It killed me to see my Bella thinking she was anything less than the woman I knew her to be. She was looking for an escape but was knocking on the wrong door.

I wasn’t willing to participate in her games, knowing she wasn’t herself. I refused to let her slip down her mother’s muddy slope, despite how repulsive I found her behavior to be.

Kendra was mine.

I fought for her, gave my life for her, and, in the process, she had stolen my heart.

Because of that, she would always be mine. No matter what—or who—tried to take her away from me.

Standing in front of the mirror, I remained hidden inside my walk-in closet. I straightened my collar, determined to forgo the noose of a tie. Not tonight. Not for this function. Certainly not for the inevitable conversation I had to have with Angel. No, I needed all the oxygen my brain could get.

I moved to the bedroom, taking a seat on the edge of my king. When I slipped my sock-covered feet into each shoe, I heard Kendra’s blow-dryer turn off.

Letting a deep sigh of frustration pass over my lips, I refused to get sucked into her growing depression. Instead, my thoughts drifted to how Stone’s offer to free me from Madam’s shackles caught me by complete surprise.

Running my hand through my hair, it was like he knew what I was facing—the ultimatum Madam had given Kendra and me. I couldn’t stop my mind from thinking that he knew as well as I did that Madam had lost her trust in me.

A sinking feeling in my stomach left me to debate the pros and cons.

Blake Stone was scum.

What he’d done to this city was unforgivable. He’d ruined hundreds of people’s lives, including those of my friends, Wes and Adrianna.

But if I could use his network of connections to first bring down Madam, then maybe I could turn the tide on him—chopping the heads off of both snakes before getting my own neck severed in the process.

Staring at the floor, wide-eyed, I knew his preliminary hearing must remain my focus, along with convincing Sylvia to trust me enough to turn herself in. The only problem being that I still didn’t have anything I could lure her in with.

I lifted my head when Kendra stepped out.

She managed to take my breath away with her appearance. Her eyes shined above her incredibly sexy, sweeping black dress. “My god, you look amazing.”

She ducked her head and blushed.

“Turn.” I bit my bottom lip. “I’d like to see the back.”

Pulling her hair over her shoulder, she turned.

The flair of her hips, accentuated her curves brilliantly. The blood left my head and traveled to my groin, leaving me lightheaded. The long sleeves covered her arms, giving more mystery to the side midriff cutouts and captivating opened back that had my head spinning.

Standing, I sauntered over to her, taking her into my hands. “You’re doing the right thing.”

There was pain hiding in the corners of her eyes. She’d brilliantly disguised it with her elegance. This was the Kendra I knew, the woman I was falling for. Sexy, sophisticated, smart, and irresistibly attractive.

Taking her face inside my hand, I brushed my thumb over her pink cheeks. “There is no room for pity or sorrow tonight.”

She held her chin high when she nodded. Her shoulders rolled back and I could feel her confidence radiating off of her when I smoothed my hands down her arms. She had just a touch of makeup on. It was such a dramatic difference from what she wore to see her parents that I couldn’t help but notice the contrast.

Watching her diamond earrings glitter beneath the dimmed recessed lighting, I thought how this was the woman I’d promised to protect. Not that girl in the tub professing to be damaged goods, feeling sorry for herself, wanting to be called a whore.

“Brush that fear aside.” I squeezed her hands and looked her in her eye. “Because, if you don’t, the sharks will smell blood in the water and come circling.”

She swallowed hard before saying, “When I’m with you, I have no fear.”

Holding eye contact, I searched for sincerity. When I was sure that she meant what she’d said, I led her outside.

Maxwell drove us across town. The mood was light. Conversation small. Kendra made me promise not to fuck her in any room at the party tonight, assuring me that she was back to feeling herself. “Depends.” I grinned. “If the party turns out to be a dud, then I’ll have no choice but to entertain myself.” I leaned over and kissed her.

We arrived at Angel’s mansion in the Hills to an onslaught of media frenzy.

Tension quickly tightened the air we breathed.

Directing Maxwell to drop us as close to the entrance as possible, I warned Kendra about the possibility of having the media swarm us like killer bees. When I took her hand, she visibly shook.

As soon as Maxwell opened my door, the cameras were already pointed in our faces. Bright flashes stole our vision and we had no choice but to step out and enter the lion’s den.

“Ms. Williams, how is it that you are still with Kelly after he was accused of being a monster?”

“Mr. Black, do you think Timothy Parker is responsible for Tonya’s death?”

“Kelly, do you know anything about these women’s deaths, and do you think that they’re the result of a serial killer?”

Threading my fingers through Kendra’s hand, we ducked our heads and kept our attention forward. Lifting my gaze past the lights, I caught the reporter from the other day watching me like a hawk. He had predatory eyes. I could only assume that he was affiliated with Sylvia and was planning his next move on Kendra.

Ignoring him, I swiped at the next long lens that found its way into my face.

The next step forward, a slender hand reached out and clamped a hold of my arm.

Turning around with wild eyes, I quickly relaxed when seeing it was only Julia Mabel.

