He shook his head, hazel eyes churning darkness. “I’m afraid to know the answer to that question.” He glanced at my crossbody purse.
“You don’t think…” I pulled out my phone. “No. That’s not possible. They don’t have that kind of access just because they have money.”
Wes frowned and looked away, one of his hands balled into a fist. “I wish—” He cut himself off, shaking his head.
“What?” I asked. “What do you wish?”
His eyes burned into mine. “A lot of things, Nova. I want a lot of fucking things.”
The train doors opened. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until Wes spoke again.
“That’s always been my biggest problem,” he laughed bitterly. “But we can’t have everything we want, can we?”
I held and matched the intensity of his gaze. Even as my throat burned, the train lurched, and my legs suddenly felt shaky, I didn’t look away.
“I don’t want you to go to the party,” he said.
I scoffed. “Well I guess that’s going to have to beone of the things you can’t have.”
We passed under the East River in a tense standoff, drawing a few glances from other passengers. The thing about New Yorkers that the rest of the country didn’t understand was thatyes, we ignored most situations most of the time, but the moment someone needed help, the defensive ice shattered and everyone stepped up.
Wes and I didn’t need intervention. I slowly reached for the invitation—my invitation—he was holding. He didn’t stop me when I took it from his grip.
With my fierce look, I traced the tension in his sharp jaw, the hardened planes of his face. When my eyes met his again, his gaze softened. Something in him had deflated with cool resignation.
Our words lingered in the air between us. I wanted to ask for more. I wanted to ask him about his past, his fears, his feelings.
But when we reached Lorimer, I hadn’t said a thing.
We walked together—him toward the G platform and me toward the exit.
When we reached the point where we’d have to separate, he pulled me away from the foot traffic with a broad hand on my waist. “Text me when you get home safely,” he ordered softly.
“Fine,” I said, an edge to my tone.
Wes’s smile at my bratty acquiescence was dark. It drew the interest of my body, the one that couldn’t help but angle toward his. My nerves were sensitive, mapping everywhere he’d touched tonight.
He opened his mouth to say something—something I suspected I was desperate to hear, the climax to weeks of orchestral edging.
A muscle in his tattooed neck pulsed, but the tension never broke. The words he withheld dried up and blew out of reach. That dark smile didn’t fully fade, not even when he took a few steps back, shook his head, and walked away.
How the hell had The Circle found us? Through my phone? Through law enforcement technology they shouldn’t have access to? There was no way they had that kind of power.
However I could conceive of the feat, it was a terrifying display of influence that extended far beyond the corruption of wealth itself.
Unless, of course, Wes had simply told them where we’d be ahead of time.
That was actually the simplest answer—Occam’s razor in action. But that would mean Wes was not only a terrifyinglyskilled liar and actor, but also a part of the inner circle he seemed desperate to keep me away from.
And I refused to believe something like that about him. I couldn’t.
I shut my eyes and pulled my knees to my chest in my desk chair, desperately trying to rid my mind of the paranoias from my past. I knew far too well what men in power were capable of. There was a reason I stayed the hell away from what I desired most—dominant men.
But Wes… Wes felt different. He had from the beginning.
I opened my eyes. My sales dashboard was doing nothing to lift my mood. I’d spent the day doing admin and marketing tasks like creating graphics and videos for my various social media accounts. I was basically screamingplease buy my booksinto the void with every teaser. It all made me feel pathetic and desperate.
Iwasdesperate. I’d been living off chicken, rice, beans, and ramen all week just to make up for the sales dip. Luckily, an editing booking was coming my way this week, so I wouldn’t fall behind on this month’s bills.
