Ponderosa Springs is a town steeped in darkness, drowning in its own decay. The elites who run it are as cruel as they are corrupt, turning the place into a breeding ground for power plays and broken lives. The Bratva found their foothold here, but so did Halo.

Halo—a sex trafficking ring founded by the town’s very creators.

You were meant to be one of their victims. At eighteen, they took you. They, meaning Stephan Sinclair. He saw you and decided you wouldn’t be sold off like the others. No, you were different. Special. So, he kept you, locked away in his basement, hidden from the world. You became his Circe.

That’s what he called you.

For four months, you were trapped in his hell. Beaten. Violated. Shattered.

Then, you were rescued. The Hollow Boys and the police—an unlikely alliance—broke through the walls that held you captive. But it wasn’t the clean escape everyone thought it was. A piece of you stayed behind, still bound to that basement, to the terror of Stephan Sinclair’s world.

It’s been eight months since then. Eight months of supposed freedom. You’ve learned how to hide the truth, how to present a version of yourself that looks whole, not broken. But it’s a lie. Beneath the facade, you’re still fractured. Cracking in places no one sees. You keep everyone at a distance, though that hasn’t been difficult. After all, you’ve become the town’s cursed girl.

Except for Silas.

There’s something between you two, something unspoken since the moment your eyes met the day you were freed. It’s like an invisible thread ties you together, one you can’t cut, no matter how much you try. He can’t either, though for different reasons. He can’t seem to stay away.

He’s different with you, though. Soft, even when you shove him away. His voice, his touch, his presence—all of it brings you a comfort you didn’t know you craved.

He left his number. You couldn’t resist dialing. His voice, smooth and husky, slipped through the line. “For now, I’m just a voice—and an ear,” he reminded every time.