Surprising me with her presence, it was great to see an ally—a friendly face—among the vultures. With one look over my shoulder to Kendra, I knew that something wasn’t quite right. “Kelly, before you go inside,” Julia’s eyes shifted from Kendra to me, “you need to know Angel isn’t going to be happy to see you brought Kendra to her party.”

“Then she shouldn’t have invited me.” I smirked as if it was no big deal.

Pulling back, she said, “Wes is inside with Kami.”

“Good.” I turned to lock eyes with Kendra. “That will make it easy for Angel to come to us.”

“And, Kelly.” Julia’s eyes rounded. “I’m here if you need anything.”

I reached out to touch her shoulder, thanking her for the offer. God knew that I would use her to counter the bad publicity with a bit of good and put my own spin on the story if things got any worse.

Tugging on Kendra’s hand and, despite her outward appearance, I could feel her palm beginning to sweat. “You’re doing great.” I smiled as we walked through an open front door.

“I learned from the best.” She squeezed my hand.

Familiar faces were among the crowd as soon as we entered. Together, we made our way to the ballroom on the west wing of the house where a man wearing a tuxedo neatly played the grand piano.

“It’s one of my favorites.” Kendra stepped closer to the instrument.

Sometimes I forgot how much I still didn’t know about her and I felt my shoulders relax as I watched Bella stare at the man’s fingers masterfully tapping the keys.

Smiling, we listened while watching the long shadows from the flickering candles dance across our faces. Soon, it was just us and the piano as the party happened around us. There was nothing in that moment that I would have changed. It was perfect—romantic, timeless.

“I was told you had arrived.”

The murmur of conversations around increased in volume as I snapped out of my dream. Turning, I found Angel smiling bright-eyed above a flute of bubbly.

“Our fame precedes us.” I greeted the evening’s host with air kisses to each cheek. Angel happily accepted my gesture but when she turned to Kendra, it was impossible to ignore their strained history shock the air between them.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Angel turned to face the piano.

“Love it,” Kendra said.

“A Steinway.” Angel smiled. “Original ivory keys and everything.”

“Should I ask how it found its way into your house?” My smile didn’t touch my eyes.

Angel turned with a friendly gaze. “Only if you promise to take me on as a client.”

Kendra giggled.

Angel looked to Kendra and asked, “Do you play?”

Kendra shook her head. “Not well.”

“Go. Sit next to Sam.” Angel raised her flute in the air, pointing toward the bench. “Tell him you’d like to watch him play.”

“That’s okay.” Kendra’s bangs swished across her forehead.

Angel’s eyes hardened. “I insist.” Then she called to Sam, telling him to teach Kendra a trick or two.

Leaning next to Kendra’s ear, I whispered, “It’s okay. I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Kendra looked to me to see if I was serious.

I nodded. “I need to talk with Angel. Alone.”

Kendra inched her way to Sam. He scooted over, making room for Kendra to sit next to him. His fingers continued to play, and soon Kendra’s body swayed back and forth, giving me the opportunity to go on the offensive.

“I know you were the one who called Parker from Sylvia’s apartment,” I said in a conversational tone.

Angel didn’t even flinch. Instead, she turned to me with a glimmer in her eye that made me think she was expecting this from me. “Where is Sylvia?”

My jaw locked.

She raised one sharp brow. “Oh, that’s right. You don’t know. Because she disappeared immediately around the time Tonya was killed.”

Feeling my heart slam against my chest, I narrowed my gaze.

“Now,” Angel stepped forward and lifted her pinky finger off her glass, “I don’t know about you, but I would say that makes her look like the guilty one.”

With my neck pulsing, I fought the urge to speak knowing silence was always the right medicine when waiting to learn what was truly on someone’s mind.

“Though her article was rather convincing.” Angel pulled back. “Did you have fun getting through the front doors?”

“Would you expect I wouldn’t?”

She glanced to Sam and Kendra, shrugging her shoulders. “I do believe,” she rolled her neck over to me, “if you didn’t present Parker with those damaging photos of him and Tonya that my friend would still be alive.”

Swallowing down the parched sandpaper in the back of my throat I stared at Kendra, suddenly realizing Angel was just like the rest of them. Manipulative, selfish, and greedy for fame and fortune—doing whatever it took to come out on top.

“So before you come into my house and accuse me of having a hand in Tonya’s early departure, maybe you should look at your own reflection and ask yourself if there was anything you could have done to prevent it from happening.” She lowered her voice and talked into my shoulder. “Because, the way I see it, not only are you at fault for Maria and Mario, but Tonya, too.”

With my eyes locked on the tip of her nose, I thought about the kill list and how Angel must have seen it the day she put that call in to Parker from Sylvia’s apartment. “What do you know about Mario?”

She rolled her eyes. “Black, you’re bad luck.” An uncomfortable laugh passed through her lips. “It follows you wherever you go.”

Leaning closer to her face, I felt my muscles jump when I asked again, “What do you know about Mario Jimenez?”

