Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah Pepper Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t care who knows it.”
    With one swift movement, her knee got friendly with my manhood. I dropped—instantly. I lay on the cold floor, crumpled in a ball. I cursed. This little thing of a girl just got the better of me! She knelt beside me and put her finger to my lips, stopping the slew of R rated words coming from my mouth. Her skin tasted like caramel. Instantly, I licked my lips and immediately regretted it. I’d licked her finger. Her finger! My reaction made me want to face plant into the floor—oh, wait, I already had.
    “You stupid, stupid boy,” she said, tucking my hair back. “ You won’t make it a day in the Red Court.”
    I opened my mouth to rebut, call her out on the cheap shot, or at the very minimum spit in her face, but my mouth became sticky, like I had caramel sticking to my teeth. The more I moved my jaw, the stiffer it became. The little wench probably hit a nerve when she kicked me!
    “ I. Will. Get. Even,” I said through gritted teeth.
    Her comeback: A raised eyebrow. Her grin deepened as she watched me writhe in pain with my hands clutching my pants. I wanted to scream at her, but my jaw was now locked shut. She patted me on the head like I was a dog. I couldn’t be happier the hall was empty so no one else could witness this humiliation.
    “ Next time, think twice about making me mad. I won’t hesitate to nut-drop you again. So, be a good boy and think about that while Hearts and I take care of the adult stuff.”
     
     
     
     
     
    C HAPTER S IX
    ( Alice Mae: Present Time)
    G etting the dirt on others—that was my civic duty to the Queen of Hearts, but I hadn’t always been her minion. After a particular misfortunate event that ended with a death, I had been appointed as the Queen of Hearts’ informant, for lack of a better job description. I took care of her dirty laundry, not because I particularly wanted to be a part of her Reign of Terror, but because I was talented at manipulation. I understood what people wanted to hear and see so I used it against them. When I was growing up, this little talent led me into juvenile trickery, but now that I was older, a slap on the wrist was a desirable punishment.
    M.H. could attest to that… if he still had the ability to speak. The queen was quite imaginative when it came to punishments. Her methodology usually involved the Joker and a very pointy object.
    Dressed in black clothing, trimmed with crimson red lace, was the queen. Hearts was shorter than most. I ’d be surprised if she was five feet. A black brooch in the form of a heart with a dagger sticking through it was pressed on her collar. Her bright red hair was pulled up into a loose bun. Hearts fanned her face with the snapshot I’d taken of Ryley. Pulling Mr. Ruth out from the side pocket of my backpack, I thanked him for delivering the photo yesterday. Secretly, I was just pleased that he’d done it without any catastrophe occurring between him and the queen. I pulled out the white frog stool that was placed across from her throne and sat down. I kept Mr. Ruth safely on my lap and placed the monocle over his good eye. He trembled in my hands, but at least he wasn’t leaving little poop balls like he usually did after losing his eye.
    T he One-Eyed Hare had a few run-ins with the queen. When I first met him, he was a two-eyed Hare, but that was a long time ago.
    I glanced at the faded red, heart-shaped clock that hung next to the massive portrait of the deceased king, who was affectionately called Eddie by most everyone in Wonderland. Yet, she sneered his proper name—Edward—whenever possible. He had the same hue of brown eyes as Ryley, warm with a streak of darkness.
    The queen caught me staring at her late husband and slapped two pictures on the table to draw my focus back to her—attention hog. Tea splashed over the edges of two tea cups. A yellow-eyed porcupine, wearing a white uniform, almost tripped over his own two feet when he raced onto the table in an