by C. J. Thomas
Waving the pistol through the air, I moved to the window, then back to the bottle. The internal debate went back and forth, never releasing me from the reality that this was entirely my fault. The chain of events that led me into Madam’s employment were as real as Kendra being gone.
I was too caught up in escaping the pains of suddenly losing my family that I’d failed to realize Madam’s subtle manipulation to control me—the same tactics she used on Kendra.
But no longer.
This couldn’t go on.
Suddenly coming to a stop, I glanced to the glint of the gun. Pellets of sweat formed on my brow as I gripped the handle tighter. It was up to me. My chance for redemption. If I let another innocent woman die under my watch, then I didn’t deserve to live.
Turning back to the bottle, I smacked my lips with intense thirst for a past love I hadn’t enjoyed for years. My head was dizzy with memories, both good and bad. But when I thought about Maria Greer and how Madam managed to get Sylvia Neil to kill her, I knew I couldn’t do it—couldn’t risk the hours lost to a drunken haze.
My heart beat steadily as my worry extended beyond Kendra and over to Sylvia. She’d decided to go this alone. But what was her plan? And did she keep information from me pertaining to the murder of Patrick?
Narrowing my eyes, I began to tremble as I stared at the gun once again.
I felt like a fool for being played so easily.
I deserved to join them—die today at my own hand. Kendra was right. I was the common denominator in all of these deaths. Except Madam would win. Killing myself would be what she would want me to do, and I couldn’t let her have that triumph, too.
Snapping my arm up in the air, I pointed the muzzle at the bottle of bourbon, aimed on my target, and wrapped my finger around the trigger. Squeezing it back, a flash of fire ignited in front of me a split second before the bullet shattered the bottle.
The scent of oak and spice drifted through the air as I watched the liquid pour over the sides of my desk.
A feeling of relief swept over me.
Power swelled my chest and gave me the strength to lift my head higher.
Suddenly, I was hit with the realization of knowing what to do. It disgusted me that maybe Blake Stone was the one person who could lead me to victory. But Stone was right. He was my ticket to ending the misery Madam inflicted upon us all.
It was do or die, and the time to decide if I was going to live or not was now.
3
Kelly
Maxwell’s eyes lifted to the rearview mirror when my phone started to ring.
“I was wondering when I would hear from you,” I answered.
“I’ve seen the news,” Giselle said. “How’re you holding up?”
I flicked my gaze out the window. The city lights flashed across my vision in long dazzling streaks. “As good as you would expect.”
“I’m worried about you, Kelly.”
I swallowed down my misery and thought about how close I was to killing my years of sobriety. “Don’t be.”
“What the hell is going on, Kelly? The district attorney has offered Sylvia’s head on a plate.”
When I closed my eyes, my memory flashed back to everything that transpired over the previous forty-eight hours. I thought back to finding Bella hugging her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth in the dark corner of her apartment just moments after Oscar left her side. I could still feel my heart stop when Sylvia held the gun to both our heads and how we all saw the light in uniting against our common enemy—Madam. And I still jumped when hearing the bullet fire from Jerome’s gun and how close it came to striking me. There was a lot going on and I didn’t know exactly how to catch Giselle up on any of it.
“Kelly?” Her voice broke through the silence.
“Kendra is gone,” I said.
“What?”
My heart slowed to a crawl. “Madam took her.”
“Shit.”
I closed my eyes and hung my head. “I let it happen. There was nothing I could do.”
Giselle paused as if needing a moment to digest the fact that I had let Kendra get away from me. Then she asked, “What about Sylvia?”
Forcing my heavy lids open, I said, “It wasn’t her—Sylvia didn’t kill Tonya.”
“Then who?”
“Angel was behind it.”
There was a swooshing sound coming through the line and I imagined Giselle running her fingers through her long hair. “Do I dare ask how you found all this out?”
“Angel spoke with me at Tonya’s funeral.” I relayed the rest of what Angel revealed. Giselle listened intently, asking few questions between me telling her how Angel targeted Tonya to send a message to Madam for what she and Oscar did to get Mario to talk. Then I told her how Sylvia helped uncover the truth of Kendra’s inheritance fraud lawsuit and how it was payback for Kendra giving away Madam’s drug money to Sylvia.
“Why am I not surprised?” Giselle sighed.
“And, get this. Kendra’s uncle—” I paused to wet my lips, “—has Kendra working for Madam to pay down his debt to her.”
“The woman is an octopus,” Giselle said, referring to Madam.
“Sticky tentacles that play us all like puppets.”
“Angel, what a two-faced bitch.” Her tone firmed into ragged anger. “I knew her and Stone were working together.”
“Yeah.” Maxwell exited off the highway and slowed as he turned onto a side street.
I thought back to Angel’s gala the other night, wanting to smile when seeing Kendra play the piano with Sam. Instead, my lips frowned when remembering how I found Kendra in the restroom with cocaine residue on the counter. And my hand balled into a fist when remembering how reporter Rob Jones seemed to be threatening me with information about my life he knew and others didn’t. It was clear Madam’s business was escalating to new heights. Though she’d kicked me out, I wasn’t free from getting caught up in the implications of past wrongs that could still come back to haunt me.
