Page 23 of Wonder

She’s here.

I would never forget that voice, husky and deep. Would never forget the sounds she made as I moved inside her, tasted her, memorized her for all the days that would follow without her.

I didn’t think I would see her again.

But Alyss Lidell is here. And that means—

My feet eat up the short distance between us. Alyss stiffens at my approach, half-turning, before I dart past her and throw myself into Buck. My hand wraps around his throat, gripping it as I shove him against the wall with a crash, his head banging into the metal. Alyss cries out as I focus on him.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I roar it in his face. Shock crosses his expression as he stares at me.

“What the fuck areyoudoing?” He shoves me back, his eyes darting between me and Alyss. “Fuck off, Hat. This has nothing to do with you.”

Ignoring him, I turn to face her. She’s pale as she watches me. “What the hell are you doing here, Alyss Lidell?”

Buck inhales, his eyes narrowing. “You didn’t sayHatterwas your friend, trouble.”

She meets my gaze without flinching, brushing off his words. “I needed to get in. You gave me a way.”

My throat tightens, understanding and something resembling hurt cutting off my air with icy talons.

The ticket. She found it, then. But her face, the resolution there, theknowingas she glances around us… my chest constricts further.

“Did you plan this?”

Did she know I was part of Wonder, when she crossed the bar last night?

Was what we shared real, or another of my hallucinations?

Does she know?

She says nothing, and I step back. But then – something flickers on her face, a glimmer in her eyes. “It was… no. I didn’t know. How could I have? Just a coincidence.”

She found my ticket. My entrance, my pass.

And now she’s trapped.

“Why are you here,” I breathe in growing horror. “You don’t even know what you’ve done, damn you.”

Buck glances at me, brows furrowed. Alyss studies my face before she pulls out a phone and turns it to show me.

A younger version of Alyss greets me, laughing, gray eyes bright and dancing at whoever is behind the camera. A blond-haired man, identical to her in every way but broader, taller, has his arm wrapped around her, a grin on his face.

“My brother,” she says hoarsely, as I stare at that photo. “Adam. He was here, Hatter, at Wonder. Six months ago – I’m sure of it.”

My chest tightens at the desperation in her words. Slowly, hollowly, I shake my head. “I don’t recognise him.”

The words threaten to stay buried in my throat, but I force them out, watch her eyebrows drop down in disbelief. “That doesn’t mean he wasn’t here.”

“It does,” Buck says quietly. “We know every single face who walks through those doors, trouble.”

Our eyes meet briefly over her head; silent, mutual agreement passing between us. We have to get her away. Her face tightens, but Buck cuts her off. “We need to get you out of here. Right now.”

Alyss stares at us, fists clenching. “But—,”

“He’s right. You can’t be here.” I scan the hall, and Buck points.

“There’s a broken window that way, in the storage area on the right. We can push out the glass, lift her up and she can climb out. Too high and small for them to bother with, but she might be able to squeeze through.”