by C. J. Thomas
“Madam is a Tanzanite girl.” Oscar smiled. “Kelly, he likes his diamonds black.”
Letting my eyes travel over his face, across the collar, and down each button of his shirt, I knew that getting him into a vulnerable position might allow me the opportunity I needed to make my escape. Taking his face between my hands, I said, “You know your enemies well.”
The vehicle slowed and turned onto a residential block in the Del Ray Loft District on the west side of the city.
Oscar’s eyes were closed when he kissed me, and I briefly kissed him back before turning away. It was too soon after Madam forced me to split with Kelly. My heart still beat for him. But I had no choice in the matter. I knew what Oscar was capable of doing and I wanted nothing more than to see him locked away behind bars with Madam dead on the floor. In order for that to happen, I needed to play along or risk the consequences of it being me on the floor first.
“Welcome to my place.” Oscar smiled as his driver opened the back door for us.
Stepping onto the pavement, I took in all that his townhouse was. Oscar threaded his fingers through my hand and guided me inside his home. It was a magnificent four-story, split-level, glass townhouse with windows for walls and modern décor. But if there was one obvious observation to describe his beautiful home, it was that it was clearly more luxurious than what his salary could afford.
Taking off his coat, he draped it over the back of a chair. He rolled up his sleeves as he moved to the kitchen and opened a bottle of champagne. I browsed the artwork on display and looked out the windows.
“Champagne?” Oscar said from behind.
Turning around, I immediately thought of Kelly when watching the bubbles float to the top and pop at the surface. My hand involuntarily accepted the offer and I murmured, “Thank you.”
Oscar made a toast and we clinked glasses. Before he could press his lips against mine again, I turned around and faced the window. Not sure how much longer I could pretend my way out of this, I forced myself to think of the woman I’d been before I met Kelly.
I was confident and sure of myself.
Pretending to be someone other than who I was came easily.
And I wasn’t afraid to take what I wanted even if my reasons were entirely of self-interest.
Oscar’s hands fell to my shoulders. He pulled my shoulder strap down my arm and peppered small, opened-mouth kisses over my neck. “You’re thinking of him.”
“I’m not,” I lied, stepping away.
He ironed his left hand over my belly. It fluttered at his touch, but not in a good way. “I can tell.” His whispers swirled in my ear. “The way you constantly fold one arm over your waist. How your gaze is distant any time I kiss you.” Caging me inside his arms, he murmured, “I can make those thoughts go away. We can replace old memories with new.”
My eyes were round and dry as I felt trapped in my own body, unable to escape the need to get out while I still could.
“Why are you doing this?” I twisted inside his embrace and turned to face him. Tipping my head back, I said, “You can’t hold me captive.”
His eyes softened. “Is that what you think? That I’m holding you against your will?”
“Then let me go.” Inside my head I cried my words, but they came out sounding like the bark of a mean dog.
“Not until Madam is convinced you know whose side you’re on.”
“I’m not on anyone’s side.”
Hooking my chin with his finger, his smile crinkled his eyes. “See, my dear, that is the problem. There are only two sides to choose from. Either you’re with us, or against us.”
“Then bring it up with Kelly.” My throat closed as I spoke. “Leave me out of it.”
“Impossible. Besides, Kelly will receive his day of reckoning soon enough, and when I bring him to court, you’ll be the first witness I subpoena to testify against him.”
My brows knitted as my mind flashed over the NDA Kelly made me sign in the beginning of our relationship. I’d break that contract the moment the state forced me to testify. Except there had to be more to Oscar’s reasoning for targeting Kelly than simple jealous revenge, and I could only hope that Kelly was closer to proving he was corrupt than Oscar was to bringing in Kelly. “For what? What crimes did Kelly commit?”
“There are plenty,” Oscar assured me. “Don’t you worry about that.”
Suddenly feeling dizzy, my knees buckled and Oscar caught me before falling. “This is about you two—” my vision went spotty, “—and has nothing to do with me.”