“This is insane, Kelly. How can we trust Angel?”
“Simple, I believed what they said.”
“They?”
Flicking my gaze to the front, I said, “He’s on our side now.”
“Kelly…” Giselle’s voice fell flat.
“That’s right. Blake Stone is working with us now.”
I heard Giselle’s mouth snap shut. “Are you sure about this, Kelly? I mean, he was our original problem. Where this journey first began.”
My brows drew together. “And he’s how we’re going to end it.”
Maxwell pulled up to Wesley Reid’s gate and rolled down his window to speak with security. I listened as he requested to be let inside. A second later, the gate lifted and we were driving up to Wes’s sprawling mansion in Hollywood Hills.
“Then tell me where to start.”
“He’ll know exactly where to hit Madam the hardest.”
“And what about Sylvia?”
“She’s on her own.” I watched Wes’s glowing house grow larger as we approached. “Oscar is hunting her down and, when he catches her, he’ll silence her truth by charging her with both Maria and Mario’s murders. The only way we can stop this is if we get to Oscar first.”
“What can I do?”
“I’m meeting with Wes and Adrianna now. I need to know how bad this will get for Kendra now that I’m out of the way. We’ll need to find out where she is and how we can get her out safely.”
“I’ll put eyes on Madam.”
“No. Leave that up to me. I’d rather have you look into something Sylvia said.” Giselle agreed. “She mentioned the money she took from Madam was part of an investigation. We need to know what investigation she’s referring to. I have a feeling she’s working with someone, and we need to know who. That will tell us what angle she’s working to get to Madam.”
“You got it. But if we don’t know where Sylvia is—”
“—then you find Oscar. Sylvia won’t be too far behind. She’s wai
ting for him to slip up first.”
“You can count on me.”
“I know it’s late—”
“—Kelly, you need to get Kendra back. If you don’t—”
“—I know.” Madam will kill her.
4
Kendra
Oscar’s wrinkled fingers clamped around the young hostess’s wrist. He pulled her down close to his face and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle.
Folding my arms over my waist, I turned my head away and wondered why no bill had come.
Feeling a bit drowsy after the meal, there was no denying how delicious it was. That was something to be thankful for. It had led to easy conversation to get us through the meal without having to think too much into why he had me here in the first place.
The woman giggled again and I flicked my gaze back to their flirting.
I knew our date was nothing more than payback for what Kelly knew. Oscar had been after him from the beginning. I was convinced he was only into me because Kelly had me first. This was his way to control Kelly’s next move and to keep me from doing something that I shouldn’t. But what I couldn’t decide was if I should play his game or inflict so much friction that he gave up on me completely. Both were risky moves but when it came down to making a decision, Oscar wasn’t the one I should be worried about.
Finally, Oscar let her go with a playful grin curling his lips. She reached for my glass, her eyes sparkling above pink cheeks as she met my gaze. She filled my glass with more red wine and as soon as she left I brought my elbows to the table and directed my attention back to my date.
“You have a way with women,” I said.
He straightened his jacket and chuckled. “There is no harm in friendly conversation.”
“I suppose not. But to do it in front of your date?”
One of his brows slanted as he glanced at me sideways.
“Relax. I’m only teasing.” I batted my lashes, smiling. “Despite the cold start, the evening has been lovely.”
Oscar bit the edge of his lip. He was so easily charmed it was pathetic.
“You know,” I twirled my hair around one finger as I spoke, “since coming to work with Madam, I have had the pleasure of several men’s company.” I paused to gauge his response. He held his breath and waited to see what I was going to say next. I lay the flirt on hard. “But only two have been as memorable as this.”
Oscar reached for his glass and sipped off the top.
My eyes glimmered. “Would you like to know who the other two are?”
He cast his gaze to the table in front of him and chuckled. “I can imagine.”
Clearly enjoying the flattery, I said, “Then tell me about your wife.”
He leaned back, keeping one set of fingers close to the base of his glass. “Ex-wife.”
“Was it the job that destroyed your relationship?”
He chuckled and shifted the conversation back to me. “Have you noticed how we have the restaurant to ourselves tonight?”
Disguising the sudden wrench cranking my stomach tight, I smiled. “Is that what is different tonight?”
“Does it make you nervous?” His voice floated over to me in a soft melody.
“Look around, Ms. Williams. What do you think people would say if they saw you with me after being so publicly attached to Kelly?”
My gaze naturally spun to his two security guards, still staring at us from beneath their cropped hair. Rolling my neck back to Oscar, I said, “That you like loose and easy.”
He laughed. “You have quite the mouth.”
“So I’ve been told.” My brow sharpened its arch proudly.
Leaning forward, the DA narrowed his dark gaze. “I’d ask you if it was Kelly who made you believe you’re a slut, but we both know that it was your uncle.”
My eyes widened a fraction as I did my best to swallow down the fear bubbling up inside my chest. Gathering whatever courage I had left in my broken and damaged spirit, I tipped forward and said, “Some things we are born with, other things are just meant to be.”
