Excerpt

When Sera opened her eyes again, the pain was gone. And so was most of the day. After a quick shower to wake up, she sat down on the edge of the bed, still wrapped in a towel, and dug through her bag for clean clothes. Her hand closed on a metal chain, cold to the touch.

Every fiber of her being froze as she pulled the amulet out of her bag.

Goosebumps rose on the skin of her arms and up the back of her neck. Her bag had been empty when she packed it the night before. She was sure of it. Did someone break into Hiro's apartment while they slept? Was she being framed? Questions rolled through her mind faster than an avalanche.

Sera dropped the amulet onto the comforter like it bit her, and she scooted off of the bed. Grabbing her phone, she stared at the artifact, almost expecting it to move.

"Nor, I need you to come to Hiro's," she said when her friend picked up, doing her best to hide the panic rising in her throat. The amulet didn't leave her sight.

"I was just about to meet up with some of the girls. Want to come?" Nora asked. Keys jangled on the other end.

"No, I need you to come to Hiro's now. It's SOS-level urgent. Emergency. Life or death," Sera stressed, her hand almost crushing her phone as she continued to stare at the amulet. It hadn't moved.

"What's going on, girl?"

"I can't tell you over the phone."

Silence stretched between them.

"I'm on my way. But you owe me big-time." The line went dead.

Sera pulled on her clothes, her eyes never leaving the amulet except for the brief moment she pulled a shirt over her head. She froze again as a new fear arose. If someone had broken in to frame her, there was a chance that person was still in Hiro's apartment. She couldn't imagine her heart being able to beat any faster than when she found the amulet, but it threatened to break a few ribs when she envisioned someone still inside the apartment with her.

Grabbing the small canister of mace she kept on her keychain since the abduction, she crept to the bedroom door. She peered out. The hallway turned left to get into the living room, which hindered her sight into the rest of the apartment. Cursing the layout, she tiptoed down the hall, gripping the mace in her hand and ready to spray if she needed to.

After a thorough search turned up nothing, Sera returned to the side of the bed. She wiped her sweaty palms on her leggings as she glared at the amulet. This damned necklace had made her life a living hell. She sat down next to it again, her mind replaying the weird events that had occurred since the amulet had been brought home from Italy.

The gemstone began to glow, a reddish hue so faint it could have been a trick of the light from the setting sun's rays falling across the bed. But Sera was sure it was coming from the amulet itself. Brushing her mind like a feather's caress, the whispering voice she had heard in its presence before came back.

It called to her by name.

Unable to resist, she reached forward to pick the necklace up.

Knocking at the door startled her out of the trance. She blinked and shook her head. The amulet looked the same as it always had. Only now it gave her the creeps.

"All right, what's going on?" Nora asked, removing her gloves as Sera let her inside the apartment.

She took Nora by the hand and led her to Hiro's room, unable to get the words out. She pointed at the bed.

Nora's eyes widened, her expression stunned. Disbelief and possibly even respect crossed over her face. "You stole the amulet? How?"

"No, of course not." Sera looked around as if someone else was listening. "I just found it in my bag this afternoon."

Nora blinked at her. "You just…found it."

"I know it sounds crazy, and I feel like I am literally losing my mind because of this thing." She waved her hand at the amulet.

"How did it get in your bag?" Nora arched an eyebrow.

Sera stared at her friend in exasperation. It was like she wasn't even listening. "That's what I'd like to know. I know my bag was empty when I packed it at my place. So, whoever raided my apartment didn't do it."

Nora's hand shot up to stop her from talking. "Hold up. Did you just say 'raided'?"

After filling her friend in on the trip to Lorenzo's, the break-in, and the police visit, tears pricked the corners of Sera's eyes.

"For Christ's sake, I just agreed to give Sol another shot, and here he goes screwing it up again." Nora shook her fist at the air. "Good lord, Serafina, what is going on with you this year?" She pulled Sera in for a tight hug. "We need to go see Renee."

Sera stepped back from the hug, confused. "Renee? No, I need to take this damned thing to the police."

"You're a suspect, Sera. If you take the amulet to the police after questioning you like they did last night, they'll assume you're turning yourself in. Like your guilt got the best of you," Nora explained.

"But…" Sera stopped as she glanced at the amulet. Her friend was right. She looked back at Nora, eyebrows furrowed. "Why Renee?"

"She told me to come to her if I ran into any trouble, and she knew a lot about the amulet when you talked to her. Maybe she can tell us more about it, and why Vicari is trying so hard to get his hands on it." Nora shrugged.

"Well, we definitely hit trouble. Can you drive us?"