I rubbed my face just before casting my gaze back to the half-eaten croissant.

Madam held her chin high with raised brows, waiting for me to spit out the thoughts rambling inside my head. She could see the anxiety flashing in my eyes even though we had barely said a word since I’d arrived. But we both knew the reason I was here.

Slowly, I rolled my eyes away from Madam’s snack and went to staring at her cappuccino.

Madam was expecting me. Maybe not now, but sometime soon. With the news of what happened to Tonya, it was only a matter of time before I confronted her with what she did to get her killed.

I lifted my gaze up to her.

“You’re concerned, Kelly,” Madam’s voice chimed against the silence.

Lowering my jaw, I glared at her smug smile. It disgusted me to smell the delight she seemed to relish in. The news of Tonya’s death should have fallen over this office heavier than anywhere else. Yet it seemed like nothing had changed.

“I understand,” she said.

But I knew she didn’t. It was business as usual around here. Girls coming and going, deliveries being made, and moves Madam was making behind everyone’s backs to further establish herself in the market left open by Blake Stone as he awaited trial for drug trafficking. If she didn’t have it in her to shed a single tear for Tonya, she didn’t understand shit.

Tipping forward, I reached toward her desk, plucking a pen out of the holder. When I fell back into my chair I inhaled again, knowing Kendra had been here not long ago. Not only could I smell her, but thanks to Maxwell keeping me informed on her whereabouts, I knew I had just missed her.

Spinning the pen between my fingertips I thought about how my world had turned upside-down in just a matter of hours. It was because of Madam that the pain in my side wouldn’t go away. And since my meeting with Giselle, I couldn’t stop thinking about how imperative it was for me to find Timothy Parker. If he was the one to leave me that note, then it shouldn’t be too hard for us to track him down before he made another deadly decision.

“But you shouldn’t be,” Madam continued, reaching for her baked good.

Tiny flakes fell as she nibbled off the corner. She dabbed her mouth afterward, washing it down with her coffee. My stomach hardened, but I wasn’t hungry.

“You knew Tonya would die the moment you gave me my way out.” My chest heaved. “Didn’t you?”

Madam casually set her mug down next to her plate. “Tonya was one of my own.”

My jaw ticked as I tightened my grip on the armrest of the chair.

“You made the decision to use the photos.” Her mouth pinched. “I only offered them as a solution to your troubles. Who would have thought Timothy would go to those lengths?”

I started breathing heavily. That wasn’t how I saw it. She knew exactly what she was doing, what her end goal was when snapping the photos—which I was sure she’d done—knowing I would eventually use them against Parker to get on to representing Stone.

“Kelly, darling.” She folded her hands out in front of her. “You know me. I wouldn’t knowingly put any of my girls in a dangerous position.” She paused to flash me a sympathetic look. “Not even Kendra.”

Fisting the pen inside my grip, I squeezed. “And that’s why you’re making her do deliveries?”

Madam didn’t even flinch. “Sweetheart, you made Kendra do deliveries the moment you insisted you had to have her.”

“Bullshit.” I slammed my fist down on top of her desk.

Her eyes drifted to my hand and I watched her gaze travel up my flexed arm.

“Kelly, baby, you knew it the moment you agreed to sign on. It’s the price you had to pay.” Her brows drew together. “What? Did you think that I would give her to you for free?” She cackled.

“Emmanuel is no good.” My words were clipped. I was pissed that the money I gave Madam to have Kendra for a month meant nothing. “This must stop. You can ruin my life, but not Kendra’s, too.”

Madam’s lips flat-lined. “Is that what you think? That I ruined your life?”

Feeling the blood coursing in my veins, I knew what I said had hit a cord with Madam.

“Let’s not remind ourselves the state of mind you were in when I found you.” Madam brought up some old memories, stories I preferred to forget. “Kelly, I picked you up. You were in a very dark place. And if it hadn’t been for me pulling you back on your feet after Nora died, I don’t think you would be here with us today.”

A scratch in the back of my throat made it difficult to swallow.

“You are nothing without me.” Her tone was sharp as an arrow.

My nostrils flared as I gritted my teeth.

“Sorry, Kelly.” Her gaze was unwavering. “The wheels are spinning and can’t be slowed down.”

I knew what she was referring to. And it all started with me falling in love with what I saw the day I ran into Kendra. But I refused to let Madam manipulate me into thinking going after Kendra was a mistake.

“In fact,” Madam’s eyes brightened, “you just missed her.”

Everywhere I looked I saw reminders of why I felt regrets stacking up inside my ever-tightening chest. When it came to Kendra, I was weak. From the beginning, I would have done anything to have her. And I did. That was the reason we were here today. I’d lost sight of everything and people were taking advantage of my mistakes.

“Where did you send her today?” I asked.

Madam set her snack back down and said, “The question is, Kelly,” her gaze met mine, “what do you think will happen when Kendra’s thirty days are up?” She licked her lips but didn’t give me a chance to respond. “Do you think you’ll have any say in what happens to her then?”

“I want her out.” My brow furrowed.

“Who she dates?” Madam continued despite my growing anger. “Where I send her on errands?”

“How much?” My heart knocked against my ribs. “How much more do you want from me to get her out?”

“Money,” Madam laughed and waved her hand. “It will only complicate matters. Besides, truth be told, I’m rather looking forward to your contract coming to a close.”

My neck stiffened and my forearms strained.

“It will be good for Kendra. She needs time to get her family life in order.”

As my gaze darted across Madam’s desk, I was reminded of the will I had found this morning. It had to be what Madam was referring to. Family life. The only family I knew Kendra had was her—

“Her uncle is in town—”

My head snapped up as if Madam had read my mind. The whites in my eyes grew with each additional word she spoke. Madam knew about her uncle? My jaw ticked angrily. Did she know what I knew? That he raped her? That he was the reason Kendra experienced triggers and was keeping her emotions bottled up?

“—and I hear one of her parents isn’t doing so well.” Madam glanced at me. “Oh, dear.” She covered her round mouth. “You didn’t know?”

By now my blood pressure had shot through the roof. Rolling my neck, I heard my bones pop. She was getting under my skin and, if I wasn’t careful, she was going to make my head explode. If I didn’t kill her first.

“I’m gossiping.” Madam guffawed.

“Where is she?” Standing, I hovered over her, demanding she tell me where Kendra was. “Tell me where you sent her today.”

She held her palm out, demanding I hand over the pen I was still clenching. Taking a deep breath, I handed it to her, peacefully. Madam quickly scribbled down an address and said, “You can find her here. But you must not wait too long.”

Taking the paper from her, I turned on a heel and headed for the door.

“Kelly, before you leave—”

When I glanced over my shoulder Madam was standing.

“If I were you, I would get my kicks in now.” She gave a crisp nod. “It won’t be long before I have her back on the open market. And I know it won’t be easy for either one of you when that day does come.”

Heat flushed through my body feeling the sudden urgency to get moving before the clock ran out.

“Especially now that both of you have clearly let your hearts get involved.”