by C. J. Thomas
“Maybe for you.” Madam’s voice was stern through the line. “But I’m afraid what I have to ask can’t wait.”
My heart skipped a beat as I quickly forgot ever having run into my uncle at all.
“It has come to my attention that you’re still holding onto your last delivery.”
Confusion lined my brow. “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but the eagle is in the nest.”
“Don’t get cute with me,” Madam barked. “Where are you, dear?”
Pinching my bottom lip between my fingers, I didn’t have any desire to tell her where I was. “Why?”
“Don’t forget, sweetheart. The man standing next to you is a gift from me.”
I turned and looked at Kelly. He was watching me with perked ears.
“I’ve allowed you two to be together, and all I asked for in return was for you to run a couple errands for me.”
“And I’ve done just that,” I pleaded.
“This is a partnership; don’t you forget that.”
“I haven’t.”
“Now, tell me where you are before you make Madam angrier than she already is.”
Turning my back to Kelly, I covered my mouth with my hand and whispered my location. Then I hung up, hoping I hadn’t just made a big mistake in telling her where I was.
Hanging my head, I fought back the tears that threatened to spill.
Kelly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, drawing me into his chest.
I flinched, but soon melted into his shell, battling the sudden urge to hide. “Madam never received the package.” Kelly’s arms squeezed tighter. “Now she’s coming for me.”
“I’m here by your side. Don’t you forget that.”
I tipped my head back and looked into his compassionate eyes. “Kelly, you don’t understand. She’s threatening to take you away from me.”
He tipped my head back and stared into my eyes. “You know I’ll never let that happen.”
40
Kelly
Her body trembled no matter how hard I squeezed.
She twisted out of my grasp and threw her hands down to her sides. “You say that, but don’t make a promise you can’t keep.”
I was taken aback but I knew as much as she did that she was right.
“Kelly,” her voice weakened, “what the fuck am I supposed to do?”
Staring into her lovely eyes, I lowered my voice and said, “Let’s calm down.”
Her eyes grew wild with uncertainty and fear. “How the fuck do you expect me to calm down when Madam is coming for me?”
I reached out and set one hand on her shoulder. She was warm to the touch, her muscles tense with anger.
“She’s pissed, Kelly.” Her eyes danced with mine. “And she thinks I’m lying to her.”
I wrapped my fingers over both her shoulders and squeezed. “You delivered the package, didn’t you?”
She openly stared with a slack mouth. “I’m not lying.”
Leaning forward, I dropped my chin and looked at her from under my brow. “I didn’t say you were.” I took her soft face inside my hands and brushed my thumb over her cheek.
“I’m freaking out, Kelly.” She stepped away and pressed her hand to her forehead before spinning around on her heels. “I’m losing control of my life.”
Blowing out a heavy sigh, I lifted my gaze only to find a couple staring from the other side of the street. I wasn’t completely certain that we weren’t being stalked by the media, and I didn’t want to stay to find out. Glancing around, I searched for members of the media who would have loved to take a shot at Kendra losing her cool. And just because I didn’t find any didn’t mean that they weren’t there.
“How the hell does he keep managing to find me?” She pointed up the sidewalk where her uncle had disappeared. “And why didn’t Madam receive the package?”
“I don’t know,” I said, closing the gap between us. “But we shouldn’t stand here for too long.” I lowered my voice, feeling the number of eyes doubling with each additional minute we stayed.
“I’m afraid you were right.” Her eyes zig-zagged to the left, then to the right. “What if Sylvia played me?” She stopped to focus her gaze on me.
“We’ll get through this.” I stepped closer. “Together. Just like we always have.”
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Kendra stomped her foot three times on the pavement. “I made a mistake and I’m going to pay for it.”
My chest tightened, knowing that Kendra was thinking about how we believed Madam had a hand in Tonya’s death. But I wouldn’t let what happened to Tonya happen to her.
“But not before I lose all my money to my greedy parents.” Her face twisted as she fought back the urge to cry. I opened my arms and she fell against my chest, sliding her hands around my waist, clinging to me as if her life depended on it. “My life is falling apart,” she cried.
Suddenly I didn’t care who was watching. All that mattered was making Kendra feel safe, feel loved, and making certain that she understood how much she meant to me. Kissing her pulsing temple repeatedly I held her in my arms, confident in taking the fight to her uncle. But Madam remained a wild card I couldn’t predict.
Holding her in my arms, I kept peppering small kisses to the side of her head.
“Stay with me, Kelly.” Her lips brushed against my shirt.
“I’m not leaving you.” I cupped my hand to the back of her skull and pressed my lips firmly against her forehead again. “We’ll make this right. Your family won’t get a penny from you.”
She was quiet for a minute as she wiped her cheeks dry. When she pulled her head off my chest she looked up into my eyes and asked me straight up, “What about Madam? What will you do about her?”
I knew what I had planned for her. But that was the long game, and I knew that what Kendra needed to hear was a solution we could act on now.
