. Filmed. Tricked. Sold.

Finally, I thought about Kellan. About what would be happening right now if Nico hadn't intervened.

The tears came easily after that. They streamed down my face, mingling with the blood.

Hargreaves smirked. “Took it well, did he?”

The urge to take Nico's knife and slit the man's throat from ear to ear swept over me like a tsunami.

“He understands what's expected of him,” Nico said.

After that, silence settled over the car.

I watched the scenery slide past. Hargreaves focused on the road.

And Nico—

I didn’t know what Nico was doing. Strategizing hopefully.

Chapter Thirty-seven

A ringing phone eventually broke the silence. Hargreaves’ phone.

For a split second, Nico’s entire body betrayed his tension before he forced himself to relax. It was enough for me to know he saw nothing good in the call. Hopefully, Hargreaves would be too busy driving.

“Hello.”

Too late.

A pause. “I see. No, I wasn’t aware.”

Nico was already moving, pushing his door open to reveal the tarmac rushing by at an alarming speed.“Your door,” he said.

I understood immediately. We were opening them before Hargreaves could engage the central lock and trap us inside.

But then what?

My stomach lurched at the obvious answer.

“On three,” Nico ordered. “Three… two.”

“I can’t.”

“One.”

I jumped, the tarmac rushing up to greet me at a dizzying speed. That was nothing compared to the impact. The air exploded from my lungs as I hit the ground. For a few dizzying seconds, I could do nothing except stare up at the dome-covered sky and conduct a hurried inventory of my body. Arms. Legs. Head. I still appeared to have everything attached.

I’d just concluded nothing was broken when a hand grabbed me. I instinctively batted it away.

Nico’s face appeared above me. “It’s me.” Relief flooded through me as I let him haul me upright.

“We need to get going,” he said.

I nodded, but my attention drifted to the car that had stopped roughly fifteen meters away. Hargreaves had climbed out and was talking on the phone while he watched us.

“We don’t even know what was being said,” I pointed out. “It might have been nothing.”