It was confusing—this group’s obvious culty language and behavior juxtaposed with their supposed emphasis on safety, community, and empowerment. People here really did seem happy and free, and not everything Jayne said I disagreed with. I mean, the fact that she got me to do what I feared most was objectively impressive, even if manipulative. But we were being seduced, and for purposes that weren’t entirely clear.
Did this place need to be all bad? Or could it still be dangerous while existing in shades of grey?
As Wes stood and offered me his hand, I remembered that the last time we spoke, I had called him beautiful.
I placed my hand in his.
13
NOVA
“For the record, you’re beautiful too,” Wes said as we walked through The Circle’s dark, dreamlike labyrinth.
I glowered at him. “A gentleman would’ve let that go.”
He guided me to a quiet alcove by a staircase that descended to… hell, probably. He grinned as he faced me. “Oh, is that what you think I am?”
My next words escaped me. A grunt and an accompanying cry of pleasure hit us from the right, the source somewhere behind a door left ajar. Neon pink light spilled out into the dim hallway.
Was this how friends spoke to each other? I couldn’t tell which was more mind-scrambling—The Circle or Wes.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
I scanned my inner world. “A lot of things. Confident, yet confused. Proud, yet…” I averted my gaze. “Embarrassed.”
Wes nodded. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I meant what I said. You were perfect.”
I warmed under the light of his praise.
“I need you to understand something,” he said. “The power you had up there, it didn’t come from me. I just unlocked it. It’s all yours. All the good things you felt belong toyou.”
All of them?I wondered in horror, remembering how many of those feelings revolved around him. I refocused. “Why were you so angry with Archer after I spoke—right before you squeezed my hand?”
A muscle in his jaw feathered. “They knew you were under hypnosis, easily suggestable and vulnerable,” he said, his eyes darkening. “Archer intentionally tried to keep you from me afterward. He drew people toward me, made introductions, and then he left me with them and went straight to you. I didn’t like it.” His muscles tensed underneath his jacket. “And I certainly didn’t like that he touched you.”
My body surged with heat, responding to Wes’s intensity. “Because I was still hypnotized.”
Wes nodded. He was being protective. As my friend. My buddy. My comrade-in-arms in our cult investigations.
“Yeah, they were both coming on a bit strong. Classic love bombing,” I affirmed. “Do you think Archer and Jayne are dangerous? Or are they just out-of-touch swingers? I mean, we just listened to an entire class about safety and consent.”
Wes blew out a breath, shaking his head. “I don’t think we’re anywhere near the innermost layer of this place. Archer and Jayne are the tip of the iceberg.”
I thought about the room of masked men. How close weretheyto the inner circle?
“They’re only the faces of the cult,” I echoed.
“Yeah,” Wes said. “I think so.” He hesitated for a beat, seeming to struggle for the right words. “I worry about you in this place, especially after your speech. You know there are safer venues in the city to experiment with kink, right?”
I straightened my spine. “This wasn’t—isn’t—about kink.” When I heard approaching footsteps, I lowered my voice. “I may have been vulnerable when I was under the influence of your helpful mind control, but I’m not weak. I’m immune to cult tactics after what I went through in Tennessee, trust me. This is about finding my friend. If this place is as dangerous as you keep alluding to, thenshe’sthe one in the most danger right now, not me.”
I quickly recapped Lorelei’s PicWave stories and connected it to the pregnant women and Jayne’s fixation on a return to the primal. I didn’t know who Lorelei’s mystery man was, but he was clearly responsible for bringing her into The Circle. And Lorelei wasnotherself, in the most concerning of ways.
Wes listened; he didn’t poke holes in my worries or tell me to let Lorelei make her own choices like Hudson. He just listened.
“I don’t think you’re weak,” he said finally. “I think it’s admirable what you’re willing to do for your friend.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but he was still struggling to find the right words. “I need to know. What you shared in the nave… was it real?”
My heart picked up a few beats. I couldn’t escape Wes’s thoughtful, all-seeing eyes—the eyes that often seemed to see straight through me, right to my very core.
