Page 7 of Trapped In Wonderland

I shift to ease the growing discomfort in my groin.

“And me? Toro the mascot?” I ask, covering my wayward thoughts.

She eyes my mask and bites her bottom lip before answering, bringing my focus back to her mouth.

“The animal symbols in the medieval family’s coat of arms are called charges, not mascots. They represent the traits the families take pride in. The bull symbolizes valor, bravery, generosity, and magnanimity,” she explains with a half-smile. “It suits you, I think.”

My chest puffs up at her flattery, but her whole naughty-teacher-giving-facts-to-her-pupil bit makes my pants fit tighter in the crotch.

Instead of acknowledging her compliment, I narrow my eyes at her. “Did you swallow an encyclopedia or something?”

“I like doing my homework.” But her lips flatten as she regretfully adds, “But we need to focus on the problem at hand.” She walks back toward her computer that sits on what looks like a tall padded wooden bench, near the Andrew’s cross.

I step behind her to see what she wants to show me, but can’t help noticing my surroundings. At one end of the bench, there’s a slab of thick plank with two small holes. Seeing the hinge and a lock on it, I gather it’s another device to keep someone’slimbs from moving. Next to it sits a glass-topped box filled with an array of various sized dildos. Are those made of mammoth tusks?

Dios mio.My god.

“Look here,” Kitty says, turning her high-tech laptop to me. I quickly refocus my attention on the crisis. An image of a laughing fox is on the screen, along with the demand of money. “It looks like your typical ransom ware,” she continues.

From her tone, I sense she doesn’t believe it is.

“But?” I ask.

“Groups who commit ransomware attacks like easy targets with high potential loss, like hospitals or companies whose operations rely heavily on their network.”

“Makes sense.”

“It took a lot of effort to tap into Club Wonderland’s security system and planted cameras. The club doesn’t even use Wi-Fi. All members’ personal devices are turned off and stored in lockers,” Kitty says. She points at a hole in the wall covered by another piece of BDSM furniture next to her where cables and a small device with an antenna attached to it stick out. “I suspected they must’ve planted hardware.

“I advised Oracle and her security team they should conduct a discreet sweep through the mansion as soon as I learned about the breach," she continues. "Because an outsider can’t hack into a closed circuit without physically tapping into it. They found this hard-tap and the camera locations. Fox created a way to download the video footage and send the demand.

“I can go through the technical details of how they’ve done it, but I won’t. My point is it takeseffortand thorough planning. It’s not just one hacker smuggling the ware to corrupt a network through a random email which we typically see," she finishes.

“What are you saying?” I eye her sharply.

“I’m saying this is aboutmorethan a ransom.” She leans in closer to me over the bench, her voice low, serious, and sultry. “You know about the people behind this club.”

I nod once. Kitty and I are on the same page.

“What if we weren’t the only one who found out?” Kitty speculates. “This might be an attack on the larger organization.”

I think back to the information I read about Cillian Kane and his business. He might own the club, but it doesn’t look like the club plays a part in his operations.

“Why is Fox targeting this club?” I question.

“Perhaps this club is their weak link.”

“Maybe. But why go to the hassle of smuggling hardware to mess with this particular family? Do they have a death wish?” I turn my gaze toward the closed heavy door and frown. Another theory comes to mind. “What is Oracle doing to meet this demand?”

“She’s trying to reach her husband. I’m sure they have the funds, but Oracle is a smart woman. She won’t pay off a blackmailer without discussing it with Cillian. He’s away at an off-the-grid organization-wide meeting.”

“That’s convenient,” I mumble. “Are you sure you can trust her?”

“Princessa does. Why?”

“Just wondering why this is happening right after you delivered Princessa here. My cousin is worth over five hundred million,” I think out loud. “And how convenient that Oracle somehow got you and me into this Chamber of Curiosities down in the basement, and the door shut, locking us inside.”

Kitty’s eyes widen. “Wait. Is that what they call this room? Chamber of Curiosities?” She looks around with a grin. “Makes sense. I’m definitely intrigued.”

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