After receiving Maxwell’s call, I had to see it for myself.

Kendra couldn’t be gone.

I’d explicitly told her she couldn’t leave. But Kendra had a mind of her own.

All I could think about on my way back from Parker’s was how, if anything happened to her, I couldn’t live with myself. She was opening my heart to things I hadn’t felt for so long. I needed her as much as she needed me. And it destroyed me to know there was too much going on around us for me to guarantee her safety. But that didn’t mean that she would listen.

With control and a little bit of hesitation, I opened the front door to my apartment with a racing heart. Casting my gaze to the floor, Kendra’s heels were in the doorway, kicked off to the side.

I bowed my head before stepping further inside.

Her opened tote bag rested on the kitchen island counter and relief swept over me when I found her sitting quietly on the couch.

Shutting the door behind me, my dick hardened and pressed against my zipper I was so happy to see her. Immediately turned on, I wanted to make love to her for the rest of the afternoon, taking advantage of every minute we spent together. I wanted to feel her body pressed against mine, taste her lips on my tongue, forget everything that threatened each of our existences.

Not bothering to remove my shoes, I moved further into the house. Kendra never once turned to acknowledge my arrival. It was like she was deaf, lost inside her head and paralyzed by her thoughts.

My mind raced through the possibilities. Anything could have happened since I’d seen her last. The Madam. Angelina Davis. Sylvia Neil. Oscar Buchanan. Timothy Parker. Anyone one of them could have gotten to her—filled her head with lies.

It wasn’t until I passed the dining room that I realized she was hugging her knees to her chest, nursing a glass of white wine. With my blood pressure still high from my conversation with Parker, I didn’t know what to think of Maxwell’s warning.

Slowly, I sauntered over to her, cautiously approaching her as I thought about what might have happened. My gaze moved over the messy bun she had tied on top of her head, down to her shoulders covered in one of my bathrobes. Her hair was damp from the bath she must have taken and she smelled of fruity fragrances that did little to calm my arousal.

When I saw what she was doing next, I came to a stop, holding my breath with fear.

I wanted to say something. Tell her to stop. But all I could do was stand there and think, not her, too.

Over and over, Kendra followed the red line on her skin with her sharp fingernail. Her pulse ticked in her wrist, but the intention and thought were there. One slice. One cut. And she’d bleed out, never to come back again.

I understood the all-consuming darkness better than anybody. I had been there many times myself. Feeling like it was the only way out—the only way to stop the unbearable pain that followed you wherever you went.

But I couldn’t allow her to go through with it. I wouldn’t let that happen. I needed her. And she needed me. We were meant to be together.

Drawing back, I was being unnaturally quiet as I thought about the root of her challenges.

Maybe that was what Maxwell meant by Kendra being gone. Gone inside her head. She wasn’t herself. Because Maxwell wasn’t one to usually call unless it was something serious. And the fact that Kendra hadn’t yet turned to acknowledge my presence was cause for concern, in and of itself. The world around her meant nothing. What she was doing to her wrist was enough to make me believe that she was thinking about actually doing it. And it was my duty to let it be known how much she was needed by me.

“Bella, baby.” My fingers stretched as I let my hand drift down to her shoulders.

Kendra flinched upon contact.

Agony hit my gut. Her rejection hurt. Badly.

I stared with round, wide eyes, listening to my shallow breath wheeze past my parted lips. I was past feeling worried. She wasn’t herself, and I needed to get her to talk before she let this get too far.

Feeling the negative energy surrounding her, I said, “Kendra, it’s me.”

Without turning to look me in the eye, she dropped her chin and hid her head inside her hands. Not long after that, she started to cry.

It was difficult to not let my own thoughts turn inward and relive past events. But as I hurried around the side of the couch, that was exactly what I did. Falling into the same cushion she filled up, I wrapped her in my arms. She didn’t fight me. Didn’t resist. Her muscles were loose as I pulled her head against my chest. Her body trembled against mine and I couldn’t help but feel that this was somehow my fault.