Averting her gaze, sudden feelings of guilt flushed her cheeks. With Mario’s autopsy report still being finalized, I wondered if she knew something that I didn’t. “Just that he killed himself because you didn’t do your job,” she snapped. “He was innocent and you let Sylvia get away with murder.”

“What are you talking about?” I feared that I had it all wrong and Sylvia wasn’t targeting Kendra, but had her sights set on Angel.

Telling me to follow her with a head nod, we found ourselves standing next to the wall on the other side of the piano. Diving her hand inside her bra, she pulled out her cell and proceeded to show me a series of images. “When did you start receiving these?” I asked.

She shook her head—all the blood drained from her face. “Just recently.”

Dropping my gaze back to the screen, I looked at them again. They were similar death threats to the ones Sylvia had received.

“I don’t know what you heard, or what little bird is chirping in your ear, but I was never in Sylvia’s apartment.”

Lifting my gaze, I let it land on Kendra. Seeing her still sitting next to Sam, I looked around expecting to see Oscar arrive. “You can understand why this is hard for me to believe.”

“Look, Kelly,” Angel’s puppy dog eyes pleaded with me, “Sylvia placed her name tag on me the night Maria was murdered. There was no conspiracy to assist her with murder then, and certainly not with Tonya now.”

“You knew Tonya.” I flicked my gaze back to her. “Why would anyone want to murder her?”

Angel sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Then what do you know?”

“I know Sylvia orchestrated the perfect distraction to get you to look toward Nash so the Madam could get information from Mario.” Her eyes danced with conviction. “Any idea what Mario knew that Madam would benefit from hearing?”

Holding her gaze, I kept my secrets closely guarded. “Do you know where Sylvia is?”

Angel caught sight of Wes and Kami making their way over to me. Before they arrived, she turned back and said, “Look, Tonya’s funeral is in a couple of days. If you have it in you, it would be nice if you showed your respects.”

“So you don’t know about Sylvia?”

“If I did, you’d be the first to know.” Angel spun around and quickly welcomed Wes and Kami to her party.

I stepped away from the wall, meeting Wes on the other side of the piano. “Amazing how she can keep a straight face, knowing she had a hand in getting Tonya killed.”

Wes kept his gaze on Kami, still socializing with Angel. “Is she the one working for Stone? Is that your theory?”

“Seems plausible.” I rubbed my hand over my mouth. “But it could just as easily be Sylvia.”

Wes glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Any closer to finding her?”

“I was hoping you’d been able to clear back the brush she was hiding in.”

Wes turned to me with his hands casually buried inside his pockets. “I overheard an interesting conversation tonight.”

“Is that right?”

Wes nodded. “Between the mayor and police chief.”

Intrigued, I stepped closer and quirked a brow. “And what made it interesting?”

“They kept name dropping Blake Stone and Mario Jimenez.” Wes’s neck visibly tensed.

Thinking that wasn’t so out of the ordinary, I shrugged. “So what?”

Wes’s eyes drifted back to his woman. “Apparently, the DA has shifted his focus from Mario to Sylvia.” Wes nodded.

Thinking of what Oscar shared with me earlier today at County, I was surprised by how quickly word had already spread.

Wes was quiet for a long time before he responded, “The investigation is getting too close to Mint.”

Swallowing down a hard truth, I couldn’t agree more. “I told you this would happen.”

“And every day that goes by that she hasn’t been brought in is pushing her further into a corner.” Wes kept his cool, but I could see his temple pulsing with anxiety. “And when she feels like there is no way out, she’ll write that story you warned me about.”

Lowering my brow, I stared at nothing in particular. “Everyone is convinced Stone used her to kill Maria Greer.”

“But my question to you, Kelly,” Wes turned this head to me, “is whether or not you believe it to be true, too?”

Shifting my feet on the floor, I was growing more nervous by the minute. The longer we went without finding Sylvia, the closer to the impending dangers we all became. “It certainly seems that way.”

“Kelly,” Wes inched closer, “you need to squash this story before the world learns Maria was killed at my club.”

My stomach hardened as I caught the mayor calling to me across the room. When I saw that Kendra was good, I told Wes I would keep him in the loop as the story developed. He wasn’t happy with my response, but it was the best I could offer.

Mayor Bentley shook my hand and smiled a friendly greeting as I approached. We small-talked and went through cordial formalities before he pulled me to the side and said, “Kelly, there is something about Oscar I think you need to know.”

Clenching my jaw, the drama never stopped.

“Oscar is up for re-election and he is willing to secure another term by any means possible.”

Thinking of how corrupt the district attorney’s office already was, I wasn’t at all surprised by what the mayor was suggesting. “Why are you telling me this?”

Looking over my shoulder, he dropped his voice and locked his gaze with mine. “You were Mario Jimenez’s acting attorney—”

With widening eyes, I wondered if this was what Sylvia wanted me to learn about Mario. There was more to his story than what was being said. While I had my guesses to who had him killed, I couldn’t wait to hear what the mayor had to say about him now.

“His death isn’t how it appears.” He frowned. “Keep this between us, but I’ve been told the cause could be foul play, and something tells me that Oscar might be involved.”