Kendra woke to find me already dressed. “Kelly, where are you going?”

Stepping out from the closet, I grinned at her cuteness. The way her sleepy eyes struggled to adjust to the glow of the sun was enough to break a man. Moving into the light, the glow of morning fought to break through the curtains. Her beauty pulled me closer as I finished with the last of my shirt buttons. Lowering myself onto the bed, I said, “I won’t be long.”

Kendra didn’t smile but her cheeks glowed pink with that after-sex look I loved so much. Reaching for my hand, she asked, “What are we going to do about Sylvia?”

My eyes fell from her gaze as I raked over her naked body loosely wrapped inside my bed sheets. “I need to discuss our situation with the district attorney’s office.”

Her eyes never lifted from our hands as I watched her brow wrinkle.

Leaning over, I kissed her softly.

Her lips were swollen and moist and made it that much harder to leave. But I had to go. Had to do this alone. I didn’t want her to have to hear what I had to say, feeling the need to shelter her from even the littlest bit of harm. “Maxwell is here.”

Her eyes flickered up and met with mine.

“He’ll keep an eye on you.”

She nodded, but her expression was tight and not fully committed to the idea of me leaving her behind.

My voice lowered into a husky breath. “You’re safest with one of us.”

“Kelly,” her gaze fell back to her fingers threading in and out of mine, “I can’t just ignore the papers my parents’ lawyer wrote up.”

I understood her stress, the need to clear everything now. But with Sylvia already on the run and Madam’s clock ticking down, we had bigger problems to solve first. Though I couldn’t tell her that. “Don’t worry, Bella.” I pressed the palm of my hand to the side of her face. “I’ll take care of it.”

Her eyelids hooded. “How? You have enough on your plate already.”

“Nothing new.” I smiled.

She stretched her legs straight and turned her head toward the window. “Alex will be wondering about me.” She rolled her gaze back to me. “I promised to see her today.”

I remembered. Heard it all last night when leaving Mint. “Take Maxwell. Visit with your friend. And let me handle Sylvia.”

She pulled me down for a small kiss. “Thank you,” she murmured.

Pulling back, my eyes darted between hers. “And don’t answer any questions by the media.”

Kendra grabbed tightly onto my arm as I watched the whites of her eyes grow with fear. “You think they’ll be looking for me?”

With a flexed stomach, I swallowed down my chest pain and said, “I’d be surprised if they didn’t.”

Kissing her goodbye, I stood and told her to call if anything came up. “Make sure you keep your phone charged,” she reminded me.

I chuckled and left the room.

Several minutes passed before I was sliding behind the wheel of my Audi TT. I drove aggressively but stayed in my lane, not needing to rush. Soon my thoughts weighed heavily on my mind.

I was afraid of how Kendra would handle the growing pressure as we got closer to our deadline with Madam. Especially if we couldn’t find Sylvia soon. She had wanted me to end her contract with Madam, but not like this. Kendra needed the happy ending, and so did I. It killed me to have to leave her, but I knew she was in good hands with Maxwell. But that still didn’t stop me from thinking that another murder was imminent—because something inside me believed it was. Before I knew it, I was parked and stepping outside, ready to meet with Oscar.

I entered the downtown building and went through security. Retrieving my belongings on the other side of the x-ray and pat-down, a uniformed officer happily agreed to escort me the rest of the way.

I heard Giselle laugh before I was inside the office. Turning the corner, I showed my face and Oscar smiled when he saw me. Waving me inside, he said, “Kelly, join us. Giselle was just telling me about an old case you two worked.”

Stepping into his office, I heard the boots of my escort clack back to where we’d started. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but something felt off. Maybe it was how it looked like Oscar had tied his tie too tight, making his face purple. Or perhaps it was just that I hated having to convince him to help work a deal. Either way, when I glanced at Giselle, her eyes were entirely too sparkly for me to feel completely comfortable with what might have been said before my arrival.

Oscar started laughing again. “Three men actually snorted the ash of the woman’s late husband thinking it was cocaine?”

Thinking back to the case he was referring to, I remembered it well. Smiling, I nodded. “And they wondered why they didn’t get high.”

Oscar’s belly-busting laugh shook the walls.

Giselle looked to me and we all started laughing.

She did well easing the tension, knowing that it would make my job easier when I would be forced to discuss something more serious. And I could tell that they hadn’t even come close to beginning to talk business.

Settling in my seat, I thought how only yesterday Oscar was interrogating suspects for Tonya’s murder, deciding who to let go, who to protect, and who to keep for further questioning. Whether it was Timothy Parker or Angelina Davis, the jury was still out to decide.