She was broken. Perhaps more broken than I was. And I wanted to heal her. Find out what happened today to make her lose all hope. As hard as it was for me, I remained quiet, letting her shed the tears she needed to spill.

I didn’t speak for the longest time, and it wasn’t until she eventually calmed when I finally ask what happened—fearing that the danger I knew she was in had come to visit her today.

Her sobs grew louder, and soon she had her nose nuzzled deep into my arm.

“You need to tell me what happened,” I whispered, feeling my shirt grow damp from the tears cascading down her cheeks.

Sucking back a breath, she said, “It’s awful, Kelly.”

I had never seen her quite like this, but there was enough similarity to make me think that maybe her uncle found a way to approach her again. Fearing that she would relapse and I would be the cause of another trigger, I was afraid to ask. Her uncle always seemed to find a way to her when I wasn’t around. Grinding my teeth, I felt like I had failed to protect her.

“Did your uncle find you? Did he come here?”

She latched onto my arm tighter. Shaking her head, she wiped her nose.

When I closed my eyes, Sylvia’s face flashed behind my lids. Like a movie reel, the events of the last 72 hours played on my mind. First the note—Look what you made me do. And then the second letter, the one Parker sent me home with. They both were specifically targeting me—threatening all that I loved, including Kendra. And that was why I couldn’t stop thinking about that one specific line. The sentence that said, The next one might be someone close to you.

I pressed my lips against her head. Her hair was soft and smelled amazing. Squeezing her upper arms, my hands traveled her body, needing to feel every inch of her before tangling my fingers in her hair.

She was alive.

And the truth of that reality was enough to fill me with incredible joy.

“Madam called.” Kendra’s voice was dull. “She’s pissed about the package not being delivered.”

Hoping that wasn’t enough to make her feel so broken, I said, “You let me handle Madam.”

Kendra wiped her cheeks and sniffled while shaking her head. “You don’t get it, Kelly. That was the problem.” When she turned to face me, her eyes were the darkest I’d ever seen them. “There was nothing I could do, Kelly. I had to leave.”

My scalp prickled. “What are you talking about?”

Resting her head back over my chest, Kendra said, “Madam was sending someone to collect it.”

“Coming here?” I asked, feeling violated.

Kendra nodded. “I didn’t want to compromise your place with my bullshit.”

My lids hooded and I could appreciate her concern—her willingness to want to keep my place a safe haven from not only Madam’s BS, but everyone else’s as well. It was the only place we had left. A place I wasn’t willing to sacrifice for anything.

“I left, Kelly.” Her voice was somber.

That’s when I understood Maxwell’s call. “You left the house?”

She nodded. “I was scared.”

Heat spun in my core with extreme disappointment. And though she disobeyed my direct order, it was important I understood her reasoning for not telling me where she was going. No doubt she would be punished for it, but not until I managed to heal the immense guilt I could feel shaking her bones.

“You should have called me.” My voice deepened.

“I couldn’t.” She smoothed her delicate hand over my chest. “I didn’t know how, or where, Madam would eventually catch up to me.”

I didn’t like any of this. Somehow Madam was keeping track of Kendra’s whereabouts, and with what happened to Tonya…

“Alex met me at the diner.” She lifted her head and turned to face me again. “I asked her to.” And when she cast her gaze down, I knew there was something more than what she was telling me. “That’s when it all went wrong.” Kendra took her lip between her teeth.

Holding my breath, I hooked her chin and tipped her head back. Forcing her to fix her gaze on me, I looked deep into those beautiful jades that were trying so hard to hide the pain—the guilt—and said, “You can tell me.”

Pushing away, she dropped her heels to the floor and moved to the window. Her slender legs shined from beneath the angelic white bathrobe. Letting my knees fall out to the sides, I stretched out my arm, resting it over the back of the couch. Even in her misery, she was the most gorgeous creature I had ever known.

“I spoke to my family today.”

Breathless, my body tipped forward.

