Page 148 of Locked in Wonderland

I frowned, surprised by both his honesty and the picture he’d painted. I’d never even considered the possibility that he might seek me out. “It wouldn’t have been the same.”

“No,” he agreed. “It wouldn’t.”

The waiter arrived to take our order, leaving a comfortable lull in the conversation.

“What was that phone call about?“ I asked once we were alone again.

Nico met my gaze without looking away. “News from abroad.”

“Good news or bad?”

He laughed softly. “I’d call it good. Other people might disagree.”

I homed in on the slight tap of Nico’s fingers against the tabletop. By now, I knew him well enough to recognize it as a sign that he didn’t want to talk about whatever was on his mind, which only made me more curious.

“I’m trying to figure out,” I said, “why you don’t want to tell me.”

He shrugged. After a long pause, he took out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and slid it across the table. A newspaper article filled the display. It took me a moment to understand what I was looking at. “Someone attacked Kellan Hart?”

Nico nodded. “He died in the early hours of this morning.”

I slid the phone back to him and leaned back in my chair, barely noticing the waiter setting our starters in front of us as I sorted through my thoughts. You were supposed to feel bad when someone died. But this was Kellan Hart—the man who would’ve enslaved and abused me without a second thought if he’d gotten his way. Relief was all I felt. Relief... and maybe a little happiness.

I got halfway through my starter without tasting any of it before I realized Nico was way too quiet. I studied him, trying to work out what I’d missed. The answer came to me shortly after he finished eating and pushed his plate aside. “You had something to do with it.”

His silence was an answer all of its own.

“Why? You said it would’ve happened, anyway. Why bring it forward?”

Nico didn’t respond. Instead, he held my gaze, clearly expecting me to figure it out for myself.

I thought it through. “He’d sent people after you. It was kill or be killed.”

Nico shook his head. “Worse.”

I frowned. “What could be worse?”

“He was looking for you.”

The words landed like a physical blow, knocking the breath out of me. I masked my discomfort by taking a long swallow of champagne. “Me? What did I do?”

“You can understand his thinking,” Nico said. “You were the catalyst for everything that happened to him afterward. If I’d never met you, I would’ve had no reason to bring his house of cards crashing down. He’d still be living his best life in Wonderland, doing whatever the hell he pleased.”

“When?” I asked. “When did you find out?”

“About a month ago.”

“And you never told me.” Remembering we were in a public restaurant, I lowered my voice. “You didn’t think I might want to know?”

“It would’ve made you paranoid.”

“Damn right it would’ve. With good reason.” I drained the rest of my champagne. Nico immediately reached for the bottle to refill my glass. I drank half of that too before setting it down a little harder than necessary.

“So you killed him for me?” I whispered.

“I didn’t kill him. I had him killed.”

“Is there a difference?” I asked, genuinely curious.