Oscar locked gazes with me as I watched his grin spread to his ears.
My sense of time was distorted, and by the time I felt Oscar reaching his hand under my dress, I didn’t know how I’d gone from the kitchen to his bedroom so fast.
Oscar’s hand landed on my mound.
I kicked, but my body didn’t move.
I screamed, yet no sounds passed over my lips.
And when I heard Oscar undo his belt and push my face into the mattress he growled into my ear triumphantly, “Isn’t this how you like it? The only way you can get off?”
A black curtain closed over my eyes and my world went dark.
I’d risked it all tonight.
And I’d lost.
6
Kelly
Maxwell killed the engine and I checked my phone.
My thumb flirted with messaging Bella but it was simply too risky.
Blowing out a heavy sigh, I flicked my gaze to the front entrance of Wes’s mansion. It was safe to assume that Madam had taken Kendra’s phone and her messages were now being intercepted and monitored. As difficult as it was, I needed to remain patient, calculative, and smart.
“Would you like to come inside?” I asked Maxwell.
Lifting his gaze to the rearview mirror, he said, “I think it’s best I stay here. The less I know, the better.”
I nodded in agreement, opened my door, and stepped out beneath the stars. As far as Madam went, it was better she thought I didn’t care for Kendra as much as I did. She didn’t need confirmation that in taking Kendra, she had taken the only thing I had left to live for.
Coming to the top of the stone staircase, I rang the doorbell. A couple seconds went by before a butler greeted and invited me inside. “Mr. Reid is expecting you.”
“Thank you.”
“Right this way, Mr. Black.”
I found Wes and Adrianna conversing in the kitchen while Kami sat on the couch. The news cycle played on the curved television screen mounted on the wall and I didn’t have to stare for long to know that there was nothing new to report.
Wes lifted his head when he saw me coming. Adrianna turned to look. Then Wes flicked his gaze back to the television and said, “The same cycle will play on repeat until Sylvia is captured or new information is leaked to the press.”
I leaned in and kissed Adrianna on the cheek. “Hey, Kelly,” she said lightheartedly.
Wes reached for my hand and pulled me into a hug. “You feel drained.”
“I am.” I stepped back and returned my attention to the screen. “Soon, a reward will be offered with hopes of bringing her in.”
“Her days are limited,” Adrianna added and glanced to Wes. “Hope she is good at hiding.”
My brow furrowed and Wes stepped back, reaching for his tumbler. “As you can see, we’re still on edge, hoping that my club will stay out of the news.”
“Understandably so.”
“Until Sylvia is brought in and I know her story is contained, I can’t take any unnecessary risks.”
My brow furrowed as I flicked my gaze between him and Adrianna. Something was up, something they’d done—something they hadn’t told me about and I was determined to know what it was. “What did you do?”
“I needed to ease my stress.”
Adrianna uncrossed her arms and stepped forward. “We sent our people out to find her.”
Wes laid one hand on my shoulder. “Kelly, Sylvia can’t be
trusted.”
There was a glimmer in Wes’s eye unlike anything I’d seen before. And as I stared into his blue eyes, my muscles tensed with a sense of fear for what might happen if, or when, he found Sylvia. “Not to question your intentions but, what good will it do to bring Sylvia in when Madam and Oscar know where Maria was originally killed?”
His pupils closed to tiny pinpricks as his fingers dug deeper into my shoulder.
“Sylvia played right into Madam’s hands, showing her, showing us,” my head darted back and forth to drill my point home, “that she can’t be touched.”
“Then we’re all the stupid ones,” Wes said.
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
The lines on Wes’s brow deepened. “Then what are you saying?”
“What I’m saying is we’re looking in the wrong direction.”
“He’s right, Wes,” Adrianna interjected.
Wes pulled a gulp from his glass and set it back to the counter. Crossing his arms, he stepped closer to me with bourbon on his breath. “If not Sylvia, then who?’
