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"Okay," he said, smiling now. "Let's do this."

Chapter 24. Sawyer

I watched JJ's perfect plan unravel right in front of me, and the worst part was that he'd told me about it beforehand.

Not every detail. Not enough for me to know exactly what he was planning. But enough that I'd already warned him. Enough that I'd made him promise Max had actually consented, that nobody was going to be surprised with anything they hadn't agreed to, that Dominic would be asked separately.

And somehow I'd still spent the whole night with this knot in my stomach. Maybe because if there was one thing JJ wasn't good at, it was going slow.

The Hearth had that dark, electric Halloween atmosphere that night, everyone in costume, the orange lighting stronger than usual and throwing strange shadows across the walls covered in fake webs. The music had a darker undertone than the usual pop, something heavy and instrumental that gave the whole place an almost horror-movie feel, and the sweet chemical smell of the fog machine mixed with pumpkin and cinnamon from somewhere near the food tables. Battery candles flickered across the heavy oak tables, making the whole club look warm and eerie at the same time.

It was beautiful, but there was a different energy in the air too. More people than usual. More faces I didn't recognize. The Halloween event had brought out some of the newer members from the open house, and that alone kept me slightly on edge, the feeling sitting low in my stomach without me knowing exactly what to do with it.

JJ was across the room with Bella.

I was standing beside Daddy because they hadn't brought the video-game setup out for Halloween. The main room was packed with scheduled scenes and events instead — candy for the littles, costume contests, whatever the hell "punishment hour" was supposed to become later. Jeffrey was nearby, along with Elizabeth, Cris — Gustav's Daddy — and a few other regulars.

I watched JJ talking to Bella with that typical enthusiasm of his, hands moving almost as fast as his mouth. Bella listened with her head tilted, smiling sometimes, but she didn't look swept up in his energy. Every so often she stopped him, said something, and waited until he answered before letting him continue.

That made me feel a little better. Then Max joined them.

The three of them stood together for a long time.

Long enough that I realized Bella really was negotiating with him, exactly like JJ had promised. She wasn't rushing. She showed Max something in her hand — a blindfold, I thought — and he touched it, then shook his head at something she asked. Bella nodded immediately and put it aside. She showed him a flogger next. Max touched the falls between his fingers while she talked.

JJ barely said anything. That surprised me more than anything. He stood beside them practically vibrating, but he let Bella and Max handle the conversation themselves. At one point Bella gestured toward one of the private rooms. Then toward the little stage in the center of the main space.

Max hesitated. I saw it from across the room. He looked at the stage, then at JJ. JJ smiled at him. Not pushing, exactly. Just excited. Max looked back at Bella. Then he nodded toward the stage.

My stomach tightened.

Maybe I was being unfair. Max was an adult. Bella had talked to him herself. He'd apparently chosen the stage. Gustav had screened Bella before she'd ever been allowed through the door, and she had more professional experience than half the people in that room.

Maybe everything really was fine. Still. I looked at Daddy. He was watching too.

"You worried?" he asked quietly.

"A little."

"About Bella?"

I shook my head. "Max."

Daddy watched the three of them for another moment.

"Keep watching," he said. I nodded.

Bella took Max onto the stage a few minutes later. Nobody dragged him. Nobody pulled him along. He walked beside her himself, still nervous but smiling when JJ gave him an encouraging little fist pump from the edge of the crowd.

I almost laughed at that. Of course JJ had to make himself part of it somehow.

There was a sturdy wooden chair positioned in the center of the stage. Max sat when Bella gestured to it, and she crouched in front of him before doing anything else. I couldn't hear the words over the music, but I saw her speaking directly to him, saw Max answer.

She held up rope. He nodded. She touched one wrist. Waited. Another nod. Only then did she begin. That should have made me relax. Instead, the knot in my stomach stayed exactly where it was.

Bella tied his wrists to the chair arms loosely enough that I could see space between the rope and his skin, checking each one before moving to his ankles. She never stopped talking to him. Max kept answering.

Once she was done, she leaned close to say something to him. Max smiled. Then Bella stepped back and picked up the microphone.