“Earl Grey!” She turned to Heathan. “Rabbit? Doesn’t that sound absolutely charming?”
“Sure does, little Dolly.” He nudged his head for her to come to him. Dolly did, like Ellis had always done with Heathan. Heathan pulled her to his side, then turned toward a shelving unit behind them. One that now revealed the entrance to a tunnel.
“I’ll shut it behind you,” I called, and Heathan’s suspicious gaze narrowed on me. I removed my hat. “For her,” I said. Understanding spread on his face. “For what they did . . . to both of you.”
Heathan paused, eyes still narrowed, then nodded. Taking Dolly’s hand, he pulled her through the gap. I rushed to the selves and watched them fade out of sight, Heathan running, Dolly skipping, holding his hand tightly. “Chapel,” I heard him say into a cell. “I need that border crossing now!”
Hearing the door to the cellar open, I pushed the shelves back in place and ran to the opposite door, to what I knew to be a storm shelter. My uncle came down the steps. “Earnshaw’s dead. Shot. And recently. He’s still warm. They have to be close.”
I pointed to the storm shelter’s door. “I heard voices down here. I think it’s them.”
The men behind my uncle piled into the tunnel, leading them in the opposite direction from Heathan and Ellis. My uncle eyed me strangely, so I ran down the tunnel.
As I ran, I fixed my hat back on my head and thought, The Mad Hatter. After all this time . . .
. . . finally.
Epilogue
Dolly
Mexico
I walked over the sand to where I knew Rabbit waited for me. The large umbrella hid his face. But I spotted his tattooed forearms, shirt sleeves rolled to the elbow.
Hand on hip, I walked around the umbrella until I knew he could see me. I looked out over the sea. Rabbit and I lived in a house on a beach. We had our own private beach. We could see the public beach beside us. After all, people-watching in Wonderland was one of my favorite things in life. With every day here in this new part of Wonderland, I got curiouser and curiouser.
I heard Rabbit growl deeply in his throat.
And I smiled.
I arched my back, pretending to see something in the distance. Rabbit growled again and said, “Turn around.”
Shivers broke out down my spine at his command. Fluffing my hair with my hands, I fixed my crown and spun . . . slowly . . . oh so slowly. My boombox sang a song about a fruity drink called Piña Colada. I swayed my hips to its beat.
When I looked up, Rabbit had lain back on his sun lounger. I giggled on seeing him. He dressed as he always did, only his pants were rolled up to his knees, showing off his tattooed legs. His black shirt sleeves were rolled up too. His shirt was unbuttoned to his navel, and his cravat hung loose around his neck.
And he wore a monocle on his left eye. I had bought it for him as a gift. My Rabbit couldn’t be a true White Rabbit without a monocle.
The vial of my blood hung at his throat. My thighs clenched just looking at it . . . at thinking back to that night. And the many nights that have been just like it. I loved touching my Rabbit.
Not a night went by that we didn’t touch and play.
“Here,” Rabbit ordered, pointing to the small gap on his sun lounger. I kept my hand on my hip as I flounced to him. I stood beside the sun lounger and demanded, “Well?”
I waited for him to comment on my new pale-blue-and-white bikini. Rabbit’s eyes flared as they tracked up and down my body. I glanced down at his crotch and smiled.
He very much liked what he saw.
Suddenly, Rabbit grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to his chest. I yelped as I fell. But I laughed when my chest hit his. When my lips hovered above his.
“Do you like it?” I asked. “The bikini?”
Rabbit’s hand moved to the back of my neck, and he slammed his lips on me. He ate at my mouth, biting at my lip. Fighting back, I bit into the flesh of his lip so hard that I tasted blood. Rabbit groaned loudly as he stole more hard kisses.
When we broke away, his pupils were dilated. “Silly Rabbit,” I scolded and slapped at his hard chest.
Someone cleared their throat. The server had brought our tea. “Time for tea!” I sang and pointed to the table to the side of us for the server to put it down. Rabbit’s arms stayed around my waist, holding me in place. I wasn’t going anywhere.
The server withdrew. I sat up and poured the Earl Grey into our cups. Milk and sugar—two lumps each. Rabbit’s hand stayed on my stomach. When I turned to give him his tea, he was looking at his phone. I lay beside him and placed his tea on the table on his other side. I laid my head on his shoulder and watched him type out words I couldn’t read.