But before I had time to answer, we both caught sight of Madam’s shiny black limousine rounding the street corner. Together, we stared like gawking tourists seeing their favorite celebrity for the first time. It glimmered under the hot sun and, the closer it got, the heavier Kendra leaned into me for support.
Not bothering to pull to the curb, it stopped in the middle of the street and, a second later, Jerome’s large body spilled out the opened door.
Keeping a firm hold on Kendra, I widened my stance and braced for impact.
Jerome sauntered over to us, pulling on his suit jacket before ironing his big hand down his skinny tie, straightening out the wrinkles. “Kendra, Madam would like to have a word.”
I pulled her body tighter against my chest.
Kendra tipped her head back and glanced up to me.
I gave her a subtle nod, and together we stepped toward the open back door.
Jerome extended his arm and let his hand hit my chest. Coming to an abrupt stop, he shook his head. “Not you. Only the girl.”
My brows pinched.
Girl? He’s got to be fucking joking. How could he not give her the respect of calling her by her own name? What was Madam up to?
Kendra threaded her fingers through mine. Tightening her grip, she pleaded with me to not break the promise I had just made.
“We came together.” I narrowed my eyes at Jerome. “We leave together.”
Jerome locked his elbow and shoved his weight into my chest. With my entire body tensing, I glared at him before fighting him off. Clenching onto my designer shirt, he fought me back. And just when things were about to get heated between us, Madam stuck her head out the door.
“Boys. Boys. Boys.” Her brows were raised. “Please. Not here. Not now.”
Holding on to Jerome’s thick wrist, I stared into his eyes when I said to Madam, “I’m coming with Kendra. Where she goes, I go.”
“Not today, Mr. Black.”
Flicking my disbelieving gaze over to her, Madam’s eyes rolled over to Kendra.
“Don’t you worry, Kelly, she’s in safe hands.” M
adam’s lips curled. “I can assure you that much.”
Jerome shook me, getting me to look back at him. His intense eyes were still locked on mine when Kendra stepped away from my side. “It’s okay, Kelly.”
“Jerome and I won’t let her out of our sight,” Madam continued. “Isn’t that right, Jerome?”
“That’s right.”
“Sweetie,” Madam turned to look at Kendra, “tell your boyfriend that you’ll be back to his place by nightfall.”
Kendra looked over her shoulder back at me but didn’t say anything.
“Now, move aside, Kelly, before you draw more attention to yourself than you already have,” Madam ordered.
Jerome pushed me back and shoved Kendra inside the limo.
I gritted my teeth, hating to see her being treated as if she wasn’t anything but a prized commodity.
“Now, Kelly, if I’m not mistaken, I think you have some work to be attending to yourself.” Madam batted her lashes. “Isn’t that right, honey?”
I glared as I watched her shut the door as the wheels began to roll.
Feeling helpless, I pulled out my cell and put a call in to Maxwell. He answered after the first ring. “Maxwell, I need you to do me a solid.” I told him where I was, what I was up to. “Catch up to her, and don’t take your eyes off Kendra for one second.”
“Everything all right, sir?”
“No.” My chest tightened, afraid Madam believed Kendra was expendable.
41
Kendra
Madam stared me down as we began driving away from my life with Kelly.
Inside, my stomach flipped and flopped. It felt like this was the beginning of the end. I didn’t know what to think or say to make the situation right. When I rolled my gaze over to Jerome, his look was even less reassuring than Madam’s.
An awkward and uncomfortable silence settled between us.
My fingers kept fidgeting in my lap. I hated that I had to leave Kelly behind. But I knew we had no choice but to part ways. It was for the best. There wasn’t any sense in fighting the inevitable. And I didn’t blame him for not trying harder to stop me from doing this alone. Because, in the end, we both knew who was in control of us. As much as I hated to admit it, Madam owned me and I had to do what she said above all else.
“You did the right thing, baby doll.” Madam’s chin angled to the side. “Your loyalty has been noted.” She glanced to Jerome. “Isn’t that right, Jerome?”
Without taking his eyes off me, he nodded.
I was nervous to know where we were going or how she was going to punish me. To take my mind off my growing anxiety, I studied her clothes.
Madam’s outfits always managed to make a statement, and today was no different. She was wearing a brightly colored blazer over a dark skirt with matching tanzanite earrings—the same ones she instructed I wear, and was wearing. But it was what dangled around her wrist that stole the show—a charm bracelet, the same one I had seen Tonya wearing.
“Where is the package, Kendra?”
My heart leaped in my throat as I jumped. Blinking, I brought my focus back to her eyes. “I already told you, I don’t have it.”
She arched a perfect brow. “Then tell me, who did you give it to?”
An empty feeling in the pit of my stomach kept my voice just above a whisper. “The person you told me to give it to.”
Madam looked to Jerome. He shook his head. And all I could think was that I had unknowingly made a huge mistake. And if it didn’t get sorted out, it would cost me.
“I swear,” I pleaded with round eyes. “You said your person was coming for me. He came for me.”
“It was a man?” Madam narrowed her eyes.
I swallowed. “Yes.”
Madam visibly sighed. “Honey, if you need more money you can just ask.”