She twisted her spine and glanced at me over her shoulder. Her irises sparkled behind the puddle of tears she had just shed. And in that moment, she appeared smaller than she already was. More fragile and vulnerable than what I knew her to be. She stood with grace, highlighting the backlit light shining around her silhouette like a goddess. Glowing like the angel she was, I appreciated her openness to let me into her life, knowing that it wasn’t easy for her to do so.

“I’m sorry, Kelly.” Her brows raised with renewed strength. “I should have listened to you. You were right. There is nothing good out there for me.”

Standing, I closed the immense gap that kept me from having her in my arms. She remained rooted to the floor as I took her by the waist. Drifting my eyes over her, I said, “That’s not entirely true.”

“Yes it is.” She cast her gaze to the floor. “I put myself in danger, even after you made it clear I needed to let you know where I was at all times.”

Cupping the back of her skull, I pressed my lips against her forehead. “We just need to fully understand why people want to see us split up.”

She tipped her head back, revealing those lush lips of hers I wanted to feel pepper their way across my body. “It could have been so much worse.”

“We’re together now.” I raised my brows and smiled. “That’s all that matters.”

She nodded as I took her face between my hands. Her eyes closed as I kissed her. It was important to let this go, move on, as I didn’t want to feed off the fear she was already feeling.

She held on, clenching my shirt, as she sucked my tongue deeper into her mouth. A minute later, she pulled back and I could feel her regret when she admitted, “It didn’t go well.”

Letting my forehead rest against hers, I guessed, “Your mother asked what you did for a living again?”

Shame flashed over her gorgeous olive eyes as she nodded. “She knows.” Kendra laughed with disbelief. “Mom only asks questions she already knows the answer to.”

Closing my fingers around the nape of her neck, I reminded her, “You’re so much more than that.”

She closed her eyes, nodding.

I knew she was holding back more tears threatening to spill. And as I held her in my arms, I stared out the window, speculating as to who could have been the one to tell Kendra’s mom her secret. This wasn’t coincidence. This was calculation, power, and control. And there was only one name that came to mind: Madam.

When she opened her eyes, she gave me a tight-lipped smile. “She doesn’t even admit that what Uncle Marvin did is true.”

The pain was difficult to wash away. I knew it better than anybody. It wasn’t going to just go away by itself. It was something we lived with. Woke up to. Went to bed with. People like us struggled to see the good even when the sun was shining.

“It’s not your job to convince her,” I said, knowing we needed to work through it together. Because whoever was behind this knew exactly where to strike to make it hurt most. Toying with a person’s vulnerability, testing their fragility by bringing up skeletons in their closet, was enough to make a person lose all hope—perhaps even consider killing themselves.

She turned her head to the window and shook her bangs out. Standing taller, Kendra’s jaw set. “I have money, Kelly. I want you to know that.”

“I don’t give a shit if you do or don’t.”

She laughed lightly. “They do.”

“Your parents?”

“Mom claims they need money to cover Dad’s care.” She moved back to her wine glass, wrapping her lips around the rim. Finishing it off, she then said, “And they’re coming after every penny I have, doing whatever it takes to get it.”

I followed her to the couch. Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I pulled her back against my chest. Kissing the soft spot behind her ear, I whispered, “We’ll fight this. You won’t have to do this alone.”

“She’s right, though.” Kendra paused. “Someday I will be judged for the choices I’ve made.” She sighed. “But I never thought that my past would ever be a factor when choosing to work for Madam.”

My hands drifted over her belly. It fluttered against my touch. “You met me because of it.”

She tilted her head and I could feel her smiling. “You don’t care?”

I pulled my head back as she twisted in my arms.

“That I’m a whore?”

“A damn fine one.” I smiled, squeezing her ass cheeks.

Her smile widened as she stood on her tiptoes, kissing me.

I didn’t care if she was an escort. Because I had plans to keep her, make an honest woman of her. She’d be mine, and I wouldn’t have to share her with anybody else. “We found each other. That’s all that matters.”

Her eyes sparkled as they danced across my face. A second later she leaped into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist. Hanging off of me, I heard the two notes crumbling inside my pocket. And, with that sound, I was once again reminded what was at stake—and how much there was to lose.