Madam stared as I wiped my eyes dry.

I was drowning in my emotions. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. The bad feeling I’d had when arriving to the church was real. Sometime between then and the time Jerome emerged from the back of the building, I had let my guard down.

“I told you to never let your heart get involved.” Madam’s eyes twinkled.

The timing of her arrival couldn’t have been more perfect. That made me question the possibility of Lucky crossing me. But could he really have been involved? It didn’t seem likely. By the time Jerome had fired his weapon, Lucky was long gone. Who could blame him? This was all my fault. Bringing danger to the doorsteps of the ones I loved.

“Darling,” Madam’s southern accent lifted my gaze to hers, “Kelly was a client. Your date. And that date, though spread out over the course of many days, still had an end date. Just like any other date prior to him. It just happened that today is that today.”

She tapped Jerome’s knee and I watched him lean over and pull the contract out of a shoulder bag on the floor. He handed it to me. I knew what it said. Kelly had shown it to me earlier, but it didn’t make any of this easier.

Wishing today had never happened, the least I could have done was remain glued to Kelly’s side. He’d warned me to trust no one. I didn’t think that applied to someone I knew—someone like Lucky.

“How could you tell Jerome to shoot him?” My voice lost most of its power.

When Madam grinned, I could feel the tension escalating between her and Kelly. Every day that went by, I felt more out of the loop than before. There was more going on than I knew. If Kelly purposely kept it from me, I was sure he had good reason for it. “You didn’t actually think he would have hit him, did you?”

“I did.” My brows pinched as I held back a cry.

Madam rolled her eyes to Jerome.

Jerome snickered.

“Maybe you’re right,” Madam agreed. “But Kelly has been spreading rumors about me and my associates. Damaging slander that is causing unnecessary friction in my business.”

I hugged my quivering belly, willing myself to stop shaking through the tremors that seemed would never end. Madam had accused me of destroying her business when I unknowingly gave the delivery to Sylvia, and now she was doing the same to Kelly.

“But I suppose shooting him for the stress he is causing me is a little extreme.” An amused glimmer caught her eye. “You’re right.”

“Then why take me in such dramatic fashion?”

“Guns should have never been drawn.” Madam glanced down to her white-gloved hands. “I apologize for that. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She glanced at me from under her brow. “You were scared though, right?”

My skin prickled as my blood ran cold. I was still in shock at what had just happened. My voice quivered with each breath. Looking out the window, I asked, “Where are you taking me?”

“You need space. Time to clear your head.”

We were traveling in the opposite direction of my apartment. Though I kept looking for Kelly’s car out the back window, I never saw it coming. My shoulders sagged beneath the weight of denial.

“It’s been a rollercoaster month, and the last thing I need is to have you forget that you still owe me a debt.” Madam’s flawless face remained steady and on point.

Rolling my neck back to her, I mumbled, “I don’t owe you anything.”

“Wrong, honey.” Jerome harrumphed. “You have three debts to pay down.”

“What?” I shifted in my seat, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Madam nodded. “Would you like to know what they are?”

“You’re insane.”

“First,” Madam raised her voice, “you owe me an apology.”

“That’s not a debt.” I glanced back, hoping to see Kelly’s car racing after us. But, again, he wasn’t there.

“Second,” Madam’s voice caused me to jump, “you still have more deliveries that need to be completed.”

I shook my head, not wanting to hear any more. Madam was making all this shit up, and I was frightened with how much I knew about her and her operation. If she was willing to come after my inheritance—and knew just how to get my attention—then she knew I could never speak of the secrets I had learned, knowing she would kill me.

I looked for Kelly again, beginning to lose hope. I still didn’t know where we were going, but like Madam told Kelly, she had a plan for me. That was the scariest shit of all. If Kelly wasn’t going to be my date, then who was?

“Relax,” Madam reached over and padded my bouncing knee. “You’re in good hands.”

I sucked back a deep, shaky breath.

“I have placed Jerome on your security detail.”

My eyes rolled over to Jerome. “For how long?”

“At least until things cool down.” Madam nodded. “He’ll keep an eye on you, make sure nothing happens.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glanced to Jerome. “I don’t need him.”

Madam cackled. “Don’t be naïve. I’ve already lost one girl and can’t afford to lose another.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore.” My tone was barely a whisper.

Madam touched Jerome’s thigh. He bent over and pulled a dark coat off a gift box.

I noticed the date card tucked beneath the bow. When I studied the box, I knew that my next assignment was waiting for me inside.

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice in the matter,” Madam said. “Because the third debt owed—” she paused to listen to me stop breathing— “is paying down your uncle’s debt.”

I jerked my head back and felt my skin tingle.

“If you were curious as to why I let you into my organization as easily as I did, you can always thank him for that.” Her smile moved up her face and crinkled the corners of her eyes.

I stared blankly as I wondered how this could be.

“Oh, I thought you knew.” Madam smirked just as the limo stopped. “Jerome will escort you to one of my apartments. There, you will get ready.”

My heart raced above a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“Everything you need for tonight’s date is inside the box.”

I closed my eyes, gripping the box in a white-knuckled grasp. Shaking my head, I murmured, “I can’t.”

“Clean yourself up. Have a drink.”

“No. Not today. Please, just give me the night to rest.”

Madam leaned over and slapped my face. “Pull yourself together. Act like a professional.”

I curled into my seat, unable to retreat any further. I held my burning cheek inside my hand and looked at my captor with utter disbelief.

“Honey,” Madam raised the point of her chin, “things are about to change.”