Angeline closed her eyes, her breathing shaky. Tears slid down her cheeks, as she counted slowly to ten. She clutched the kitchen knife in her hands tightly, the handle slippery wet with her own blood.

He would kill her when he found her. She knew that without a doubt. But, she also knew she wasn’t going down without a fight. She was a fighter. And she would die fighting to the end.

Her eyes opened quickly, as she heard his heavy steps. Slow, steady as they moved along the floor tiles.

“You can’t hide from me bitch! I will find you, and then you will pay!” He yelled.

Angeline closed her eyes again, tears sliding down her cheeks. This was the end. No more would she have to fear him. Part of her was scared to death of dying, but another part of her was at peace with it. Once it was done he couldn’t hurt her anymore. She knew that. She would be free.

She jumped slightly at the sound of his footsteps treading towards her. They stopped, starting again as he entered the bedroom.

She watched from the cracks in her bedroom closet, holding her breath in fear he would hear her.

“Come out where ever you are.” He sang, spinning around the room.

She tightened her grip on the knife, waiting and watching as the knob on the closet door turned.

As soon as it was opened she pounced, a roar ripping from her throat as she tackled the man to the ground.

She clawed at him, fury driving her.

He lifted his fist and slammed it down against her jaw, smiling as he watched her slump to the ground.

“And you wonder why I chose you my sweet Angeline. It was because you are a fighter.” He murmured, as he stroked her face gently. He smiled coldly, “Now it’s time to get this party started.”

Chapter One

Stephanie Carovella opened her eyes slowly, disorientated briefly. She took a deep breath. A plane, she was on a plane. She was millions of miles from the ground, and from anywhere.

Glancing at her watch she sighed. It was half past one in the morning in Australia. In about four hours she would be touching down at LAX.

She glanced around her surroundings, staring at the people sleeping beside her. She flicked up the window blind, staring out into nothing.

She would be in Los Angeles again. The city of Angels, where dreams were supposed to come true, but more often than not where they were broken.

The last time she had been there had been just under a year ago. To attend the funeral of one of her best friends Marc D’Angelo.

He had also been her ex husband. The man she had loved with a passion at 20, and hated with an equal passion by the time she was 22. A memory of a time in her life she wanted to forget, and one that she knew she would never forget.

When he had died she had decided that nothing, or no one could make her step foot back in Los Angeles again. There wasn’t anything left for her but broken dreams, lost memories and a scatter of friends who had become strangers to her.

And now she was heading back there again. Back to attend yet another funeral for one of her best friends. She had never thought a year ago she would attend the funeral of one of her best friends, but here she was again doing the same.

She felt a sense of loss, and dread at doing so.

Stephanie closed her eyes again. Angeline. Raped and murdered from within the confinements of her own home. Somewhere she thought she would be safe. A fortress, that had become like a prison in the end for her.

Tears slid down Stephanie’s face, as she recalled the last time she had spoken to Angeline. Angeline had finally seemed to get her life together. She was back studying at University, and she had a new man in her life, who she seemed to genuinely love. Her whole life had turned around, and she’d placed her past behind her.

She opened her eyes, blinking back tears, as she wiped the remnants of them away from her face.

Angeline was only 31. Too damn young to die. Their friendship had been strong, despite everything. The last year for them had been rocky. There had been times when Stephanie had thought that Angeline and her relationship would never survive. They had hated each other when Marc died, blaming each other for his death. But they had put everything aside to mourn for him, and slowly begun to rebuild their friendship. It had gone from strength to strength.

And now here she was getting ready to bury her. It all seemed senseless to her. And she wanted answers. She wanted to know why her friend had been so unprotected, and she wasn’t going to stop until she got them.

Leaning down she gently picked up the case by her feet. Opening it she removed her laptop, booting up quickly.

She tapped her fingers impatiently as she waited for her computer to start, smiling softly to herself.

She would get answers. She would be a pain in the ass until she found out exactly what had happened to Angel.

Jesse hadn’t told her much, only that he had found her. Dead. Raped, and murdered. Her throat slit, her own panties shoved deeply down her throat.

Stephanie closed her eyes. Angel had been the life and death of a party, and for her to be killed like that was too much. Whoever had killed her had wanted to show her that he was more powerful.

Images of Angel’s body hit her. Kodak images she would never forget. The body positioned, positioned to show power, strength, and domination. A dominatrix, being dominated.

She’d seen the photos of the crime scene, courtesy of a contact of hers at the LAPD. A contact she had the feeling she would be reacquainting herself with again. She grimaced. The last time Gena and her had spoken it hadn’t been on the friendliest terms, so she had been surprised when she’d been faxed the photos. But Gena was a sister, and a friend. She had known and loved Angel as much as Stephanie had. Again, it would be time to put problems aside to unite together to grieve, and remember good and bad times.

She rubbed her forehead, the beginnings of a migraine appearing. She wondered how Jesse was dealing with everything. She knew he blamed himself for Angel’s death. He felt that if he had been there he would have prevented it.

Jesse Carlisle. A staunch Texan and proud of it, and his country to the core. A man with a killer smile, and equally killer body to match. Another lover she had left behind in Los Angeles. And another lover she had remained friends with.

He had been after Marc, and his best friend. It had been Marc that had introduced them to each other, and given his blessing. She’d truly thought he’d be the one. But she couldn’t love him, and when she met Jase she moved on.

She sighed raggedly. Now there were the three of the original group left. Jesse, Benji, and her. She wondered briefly if Ben had flown back to L.A yet.

When she had last spoken to him he had been on tour with his band Destroyer. The South of France if she could recall.

Jess had said that Ben’s reaction to Angel’s death had been to throw a TV out of a 30-storey window. She smiled softly, as the image flickered in her mind. She was sure the Hotel would have been thrilled with that.

Ben was the most placid person she’d ever encountered. He never got angry, and never had the rock star’s tantrum that at times he was probably entitled to. So his reaction showed how deeply his grief for Angel went. It showed how deeply all of their grief ran.

She missed him. He’d also been her lover at one time. Briefly before Marc, and briefly after Marc. They’d always known that nothing between them would be everlasting and been happy to accept that. They were two of a kind, probably more perfectly suited for each other because they knew where each other stood, and when it was time to let go.

But Ben and her had both moved on. He had found love close to home, within his own band in fact-his feisty drummer.

And she had found love in the most unlikely place. In the arms of a tough, no-bars hold footballer. She could just imagine how Jesse and Ben were going to take that news considering how they knew what contempt she held for anyone who thought kicking a ball was a career.

She shook her head, still finding herself in a situation that was all new to her. She had loved passionately in her life, but never been in love until now.

She smiled again. Angel had been happy for her, and had accepted her decision. Angel had supported her choice when she had decided to leave behind a steady relationship with Jase to jump head and heart first into a tumultuous relationship with Leigh.

Nothing between them was ever simple, nothing easy but that was the way they wanted it.

Angel had accepted Leigh into Stephanie’s life with warmth, and for that Stephanie was grateful when so many of her other friends had told her it wouldn’t last. That was why she had been so worried about how Jesse and Ben would react. Why she had never told them she’d remarried.

She stared down at the gold band on her finger, knowing that now might not be the right time to share her happy tidings with people. Angel had shared her joy on her wedding day, and it was because of this that she knew she had to find out why she had been murdered. She wouldn’t let it rest until she knew the truth.

Her instincts told her it wouldn’t be easy, but she was a fighter and she was going to fight tooth and nail until the truth behind her best friend’s murder came to light.