“Yes,” a knowing glimmer caught his eye, “but it must hurt to know that you’re having to escort because of the mistakes he made.”
My hand started to shake as he stared into the depths of my thoughts. Hiding it under the table, I was scared to know how he knew what Sylvia had just revealed to me. Once again, it proved there were too many suspicious players surrounding me to keep up with. I couldn’t possibly know who to trust and what secret was going to come out next.
Men paid handsomely for my company.
Kelly was the only one who I opened my legs for.
But every transaction paid down a debt my uncle owed.
“I’m not here for him,” I growled, suddenly feeling dizzy.
“Say what you will,” Oscar finished his wine, “but we both know that you’re not doing this for Alex, but to hide from your past.”
Tucking my elbows into my sides, I pulled my limbs to my core. I was at a loss of words. A quick flick of his eyes accompanied his words. “It’s time to get going.”
“Yes, the night is getting late,” I responded, relieved to be getting back to Jerome.
His hand engulfed mine as he pulled me to my feet. He bent his elbow and I hooked my arm through the crook of his. Walking me out, my legs threatened to give. Oscar was my crutch and when he made a turn for the back, I gently tugged and said, “My ride is waiting out front.”
Stepping in front of me, he took me by the shoulders and smoothed his hands down my arms. “No, princess. Our ride is waiting for us out back.”
My breath hitched.
His brows raised. “I’m not finished with you yet.”
5
Kendra
“Get in.” Oscar held the door open to the back of a dark, tinted-window SUV, nudging me forward.
My heart raced, suddenly finding myself cornered with no way out. “Where are we going?”
His lips curled into a grin. “To get what I paid for.”
“Kelly knows where am. He’s not the only one.” My mind tried to think of an excuse he would believe. “If you try to do anything—”
Laughing, Oscar pulled me closer. Hovering over me, he dug his fingertips into the soft flesh of my hips. His minty breath clung to my exposed flesh like sticky humidity that made my skin crawl. “Then I guess I’ll just have to take your phone away from you.”
Gripping my clutch tighter, I glanced to the driver quietly sitting behind the wheel, listening to everything we said. I wondered if he was paid by Oscar or if he was employed by the city. Not that it mattered. Clearly, Oscar had made arrangements beforehand and could say—and getaway with—anything tonight.
“It’s too late,” I said. “Taking it away from me now won’t do you any good.”
My chest deflated, knowing my words weren’t convincing enough to instill fear inside someone as powerful as him. Even if I went missing tonight, only Oscar, Jerome, Madam, and the few restaurant staff would have seen me with him. All of whom could be persuaded to corroborate a version of the truth if suddenly I disappeared.
“It’s a distraction, and, let’s be honest,” he squeezed my arms tighter, “Madam should have never allowed you to keep it in the first place.”
He angled his head sideways and, without warning, lunged for my clutch. Reacting equally as I quickly, I bent at the waist and hugged it to my chest. It was my lifeline to the outside world.
“Give it to me,” he growled.
Twisting my arms open, he yanked my clutch from my grasp and locked his elbow, keeping me an arm’s length away. Within seconds, he had my phone out and turned off before sliding it into his front pocket. “There. Now, there is nothing to be distracted by.”
I worked to catch my breath as I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked around. I flinched when he snaked his arm around my waist and brushed his lips over my cheek.
“Now, get inside,” he said.
I stared into his unforgi
ving eyes, knowing this wasn’t going to end well. Turning to the vehicle, I climbed inside and scooted to the far end of the bench. Oscar followed close behind and shut the door. The driver took the car out of park and began driving. Hugging my arms over my mid-section, I glared at Oscar.
He stared back, a knowing glimmer lighting up his eye. He knew he had the upper hand and I feared what he and Madam had planned for me. Finally, he said with a smile, “Kelly made you weak.”
The muscles in my legs and arms jumped into action. “I think he would disagree.”
His grin sharpened. Reaching for my leg, I slapped his hand away. “I like a woman who plays hard to get.”
The hair raised on the back of my neck as I tapped my heel. I watched him unbuckle his seatbelt and move to me. Settling the weight of his body up next to me, he slung one arm over my shoulders and put his free hand on my thigh once again, stopping me this time from slapping it away. “I believe Madam instructed Mr. Black to teach you obedience.”
“And you can see how well that worked out.”
“Yes,” he squeezed tighter and pushed his hand higher, “you will need more training. There is no doubt about that.” He lowered his head and sucked my earlobe between his teeth.
Without thinking, I glanced to the promise ring Kelly had gifted me and stared at it as if praying for it to give me the courage to come out of tonight alive. When Oscar pulled back, he followed my gaze and it didn’t take him long to know that I was staring at the black diamond glimmering beneath the moonlight.
Peeling my fingers away from my body, he held them inside his hand. Shifting the ring’s angle, he studied it for a minute before saying, “He really did convince you that he loved you, didn’t he?”
Feeling my swelling pulse throb in my ears, I knew that I needed to play along—give him just enough of what he wanted and hope that my stamina to resist was greater than his to pursue.
“Madam is a Tanzanite girl.” Oscar smiled. “Kelly, he likes his diamonds black.”