My brows pinched. “What? No. I don’t need more money. My bank account is doing just fine, thanks.”
Madam held out her hand. “Then cough it up, sweetie.”
“Cough what up?” My eyes darted between her and Jerome.
“The money you owe me.”
Glancing to my purse, I knew I didn’t have close to enough for what I assumed was stuffed inside each delivery she forced me in to making.
“My dear, if you don’t give back what is mine, then Jerome here,” her eyes moved over to him, “will have to do whatever is necessary to get it back.”
Heat fanned across my chest. “What, like kill me like you did Tonya?” I barked, suddenly feeling threatened.
“Darling, I understand why you’re upset about her death.” Madam’s voice loosened. “I am, too. But this is business and you’re interrupting it.”
Shaking my head, a lump formed in my throat. I didn’t know the name of the man who’d come for the money. I had never seen him before in my life. And the fact that Madam was losing her cool had me worried about what she might do next to get me to confess.
“Like I said, your person came for me and I handed him the package. Just like the time before, and the times before that. I didn’t do anything differently.”
Madam eyed me suspiciously.
“I swear,” I said, telling her about the diner. Then I described what he looked like and how he knew exactly what I had. “And as soon as I handed it over, he relayed your message to me.”
Madam’s body tipped forward as she gave me a questioning look. “Honey, there was no other message. That was it.”
Frowning, I bit my lip. Glancing over Madam’s shoulder, I knew we were in the neighborhood of Kelly’s office.
“Tell me, dear, what was the message you received?”
Thinking back to that day, I said, “There was a second envelope with an address in Laguna Beach.”
Jerome leaned over and whispered something into Madam’s ear. Madam turned back to face me. “My dear, did you see Sylvia Neil?”
My lips snapped shut. I suddenly knew something wasn’t right. My heartrate spiked and I thought it might explode as my hands began to sweat. Madam didn’t need me to answer because I couldn’t hide the guilty look filling my face. She knew that I had and, suddenly, the entire mood in the car grew darker than before.
“She works for you, right?” I asked.
Rolling the partition down, Madam instructed the driver to drop me off at Kelly’s office.
“Madam.” I reached over and set my fingers on her knee. “Please tell me Sylvia works for you.”
Madam’s lips tightened as she shook her head. “I’m afraid this isn’t good for you.”
“Oh, shit.” I leaned back, pressing my palm flat on my head. “I can explain,” I protested.
“You already did.” Madam’s tone was clipped.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You did.” She couldn’t look me in the eye. “And it might have jeopardized my entire operation.”
42
Kelly
As soon as Madam’s limo disappeared around the corner, I spotted a long telephoto lens retracting back into a parked car.
They were everywhere.
Around corners and peeking from windows.
I cursed beneath my breath knowing I couldn’t escape these paparazzi assholes. And I feared they had seen everything. Kendra’s brush with her uncle, her meltdown, and my physical altercation with Jerome. They had seen everything. Including Madam’s face.
With no time to waste, I turned around and hurried back to my own car making sure to keep a close lookout for more surprises from the media.
Feeling paranoid, I suspected they were after more than just the story of me, Parker, and what happened to Tonya. If they kept digging, like I knew they would, it was only a matter of time before they found the real story I knew to be hiding beneath—Madam’s desire to take over what Blake Stone once controlled.
Keeping my head down, I brushed shoulders with an innocent pedestrian. He gave me a stern, unhappy look and I apologized.
Widening my stride, I passed the stores I
was supposed to be taking Kendra to. This was supposed to be our day. The day where we could forget everything and just concentrate on us. Because her concern was real. No matter what I said, it wasn’t going to change the fact that our contract with Madam was coming to an end.
I rounded the corner and headed into the dank parking garage. With my vehicle within sight, I lifted my key fob and listened to my car beep and unlock.
Maxwell should have been close to tailing Madam by now, and I hoped that he found the limo before Madam managed to disappear. I needed to know where Madam was taking Kendra and what she learned before she made a decision that would inevitably affect us both.
My stomach rolled over and I felt sick with worry.
I didn’t know how I’d lost so much control over my own decisions. Where I once had plenty of power, now I had barely enough. And it wasn’t only because I had fallen for Kendra and would do anything to make it right between us. There was more to it than just that. I had agreed to assist the Madam in her illegal operation and inadvertently gotten Kendra involved. That was what killed me most. Because, since that happened, everything started to unravel and I still hadn’t managed to get Stone to agree to meet with me.
Sliding behind the wheel, I synced up my Bluetooth and called Giselle.
“Kelly,” she answered right away. “I was just about to call you. I’m so glad you called.”
“Please tell me you have some good news.” My eyes closed as I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on.
“Parker turned himself in.” Her words were music to my ears.
I lifted my head and opened my eyes.
“Kelly, did hear what I said? Parker spoke with the detectives working Tonya’s case.”
“I heard you.”
“You don’t have anything to say?”
“That’s great.” My voice was barely a whisper.
“You don’t sound too enthused.”
“No, no.” I shook my head. “I am.”
“Then what is it?”
