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I swallowed hard, avoiding his gaze. He had a way of seeing through people that was unnerving. Instead of answering right away, I went and got what he liked best. Opening up a compartment in the old cabinet in my office, I pulled out two crystal highball glasses. He liked a specific rich whiskey, aged to perfection. I kept it on hand for such occasions. Pouring two drinks, I turned back around, a false but convincing smile on my lips, one I had perfected over the last few years.
“To what do I owe the visit?” I handed him his glass, hoping he didn’t catch the light tremor in my fingertips.
It wasn’t fear so much as concern. Dominic was unpredictable.
“I was told you’ve been having private sessions with Miss Hardgrave.”
I took a big gulp of the whiskey, allowing it to burn down my throat and into the knot that had formed in my belly. Turning my back to him again, I poured another glass.
“She’s been having night terrors.”
“Is that so?”
“I need her calm and composed if I’m going to keep her deeply imbedded in Wonderland.”
“So, you had to lock her up in your private quarters while you did what, Doctor?” His piercing gaze gave no hint of his thoughts but betrayed an annoyance that could lead to trouble.
I sat down in my chair, leaning back and making sure I seemed relaxed as I crossed one leg over the other. I knew what signs he was looking for, could tell how he was scrutinizing my every word and behavior. Elevated heart rate, dilated pupils, fidgeting, shifting - all a betrayal of my allegiance to Wonderland. Instead, I willed myself to remain calm.
He was a master of deception and an expert at picking out lies. He’d been lied to his whole life. Trust wasn’t something Dominic gave away easily. I didn’t think he even trusted his own mother, not that I blame him. The bitch was the worst type of heathen you could imagine. Abusive both physically and mentally, she was addicted to the worst kind of men. Men who would come into Dominic’s home and degrade and defile him as a child. His mind was twisted, his past was dark, his trust was understandably non-existent.
“I didn’t lock her up in my quarters,” I explained carefully. “I asked to be left alone with her without distraction. Her depression and anxiety are forcing her out of Wonderland.”
“Says the good doctor.” Dominic sipped on the whiskey; his evil gaze glued to mine. He was known to be intimidating, bringing men to their knees in submission. I refused to be that kind of man. It wasn’t in my nature.
Ignoring his attempt to get under my skin, I steered the conversation back on point. “My understanding is that you’d like to continue the sessions?”
He nodded, swirling the drink in his hand. “If you want to get paid, I need her on that chair. And Doctor, she’s been missed. Terribly.”
I hadn’t set up any live video feeds in the last week. The break was intentional. I’d purposely been giving her lower dosages of the tea I had been ordered to have her drink. Her mind was deteriorating under that wicked brew and I intended to save her from further harm. I knew they’d catch on sooner or later, I just hoped it would have been the latter.
He made no move to leave or continue the discussion, eyeing me with a mixture of disdain and frustration.
“What is it you want, Dominic?”
He arched a brow and stared fixedly at me, avoiding the question. Evil lurked in his cold, dark eyes and I had no doubt he’d kill me with his own bare hands if he had to. Hell, he’d do it just because he was bored.
"Did you fall in love with her?”
I smirked, taking a swig of the drink I held tightly in my hand. My white knuckles were showing, and I relaxed them slightly, lest he caught the action.
“I’m here to do a job. I was told to sit her in a chair, give her the lotus, and record her. She’s been putting on a show for weeks, what more do you want?”
“I want her humiliation, Doctor. I want herfullsubmission back into Wonderland.”
I desperately wanted to tell him to fuck off. “Well, that’s not going to happen.”
His eyes narrowed and that familiar anger rolled off him in waves, directed right at me, the unwilling pawn in his sadistic game. “Are you defying me?”
“I’m simply stating a fact. I can try to drug her as much as you want, but she’s a fighter. The drugs are no longer working as predicted and she’s becoming more and more lucid as the days carry on.”
He watched me for a long moment, and then swirled the contents of his glass as he began to smile. “You have a thing for madness, Doctor?"
I clenched my fists and his eyes focused on the movement. I knew exactly why he spoke those words. Dominic was eliciting a specific response. He wanted to hurt and anger me, resurface my bitter and heartbroken past. His obsession with playing on the psyche and knowing his enemy’s weaknesses was well known.
Not tonight.
If you worked for Wonderland, not only was there no escape, but all your secrets would be forced out, one by one. No matter how tightly you hung onto them, The Cat would find a way to trap them in his clutches and keep them for himself until the moment they could be used against you.