My heart sped as a rush of excitement coursed through me. “We need to focus our attention on Oscar. With me out of Madam’s sights and no longer having to report to her, the DA is Madam’s last remaining hope that Stone will be put away for good.” Adrianna nodded. “That’s what she needs most, and if we can take that away from her—”
“I can’t just hope Stone goes away.” Wes’s raspy voice sliced through my sentence. “After what that asshole did to me, to my family—” his arm shot up as he pointed to Adrianna, “and not to mention the hell he put her through.”
“Kelly,” Adrianna’s calm voice reasoned, “you’re not going to fight for him, are you?”
Wes tipped his head back and narrowed his gaze. “It’s like you don’t want Stone to go away after what he did.”
“I do…” I shoved my hand through my hair.
“But?” Adrianna raised one brow.
My chest rose and fell as I sighed. “Stone is an ally in our fight against Madam.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding.” Wes’s brows shot up.
“The real reason I’m here,” I turned to Adrianna, “is to know everything that happened to you when you were with Madam.”
Adrianna’s head slowly tipped back as she held her breath.
“The men Madam set you up with, how often, where you were taken.” I flicked my gaze to Wes, then back to Adrianna. “Any kind of information that might reveal where she takes women to break them.”
“Kelly, you know what happened,” Wes said. “Why do you need to be reminded?”
Adrianna added, “I thought Tonya would have been enough proof of how dangerous that woman is.”
My stomach tightened and my throat closed. “Because Madam took Kendra.”
Kami stood from the couch and padded her way into the kitchen. She was dressed in a long flowing evening gown, and she looked tired. “When?”
“After Tonya’s funeral this afternoon.” I looked at her from beneath my brow. “We were ambushed.”
“She trusted you, Kelly.”
My shoulders sagged, knowing Kami was right. I had let Kendra down, let her get away from me. It was unforgivable. My only hope was that Kendra was okay and that I could find a way to her soon. She counted on me. Without me, she was as vulnerable as ever.
Wes was whispering something to Adrianna when I turned to look at him. He shook his head and Adrianna said something else that I couldn’t hear. “Any idea who Madam would assign her to next?”
Adrianna’s gaze watered as she shook her head. “Madam will surely put her through hell. Break her down until she submits to her every demand.”
“Stop.” Wes held up his hand.
“It doesn’t do us any good to paint a hypothetical picture.”
Kami reached for Wes and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Madam is winning.” My gaze bounced around the room to each and every set of tired and weary eyes. The collected feelings of depression multiplied the longer we stared, silently hoping someone else had the answer we so desperately needed to find.
Adrianna stepped away and Wes topped off his tumbler. Kami offered me something to drink and I accepted her hospitality. By the time Adrianna came back into the kitchen, I was sipping a cold lemon water, fighting off the strong desire for something stronger.
“Have you seen this?” Adrianna handed me the newest addition of Hollywood Stars.
I took a quick glance at the article, reading the headlines and skimming the paragraphs. It was the latest tally on celebrities falling off the wagon and running into the law.
“I’m concerned for the industry, not to mention the future of our business,” Adrianna said. “No doubt that there is a connection to this and Madam’s goals to expand the territory Stone once controlled.”
Her stress was our stress. It was concerning, no doubt. Adding Mint’s possible exposure as the place Maria died was enough cause to go in, guns blazing.
“You should have never moved her body,” I said to Wes.
Wes lowered his head and clenched his jaw. “And I warned you to never get involved with one of Madam’s girls.”
I stepped forward and Wes met me face-to-face. We stared each other down with nostrils flaring, our anxiety getting the best of our emotions.
Adrianna wedged her shoulder between us and put her hands on my chest. Looking me in the eye, she said, “If we fight each other, our strength is weakened.”
Taking a step back, I continued to hold Wes’s gaze. “I can’t change the past, nor do I want to when it comes to Kendra.”
