Queen of Hearts (Wonderland 2)

Chapter One

Nick

Islam my fist into my bedroom wall, furious and suffocating with the urge to kill someone. On my knuckles blood mixes with the black soot from the fire I just spent hours fighting. And now it’s all over my wall. Black and red. Fury and death.

“Where. The. Fuck. Is. She?” My voice pops through the air like bullets being fired from a gun.

I want answers even though the way my security looks at me—wide-eyed, fear visible in their stance—I know they don’t have them to give.

“Did you search the entire house?”

It’s a stupid question. If she’s not here in my room where I left her, or at the very least in her own room down the hall, then she’s not in the house. I know this. I don’t even know why I’m bothering asking the question other than to try to calm the raging madness inside of me by asking mundane questions.

“We did, sir.”

“How is it that my security team has no idea where Lyriope is? What the fuck do I pay you for? And why the fuck haven’t I just shot you both through the eyes because of your carelessness?” The question burns my tongue, and I have visions of cutting out someone’s tongue in retaliation for the incompetence of my staff.

“We were all extinguishing the fire,” Harrison defends, stepping in with confidence. He’s the only one in this room with the balls to actually speak the truth to me. “Everyone was at the dock.” His eyes lock with mine, silently telling me to calm the fuck down. “Our focus was on putting out the fire before authorities came.”

I take a deep breath, knowing he’s right. We were all there. The entirety of my available staff.

We left Lyriope alone. Vulnerable. A flashing beacon just begging to be stolen.

I begin pacing the room. “They blew up my boat to distract me. To distract us all. Then they came into my house to steal her from me.” I need to speak the words out loud. To make them real. To help me face my new reality.

A reality without Lyriope.

I stop and look at Harrison. “Morellis or Constantines? Who the fuck has the nerve to do this? You don’t think it’s the Sidorovs, do you? They didn’t seem interested in Lyriope at Wonderland since I paid her debt off, but that could have all been an act.”

Harrison shakes his head, points to one of my guards and orders, “Go see if they found anything on the security footage and let us know who she left with.” Both of my security rush out of the room, clearly grateful to no longer be in direct fire of my rage.

“I want to kill someone,” I say as I struggle to blink away the mayhem that is taking over.

“It won’t be hard to find out who did all this,” Harrison says. “We’ll retaliate in the loudest of ways.”

“This is inexcusable,” I shout. “To come to my house. My. Fucking. House.” I march over to my bedroom window and stare down at my charred dock and what was once my boat. The morning sun is reflecting off what’s left of the structure. “I want to know who did this, and I’m going to make them pay. I don’t care if it was the Morellis. Past friendship or not. If they did this, then this means war. I’ll give them a goddamn bloodbath to deal with.”

“Let’s not make any assumptions just yet,” Harrison says, his tone calm and soothing. He walks out of the bathroom with two towels in hand. He hands me one to wipe the black grime off my face. He’s covered in remnants of the fire and is a wreck in appearance. No doubt I look the same. “We don’t need to be making battle plans until we have all the facts.”

Bile clumps in the depths of my core. “If it wasn’t the Morellis that took her”—I swallow and release a ragged breath—“then her life’s at risk. We need to act fast because… we don’t know why she was taken and what their plans are.”

Harrison shakes his head. “From our meeting at Wonderland, I get the impression that Lyriope is wanted alive. From all parties. I don’t think anyone plans to kill her. At least not right away. She’s too valuable alive.”

God, I hope Harrison’s right.

Swiping the towel over my eyes, I mumble more to myself than to Harrison, “This is an epic mess.”

“You think?” Harrison says. I can hear his chuckle being swallowed by thin composure.

“Is this where you tell me that you told me so?”

“I think that much is obvious,” he answers. “Ever since you met this woman, you haven’t been yourself. You’re off your game. The Nick Hudson I know would have seen this attack and kidnapping a mile away. You would have been waiting with gun in hand.”

I hold back the growl that is roaring inside of me. He’s right. Instead, I was in bed with Lyriope… sleeping. Sleeping! I never truly relax and sleep, and the one time I do, look what happens.

Security reenters and hands Harrison some printed photos. I don’t blame them for not handing the photos to me first. They know that I won’t tear Harrison’s head off where the same can’t be said for how I’ll respond to them if they give me the bad news.

I watch Harrison look at the photos, his facial expression impossible to read.