Page 71 of Locked in Wonderland

“He’ll be ready,” the blonde replied. “I’m just finishing up.”

I didn’t bother asking anything else, and after a few minutes, they chatted among themselves.

Makeup.

Clothes.

Men.

It felt like being held hostage at an all-girls sleepover.

How long had it been since I left Nico’s apartment? Did he know I’d ignored his command to stay put yet? Would he care once he realized I was gone? Or would he shrug and think, more fool him before carrying on with his day?

Whatever else Nico was, he’d become the closest thing I had to a friend in this place. At least… I thought he had.

I wished I’d listened to him.

When? my subconscious asked. When he told you not to go anywhere? Or before that, when he told you not to come here?

I honestly didn’t know. And even if I did, maybe I’d just be lying to myself. I was too deep in thought to notice the collar until it clicked shut around my neck. It had cold metal edges that bit into my skin, and a thick metal chain hanging from the front. The three women stepped back to admire their handiwork.

“I’m not a dog,” I said.

“Woof,” they all replied in perfect unison, as though I’d made a hilarious joke.

I hated these women. I hated everyone in this place. I started compiling a mental list. Top of the list were Percy and Lola. They’d been the first to strip away my autonomy, and the first to drug me.

The first of three occasions. How stupid did someone have to be to let themselves get drugged three separate times?

I continued the list. Zane and Zeke, obviously.

Harlan and Marcus.

The Duchess.

Drug den man, whatever the hell his name had been.

The list kept growing. In fact, there were only two people I didn’t automatically add: Donovan and Nico.

Donovan was easy. He’d given me somewhere to stay. Food. A bed. Clothes. And he’d asked for nothing. He’d only balked when he’d seen the tattoo, clearly concerned what might happen to him if Nico got hold of him.

Which brought me to Nico.

Should he be on the list? He didn’t exactly fit into the category of wanting nothing from me. He’d wanted to fuck me, and he had—twice under false pretenses, and then again while fully aware I’d be incapable of refusing. I refused to think about the morning after and how quickly I’d folded.

None of these things were the action of a good man.

What if he was the worst of all, and everyone else was just a minor cog in a much larger machine? Nico worked for the Hart family. He had power. And all I had was his word that he’d been protecting me. He could have been lying through his teeth. The whole thing made my head ache.

The door opened again to admit two men dressed in black. One of them looked me over critically. “He’ll do.”

While the brunette unfastened my wrist cuff, the redhead handed the end of the chain attached to the collar to the closest man.

He wrapped the chain around his wrist and tugged.

I planted my feet.

He pulled harder, muscles straining.