“Any final word on Mario Jimenez’s death?” I asked, having no time to waste.

Oscar rubbed the smile off his face and shifted his weight around his chair. “Hung himself.”

I lifted one brow and continued to stare at the DA.

“The man was suicidal about having to face life in prison.” He shook his head. “And the world is a better place without him in it.” The crinkles at the corners of his eyes grew when he glanced to Giselle. But when he flicked them back to me, he could see I wasn’t fully convinced. “I guess you didn’t discuss it with Stone?”

“We’re here today because I need your help.”

Oscar leaned forward and showed me his palms. “I’m delighted, Kelly. But, truthfully, I was hoping to hear more about Stone.”

“And I need you to help me find Sylvia Neil.” I leaned to my side and dug out the files of evidence Giselle and I had put together to prove Sylvia’s involvement in the death of Maria Greer. Sliding them across his desk, I said, “I’ve already sent a copy to the lead detective. I expect you to get this signed off by the judge and get her brought in ASAP.”

“I’m one step ahead of you.” He looked at me from beneath his brow.

My eyebrows drew together.

“Captain assured me my detectives are already on this,” he said while flipping through the paperwork I’d provided.

“Because you think that was Sylvia on the recording?”

“I don’t think,” he barked. “I know it was.”

Not wanting to press the matter, at this point I didn’t care how I was going to find Sylvia. She just needed to be found. And with me, Wes, and now Oscar all looking for her, my chances of bringing her in were increasing by the minute.

Except I couldn’t stop myself from looking ahead and thinking about possible collateral damage. Then it hit me. I wondered if he already had Sylvia in custody. He never said, and certainly wouldn’t tell me if he did, just feeding enough information to know that the department was aware of Sylvia’s potential involvement in a number of different crimes.

“So, you don’t know where she is?” I asked.

“I’ll be sure to call you as soon as my office officially presses charges.”

I nodded, accepting it as a temporary win, but it did little to give Mario the justice he deserved.

“But there is something else I think you might benefit from seeing.” Oscar stood and excused himself from the room, saying he would be only a minute.

As soon as he was gone, Giselle spun in her seat and asked in a hushed tone, “Why is he going after Sylvia when he had Mario pegged for Maria’s murder?”

“He’s going to pin her for both Maria and Mario’s murders.”

Giselle shook her head with questions rolling between her ears.

“He needs a conviction for both crimes now that his re-election campaign is approaching.”

“But I thought you said Angel’s voice was on the recording to Parker?”

I nodded. “Did you learn why Sylvia had Drake’s name in her apartment?”

Giselle shook her head.

“I’m going back to Sylvia’s apartment.”

Giselle glanced to the door. “It’s too risky, Kelly.”

“But something doesn’t smell right about this,” I said, pointing to the door. “It’s all too easy.”

“Except no one knows where Sylvia is.” Giselle leaned back, keeping her unwavering gaze locked with mine. “What can I do to help?”

“See if you can talk with Angel. Ask where she was during the time Parker received that call.” Then I reached back down to my briefcase. “But, first, I need you to help me with this.”

“What’s this?” Giselle’s eyes fell to the papers.

“Kendra’s parents are coming after her for inheritance fraud.”

Giselle was already diving into the details when Oscar came back into his office. Giselle tucked the papers away and Oscar sat behind his desk. “Kelly, I need to warn you, your name was brought up this morning as a possible target—”

“Target?” Giselle questioned.

“A bounty on his head.” Oscar’s eyes sank further into his skull.

There was no need for him to explain. I knew what he was saying, and so did Giselle—even if she was playing dumb. We’d both seen the kill list Sylvia had in her apartment. Oscar’s added security for visitors coming to his office told me he knew his name was included on that list.

“Does this have anything to do with Sylvia?” Giselle played ignorant.

The DA shrugged. “She’s already killed two and the department still isn’t sure if she’s acting alone or has an accomplice. Either way, with what she’s facing when we do catch her, she has very little to lose.”

“One.” I held up a finger as I stood. “Sylvia has killed one person.”

Oscar shook his head. “I’ve cleared Angelina Davis, and the detectives have narrowed the suspect list down to two—Parker and Sylvia.”

Standing, I now knew Angel wasn’t being held for further questioning.

Turning toward the door, Oscar said, “And Kelly—”

Giselle and I both turned to look. “Just because we’re swapping notes on Sylvia, doesn’t make us friends.” He smirked. “I’m still planning to slaughter you in the Blake Stone trial.”