Page 3 of Trapped In Wonderland

I glance at the black metal and leather mask sitting on the passenger seat. Resembling a bull’s head, complete with horns, it looks both realistic and fantastical. I can’t help but grin and admit, it’s a pretty cool mask.

My destination looms ahead, so I grab the mask and put it on. The security check at the gate is a breeze since the instructions Kitty left are clear. Now I just have to remember once I pass the gate, no more names and the mask stays on. I’m not unfamiliar with rules. I’m a military man, after all. But I don’t take orders from just anyone, especially a woman who chose Kitty as an alter ego and pulled the rug from under my feet with no warning.

In truth, my ego is bruised that she pulled one over me so easily. Maybe even a little betrayed. I thought we’ve bonded through our late-night chats while planning this operation, and interjecting it with some interesting research and discussion of Club Wonderland and the BDSM lifestyle. She knows how important it is to keep Núria safe for me. Why would she deliberately separate me from my cousin, knowing she’s literally walking into dangerous territory? Did I miss something in the communications? Was there a lost-in-translation moment?

Or did I let my dick overrule my brain when we last spoke, finalizing the meet-up? I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve gotten more than a little turned on listening to her rich voice. Kate has a melodic cadence when she talks that can make any mundane info sound sexy. Then there’s her laugh. She made my cock hard more than once just by laughing. She might be nerdy and unassuming in person, but she can drive a man crazy with that voice alone if she knows its power.

Realizing I let a pretty voice distract me from protecting my cousin makes my temper boil again. I jump out of the car as soon as I’m stopped in front of an impressive mansion. It isn’t as grand as the Aguilar estate, but for American architecture, I’m surprised at its châteauesque style. But I didn’t come here toadmire the place. I charge straight to the large main door that immediately opens as if they’ve been expecting me.

A beautiful woman in a see-through sheet of a dress stands waiting in the foyer. If I wasn’t on a mission to find Núria, I would’ve stopped to enjoy the view. I barely take her in except the fact she looks impatient waiting for me to reach her.

She turns toward a hall as soon as I’m near enough, saying in a clipped tone, “We’ve been waiting for you, Toro. Walk with me.”

Her tone spikes my already tested patience. “Where’s my cousin?”

“Princessa is safe,” she tells me, using Núria’s chosen character.

A man dressed in a plain black long-sleeved T-shirt and slacks, complete with a simple black mask, stops in front of them.

“It’s done, Oracle,” he says, but nothing else that gives me any clue of the context.

The man eyes me with wariness, which I tend to get. Women look at me with speculative interest, while men see me as a potential threat.

“Good. Keep it quiet. We don’t want to alarm the members,” says the lady, whom I assume is named Oracle. She waves a hand toward me and adds, “He’s checked out. Update me when you find anything.”

The man nods, then urgently walks past us.

Oracle moves again, explaining nothing to me.

I have had it. “What the hell is going on? Where’s Princessa?” I demand, feeling both angry and silly having to use these ludicrous names.

Without slowing down her pace, she descends the winding stairs leading to what I assume is a basement floor.

Her voice echoes on the close walls around us as she answers, “There’s been a security breach—”

As soon as I hearsecurity breach, I block her descent with a stretched arm.

“Take me to my cousin now. I’m taking her out of here.”

The regal woman looks straight into my eyes. “You can’t. But I assure you she’s safe. Come, I’ll show you what we’re dealing with.” She steps around me, and I have no choice but to follow her. “Since you’re Princessa’s family, I trust you’ll want to contain the threat as much as I do.”

“What is the threat?” I ask again through gritted teeth, almost at the end of my fuse. Oracle arrives at an open metal door, not unlike one sees at a bank’s vault. The heavy-duty door plus the lower ceiling and lighting make the hair on my nape stand up as an old feeling creeps up on me. “What is this place?”

“The Chamber of Curiosities,” Oracle replies.

3

Kitty

I click on mymachine’s track pad, and a tab with about a dozen boxes reappears on the screen. The boxes show the numerous activities currently happening in Club Wonderland. A few boxes show the marble ballroom where barely clothed performers execute incredible acrobatic movements hanging from pieces of silk hung high from the ceiling.

Scantily clad members—some completely nude except for masks and accessories—are scattered in different spots, enjoying the performance or openly engaging in some kind of sexual activities. Other boxes show different rooms with other members in scenes that are supposed to be private.

One particular box worries me as the footage reveals a naked Princessa kneeling on a four-poster bed with her wrists bound by chains attached to two of the posts. Though her mask conceals the upper half of her face, technology has advanced so enough that someone with nefarious intent and the right resources can probably identify someone by the shape of their jaw and lips, or maybe a known birthmark or tattoos.

Thankfully, I can’t see a mark on Princessa’s exposed skin, but I’m only looking at this tiny box on my specially designed laptop.

I can’t let this fucking hacker—Fox—get their hands on these recordings, especially Princessa’s. I’ve connected my machine to the hard-tap the Club security found down here and I’m trying everything possible to block and track down Fox.

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