Jayne nodded and handed over her phone next. “Understood.”
“Tell the driver,” Max barked at the stupefied guard. “Everyone out of this roomnow.”
We all took the steps out of the accursed wine cellar, brushing past the guard, who was rapidly making a call to the driver outside.
Nova reached out to touch Jayne’s shoulder. “You came. Why? And how did you find me?” Nova’s jaw clenched from the pain as her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her friend was likely in some kind of shock, but she never left our side as we headed toward the service entrance.
“You saidred,” Jayne said. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “And I… I knew something was wrong. I’d been dreaming about it for a while.”
“Did you tell Archer?” Nova asked, dark, spiteful humor in her tone.
Jayne pressed her lips together, hesitating. “There wasn’t time,” she said cryptically, and I could smell the dishonesty from a mile away.
Luckily for us, The Circle was no longer our damn puzzle to solve.
“When Jayne told me that men took you,” Lorelei said, swallowing a hiccup, “I didn’t want to believe it was him. I had to see for myself. But we couldn’t find Nova without…”
“Telling Max,” I finished for her.
We walked to my father’s SUV, his driver already standing outside.
I glanced at Lorelei. “Thank you. You saved her life.”
“I saved mine, too,” she said with a weak, wobbly smile. Another sob broke through.
Tears streamed down Nova’s face as she stared at her friend. “You told Max?”
“I broke one of my most sacred vows,” she murmured. “I went through His—Roman’s—things, a while back… I saved hisfather’s number in my phone, just in case. I don’t even know why.” Her face crumpled. “I demanded Max let us come by bluffing about information I had on Roman. We had to look at the security footage to find you because no one would tell us what was happening, and Max told us to stay put, but I saw it. I saw everything, so I took out my phone and I hit record and—” She sucked snot back into her nose. “I’m sorry, Nova. You were right. I’m ready to get help. I?—”
“Not right now,” I said sternly, shaking my head. Nova needed everyone to stay calm as she bled through my shirt and shivered in my arms. “We’re going to focus on getting Nova help now.”
Lorelei closed her mouth. She nodded, lowering her head. Nova’s face softened.
“I love you, Lor.” Her teeth chattered, and I held her tighter.
Lorelei gulped down another hiccup. “I love you too, Nova.”
Nova looked up at me as I ducked into the SUV, still holding her as the door closed behind us. Lorelei and Jayne both took seats in the back.
“He made you drink,” she said, her voice cracking. “Are you all right? Is there anything?—”
I gently shushed her. “What did I just say, baby? We’re taking care ofyouright now.” I brushed my lips against her forehead. “I’m fine. I’ll call my sponsor and keep going to meetings. It’s the same as an alcoholic accidentally having a drink, albeit more traumatic of a slip. I still have five years. If anything, it only reinforced how much I value my sobriety.”
Her features were slow to relax, but she nodded, accepting my explanation. It was the truth. Just thinking about drinking made my stomach turn inside out. I knew how to take care of myself, though I appreciated Nova’s sweet concern.
Her gaze fell to my chest. “What does Memento Mori mean, Wes?”
She referenced the small, blocky script tattoo on my upper chest, the two snakes—one dead and one alive—framing the words on either side.
“Remember: You will die,” I said softly. “Life is fleeting. Fragile.”
I stroked her cheek. I relished the way her eyes were trained on mine, wide with relief as she relaxed against me, breathing through her pain. She knew she was safe.
“Death is our best reminder to live.”
As the car headed toward the private medical facility, I finally allowed myself to feel a drop of the emotions threatening to burst from my chest. A single tear fell from my right eye, and Nova caught it with her good hand, her thumb gentle.
She winced.
