My brows drew together as I listened to Kendra’s message.

I breathed heavily through my nose as I pulled my cell away from my ear upon seeing Maxwell pull the SUV to the curb. It hadn’t been more than a half-hour since I’d seen Kendra, and she was already experiencing doubts.

Reaching for the door handle, I opened the passenger door before Maxwell had time to completely stop the vehicle. “She’s not doing well, Kelly,” he said.

I turned my head and pursed my lips.

“She was asking about Nora.”

I rolled my eyes back to Maxwell and arched a brow.

“Kendra is struggling to believe that you care enough to protect her.” Maxwell’s expression hardened. “And, quite frankly, so am I.”

I held Maxwell’s stare, thinking of the secret Madam had on me. It wasn’t just my relationship with Kendra that was being threatened, it was my career, too. My affiliation with Madam was coming to an end. I could feel the tension between us building, but I was yet to decide the amount of risk I was willing to take.

When I looked back up the street, I blew out a hot breath of air wondering where Madam was. Our deadline to capture Sylvia had expired. With it, she’d cut our 30-day contract short. Madam should have been here by now, reminding us that we were bought and controlled by her.

Yet, she wasn’t. That fact alone kept my stomach feeling unsettled.

“Sir, I think you should go after her.” Maxwell’s firm voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

When I thought about what Kendra had said to me before she left, I said, “Let her go.”

Maxwell looked at me funny when I shut the passenger door and hopped in the back seat. “Take me to Mojito.”

I needed to set things straight with Wes. I doubted he knew what was coming, and he had to be prepared for the worst. It was only fair. If an investigation was ever started, I wasn’t sure any of us would be able to convince a jury we were innocent.

Turning my cell phone face-up, I couldn’t stop staring at the selfie Kendra had taken.

My heart splintered with her parting words. But she was right. I was letting everyone down. Commitments broken, promises shattered. It felt like I was walking on shards of glass on a road that never ended. Even Maxwell looked at me differently.

Fifteen minutes later, I walked into Mojito on Rodeo Drive and was greeted by the attractive young hostess. “Mr. Black. So great to see you.” Her brilliantly white smiled filled her face.

“Is Wes here?”

She nodded, smiled, and led me to the back. Wes’s blue eyes caught my arrival. He lifted his head and Adrianna turned to look as well. She was dressed in a navy blue fashionable dress with her wavy hair pulled back into a ponytail. The looks on both their faces told me they wondered what news I was about to share.

Forcing my shoulders back, I puffed out my chest and kept my chin up. I knew wasn’t doing well at hiding my inner struggle. I was finding it hard to admit that I had failed Kendra—that I should have known this day was coming when Madam agreed to give her to me for a set time.

“You look like shit,” Wes said.

Falling into the booth, I said, “You were right. Sylvia was connecting the dots.”

Adrianna flipped the cigarette she was holding between her fingers. “Did you give her what she wanted?”

I shook my head and told them both everything that happened. “Angel is Stone’s contact on the outside.”

Wes leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. “And responsible for killing Tonya?”

I nodded. “Positive. But I still don’t have enough evidence to leak to the prosecutor.”

Wes and Adrianna exchanged glances.

“So, let me get this straight,” Wes said. “Angel is working with Stone. She supposedly killed Tonya, who was Madam’s girl. And Oscar, who is working with Madam, is covering for Angel in the death of Madam’s girl.”

“That’s right.” I nodded with a furrowed brow.

Adrianna flicked her eyes to me. “Then Madam and Oscar must not know that she’s in contact with Stone.”

One shoulder shrugged. “But none of this explains why Sylvia has turned on Madam.”

Wes leaned back and took a minute to gather his thoughts. “What can I expect? How bad will it get?”

We all glanced at each other, each of us unsure of what the answer might be.

The young hostess was back, whispering something into Wes’s ear. Wes nodded and then snapped his fingers to the nearby bartender, telling him to turn on the news.

My shoulders curled over as we all watched the tender flip the channel. When I saw Breaking News flash across the bottom of the screen, my fingertips went cold.

There has been a recent development and the Los Angeles Police Department is taking a second look at the Maria Greer murder.

We learned that the police were looking for Sylvia Neil in connection to the murders of Maria Greer and Mario Jimenez. But it was the next bit that got all of our attentions.

The three of us sat silently, listening with disbelief at what it was we were hearing.

Sylvia Neil is thought to be armed and dangerous. Though the police aren’t saying much about what new details have emerged, an inside source is suggesting it might have to do with an apparent connection she had with one of LA’s hottest new nightclubs.

Wes slammed his fist down on top of the table and glared at me.

Everything jumped off the top of the table and though no details were mentioned, we all knew where this investigation was heading. Our worst fear was coming true. Something told me that this was connected to that flash drive Kendra had gotten herself involved with.

Unable to peel my attention away from the television screen, I thought back to the last conversation I’d had with Sylvia. Now it made since why she’d called in a rage. She knew. She knew the city was looking for her; that Oscar was going to charge her for both Maria and Mario’s murders.

“Tell me we didn’t allow this to happen?” Wes’s posture stiffened.

“Is Sylvia behind this?” Adrianna questioned as she lit up her smoke.

“She’s baiting us,” Wes said.

“Sylvia’s not the only one who knows about what happened that night,” I reminded them.

Wes’s chest rose and fell through heavy breaths. “Call a truce with Sylvia before the news picks up the truth of that night—”

Looking him straight in the eye, I said, “It wasn’t Sylvia who released this story.”

Adrianna blew out a big plume of smoke and turned to me with disbelieving eyes.

“It was Madam.” My voice was flat, void of life. I didn’t say anything about Madam using Kendra to release it. She might not believe it, but I was doing everything I could to protect her.

“Can you be sure about that?” a familiar voice said from behind.

We all turned to find Nash Brooks walking our way. I suddenly feared that he knew what Kendra had done, and was about to reveal my secret to Wes.