“Everything is easier in hindsight,” Kami said, pulling Wes back to her side.
“What’s really going on, Kelly? Is it only Kendra that has you feeling tense, or is there something more?” Adrianna looked me straight in the eye.
Twisting around, I set my drink on the counter. The coolness of counter seeped through my slacks, focusing my thoughts as I began unloading. Each of them listened as I shared how I learned Madam was behind my family’s death. Kami’s eyes watered as she cradled her unborn child between her hands. Then she dropped her head as Wes’s brow crease deepened. I continued sharing how Madam was coming after Kendra’s inheritance and how I was on the verge of giving up. Flicking my eyes back to Wes, I said, “I know you thought me getting involved with one of Madam’s girls was a bad idea from the very beginning, but I love Kendra and if anything happens to her,” my voice cracked under the weight of what I was thinking, “I know myself well enough to know that I won’t be able to move on a second time.”
Adrianna moved to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, embracing me in a tight hug. We clung to each other as if we both were thinking back to the day she’d found me destroyed by Nora’s grave with gun in my hand. “We’ll get her back,” she kept saying. “We’ll get her back.”
“Except if Kelly takes Kendra back against Madam’s will, then she’ll tell the world about me and Nash moving Maria’s body from Mint to Echo,” Wes said.
I lifted my head and looked at Wes. “And she’ll release the truth about my toxicology report, ruining any chances to continue to practice law.”
The room fell silent. We all escaped to the dark corners of our minds. Then Adrianna said with round eyes, “And Madam will have no choice but to make Kendra the next Tonya.”
Kami buried her head into Wes’s chest. Wes consoled her, pressing his lips to the top of her head and telling her that I would never let that happen.
Shaking my head, I said, “Madam didn’t kill Tonya.”
Adrianna’s crown pulled to the ceiling as she cocked her head to the side.
“Angelina Davis did,” I assured them, adding the details of why Angel and Stone had no choice but to retaliate against Madam.
Adrianna looked to Wes. “That potentially changes everything.”
“How so?” I asked.
“We’re sitting around, waiting for Min
t to get dropped on the news,” she pointed to the TV, “but what if we turn this story around and put the nightclub Echo in question instead?”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Wes asked.
“The police haven’t named a club, but if we leak the Echo, maybe we can save Mint from ever getting dragged into this mess.”
“This might actually work,” I said. “It makes sense. Both Tonya and Maria were found at Echo. And, besides Madam knowing the truth about Maria’s original location, what evidence does she have to support her argument?”
Kami joined the discussion. “But if Madam targeted Mint as revenge to get back at Wes, then why did Stone target Echo?”
“It could be coincidence, but something tells me it’s not.” I reached for my water glass and downed it in one gulp. Then it hit me. The answer I had been seeking was here all along, staring me in the face, telling me where Madam took Kendra. Hidden in plain sight, I was too close to realize it before. It was the same place she sent her girls to get roughed up. The place where all signs were pointing—where my relationship with Bella began. “I gotta go,” I said.
Wes checked the time on his expensive wristwatch. “Where could you possibly need to go at this hour?”
The ache in the back of my throat spread. “Echo.”
7
Kelly
I called Sylvia’s burner.
The line was disconnected.
Squeezing my cell inside my fist, I slammed my hand down on the dash and cursed.
With Wes hunting down Sylvia, I needed her to know that we were all after the same outcome. That Wes was only protecting what he’d built and she shouldn’t view his actions as a threat. I needed her as much as I needed Stone. That was the cold, hard truth whether Wes wanted to believe it or not.
Turning my head, I watched as Maxwell’s taillights disappeared around the next corner. He had dropped me at the office so I could pick up my Audi TT. I didn’t need him out all night, and it was better that I did this alone.
Firing up the engine, I popped the clutch. The tires squealed over the pavement. I drove fast but within reason. My body was alive and ready for action. I couldn’t take my mind off of what was at stake—what needed to be done to end this game Madam was playing.