Page 39 of Deliverance
"Not on her own."
"No." He shook his head. "She aged out, according to Saffron."
I balked. "Aged out?"
Ric stopped the treadmill and grabbed his hand towel, rubbing it on the back of his neck to soak up sweat. "Emily never told you?"
"Told me what?"
"To keep things fresh, they ship out the ones who have been here a few years and bring in someone new." He said it as though it wasn't a big deal. I knew he had done things in the past year he wasn't proud of, and so had I, but I thought we still had a plan to escape when the time was right.
Now he was talking like one of them.
"You say it like it happens all the time, Ric." It didn't. Before this morning, Dani was the only one who wasn't with us anymore, and that was because she tried to run. Madam replaced her with Sarah.
He started for the bathroom. "What did you want me to do, Erin? Tell Saffron that I couldn't do it? You know as well as I do thatanyreluctance will get me killed."
"I know, but—"
"But what?" He stopped and turned around quickly.
"I—How much time do I have left before it's too late?" Madam had told me I'd be here at least ten years. Was that true?
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't know. Saffron sprang this shit on me last night, and I realize our time is limited to get out."
"Then, we need to do something."
"Just like a year ago, there's nothing we can do."
He was right. Even if we could escape, I wasn't sure I could leave Zell behind. I had grown to love that little girl, and I was certain I was the only one who did.
Chapter Fifteen
Ric
Four Years Later …
When I got mixed up in Frank Russo's world, I didn't expect to still be working for him five years later. The more days that passed, the more I was one of them. I could try to deny it all I wanted, but at the end of the day, I did shit I wasn't proud of. Even if I had no choice.
When Erin and I talked about leaving, we could never come up with a plan that would save us all, including Zell. She told me it wasn't as bad for her as the other girls because the only person she had to sleep with was Frank, and it was only once or twice a month. Ever since that first night, Frank had me turn off the cameras whenever he showed up. Not having to watch them made it almost bearable. I still hated knowing she had to put her hands, her mouth, her pussy on any part of that man.
I had to do the same with Saffron whenever she beckoned me.
Erin and I had stopped talking about escaping. The new plan was for us to wait until Zell was eighteen and then get all of us out—if we had that long. We still had five years until Zell was of legal age, and so far, Saffron had never uttered Erin's name when it came to rotating a girl out. I believed it was because she was Zell's teacher—and because she was Frank's girl of choice.
A few days ago, Zell became a woman. Saffron decided that at twelve years old, Zell was ready to work. She put her to work as a cleaner, cleaning up the rooms after a client left. It was better than what we thought might happen, but the days at the park stopped as soon as Zell started working. Zell was no longer a child, and only a kid would want to feed ducks, but Zell was still a juvenile, even if she had started menstruating.
Bobby no longer worked for me. He wanted to work the streets with his brother. He wanted to havefun,as he'd put it. What he meant was he wanted tohuntthe women because they got a grand for each one they brought in. Working security at the penthouse was pennies compared to bringing in enough ladies. I replaced him with Tyler.
The only real good thing that had happened in the last five years since starting at the penthouse was my friendship with Erin. Once or twice a week, we would sneak off to the stairwell that led to the kitchen and talk. I had made certain there were no cameras in the stairwell, and none of the ones visible could see the center of the staircase. Our chats became the only thing I enjoyed about the penthouse—shewas the only thing.
"You know what I saw on TV last night?" I was sitting two steps above Erin on the flight of stairs.
"What's that?" she asked. I had brought her a small TV and DVD player for her room a few years back, but she didn't have cable or any way to watch anything except DVDs.
"The first book I got you. They're making a movie out of it."
"Really?" Her face beamed in the lowlight.
