The house was quiet when I arrived home, but I could smell Kendra’s beauty radiating in the air. My lips tugged at the corners, happy to know she was here, safely tucked away in my penthouse apartment.

With my mind still trying to wrap my head around Parker and the possibility he might have been the one to kill Tonya, nothing made me feel more at peace than knowing Kendra was here, waiting for me to come home.

Stepping into the kitchen, I carefully placed the bouquet of flowers I had purchased on the island counter. Here, they wouldn’t be hard to find. And I could only hope that Kendra would enjoy them as much as she had the previous times I’d given her flowers.

I slipped my arms out of the sleeves of my jacket, draping it over the back of a chair and checking to make sure the note that haunted my ride home was tucked safely away before making a glass of iced water.

Look what you made me do.

Closing my eyes, I gulped down the cold liquid. It was as cold a feeling as what the note had me thinking—that Parker wrote it and wanted me to know it was him who had killed Tonya.

Pushing the glass to the side, I rooted my hands into the counter ledge, locking my elbows to keep me from falling. I hated the situation I was in and couldn’t stop replaying the events of the day Madam presented me with the damaging photos I used to blackmail Parker.

Dropping my chin to my chest, I sighed.

That was what started the chain of events that had led to today.

Scrubbing a hand over my face, feelings of regret consumed me.

And I couldn’t stop hearing my own voice say, Look what you made me do.

There was little doubt in my mind this was Madam’s plan from the very beginning. From setting Kendra up on a date with Parker, to telling me Kendra was with another man. Madam knew I would fight for Kendra, and Madam knew that she could pressure the DA into getting Parker to press charges against me. Her manipulation never stopped, taking us to where we were today—with the death of Tonya Craig.

A thought struck my gut.

But then that would mean Tonya knew something about Madam she shouldn’t have.

My chest tightened and I needed to clear my head. It was dizzy with theories, speculations.

Scampering across the kitchen floor, I checked my home phone for messages. I skipped the first couple as they weren’t important. I was going for a win with hopes of hearing back from Timothy Parker. I’d put a call into him on my way to Echo, knowing his cell was still at his office. But there was nothing.

I didn’t want him to be guilty of Tonya’s death. I wanted it to be someone else. But if Madam wanted Tonya dead, she wouldn’t leave it to chance.

And then there was the note.

Look what you made me do.

It was so odd. How did they know I would be there? I could have ignored Echo. Stayed at the office or spent more time at Sylvia’s. I could have done a dozen other things besides that. And if I had, would the note have found its way to my car still?

This was all too much. I needed to forget about it for a while. Let things shake out before I proceeded.

Spinning around, I found Mike Ricci’s card next to Kendra’s purse. Again, I smiled. She was coming along perfectly, acting as the obedient Sub I hoped she’d be.

And that got me thinking … I glanced toward the bedroom.

The door was cracked open and I heard the shower turn on. A part of me wondered if she would be up for another workout, this time with me. Because, God knew, I could use the distraction.

My dick hardened just thinking about her. Heading to the back of the apartment, my fingers worked to unbutton my shirt. And by the time I entered my bedroom, I was stepping out of my pants and tossing them in the hamper.

Kendra had her fingers digging deep into her scalp when I stopped at the door into the bathroom. Breathing in the humid steam, I raked my eyes over her amazing figure. She was sexy as the water made her sun-kissed skin glisten. And it only made me want her more.

Heat traveled to my groin, twitching my cock. Quietly, I padded across the floor, wanting to quietly join her beneath the hot, refreshing water. Gently opening the door, I stepped inside without her knowing.

I watched my fingers extend as I grinned. And when I reached out to curl my fingers into her waist, she still hadn’t a clue I was there. But as soon as I latched onto her, her feet left the floor. “Fuck me, Kelly!”

Laughing, I wrapped her up in my arms pulling her back against my chest and letting my hard cock rest between the cleft of her amazing ass. Tilting her head to the side, she bit her bottom lip and opened up the soft part of her neck. Peppering kisses over her racing pulse, she melted into me. Neither of us said a word. I just held her, letting the feelings of comfort wash over me.

Her hand reached behind her waist and gripped my hard manhood. Stroking me, she turned to face me. And when she glanced up beneath a heavy brow, that was when I saw it hiding in the dark part of her eyes.

Retreating, my expression pinched. “Everything okay?”

Her lids hooded, hiding the anguish swirling around her eyes. And despite what I saw, she was so soft inside my hands. I didn’t ever want to let go.

“It’s nothing.” She pressed the flat of her palm into my chest and smoothed her hands around my neck. Clasping her fingers around my nape, she pulled herself up my body and pressed her sexy lips against mine, kissing me. “Just missed you, is all.”

But I couldn’t believe it was nothing. There was something she was hiding.