Page 16 of Tick Tock, Darling

It came out of her like a woman making a joke at a party. Timing and everything.

“Be nice, Darling.” Pan slipped his hand around her neck and pulled her close. She went without a fuss. Her hand caressed his jaw, and she kissed him back.

This wasn’t a puppet.

I’d told myself all night that the thing inside her was doing the work. That the woman was still down there somewhere with her hands tied. But nobody makes a joke on a dark road because something is pulling her strings, and nobody reaches up like that.

Marsha hadn’t wanted saving either.

My magic pushed against the binding and got nowhere and I stood there between them, close enough to feel the whole thing happen.

I didn’t like being this close to either one of them—especially when they were kissing. I squirmed, trying to break away.

“Struggling, beautiful?” Pan smiled. “Maybe we’ll do a threesome later.”

I spat at him. “Never.”

Wendy struck me across the face. “Don’t ever touch him.”

I swung around. My cheek and mouth throbbed. I rubbed my face. Whatever was inside her could hit hard.

“Easy ladies, there’s more for me to go around.”

Insufferable bastard. The man really thought too much of himself.

I glared. Like I would want to. But I swallowed my retort.

Wendy backed away and blinked. The thing inside her watched me. I had a feeling it was laughing at me. Enjoying my discomfort.

“Lead the way, Darling.”

Wendy swayed down the path. Pan threaded his fingers through my hair and dragged me. I bit my lip. It was as if he was trying to yank my hair out.

As we headed down the path, the trees thinned and I could make out a vast blue sea. I couldn’t see land across from it. Neverland must be far from here.

Wendy pointed down the shore. “Before I came to get you, I had a boat ready to take us back to Neverland. It’s about a quarter mile down the beach.”

I looked down at my throbbing bare feet. Filthy. Scratched. Bleeding. But I refused to cry out. Wouldn’t give either one of them the satisfaction of knowing I was in pain. The sand was a little better than the pebbled path. My feet sank into the sand.

The sun rose higher and higher into the sky. It had been the middle of the night in the Bywater when Pan snatched me out of my bed, and here the sun was up. I had no idea what day it was. Time difference. Nothing.

Was Caspian looking for me? He had been sent to protect me. Hopefully, he hadn’t given up. I didn’t think I could escape from here on my own. I needed help.

I pulled on my arm, but Pan only yanked harder, nearly lifting me off my feet. I needed to wait for a time when he wasn’t focused on me, a time I could make a break.

A ship came into view. My heart sank. Get on that boat and it was over.

A clipper. Sails up and flapping, men moving on her deck like men who’d done it a thousand times.

If I didn’t escape now, I would totally be trapped on that damn boat and then the island.

Pan’s grip went slack. “You’ve done well, Wendy.”

There it was. I kicked his knee as hard as I had ever kicked anything. Something gave.

“Fuck!” He bent over.

I shoved him off me and ran for the trees, feet screaming, arms pumping. Twenty feet away.