Page 29 of Deliverance
I laughed, this time out loud. "This isn't the movies, Erin. I can't just change my name without a trace."
She took a deep breath. "Can you somehow tell my boyfriend where I am then? He can call the cops—"
"And what? Again, we don't know which police are getting paid by Frank." Even though I’d known, it still hit me for a brief second that she had a boyfriend. She had family, friends, a life before all of this—a life I had witnessed a part of that night at Lock.
We didn't say anything for a few minutes until Zell started walking back to us. "I promise you, I will get us out," I whispered.
"It's been a month, and I have yet to sleep with a client. I don't think I'll continue being so"—she paused for emphasis—"lucky."
* * *
My momma had to mix up some potion with her essential oils to help me sleep. Rubbing the lavender mixture on my wrists and diffusing it in my room was the only way I had been able to get a few hours of sleep every night since getting deeper into Frank's world. Alcohol worked at first, but it made me nervous, thinking I might get a call in the middle of the night and would need to be alert. So, I didn't drink, and I didn't get sleeping pills from a doctor or over the counter.
I didn't know why Saffron needed a head of security. Maybe it was because she couldn't trust the others—though she would learn one day that she couldn't trust me. Frank might have told her that she could depend on me, but I was always looking for an out, though I had yet to find one because I was more or less her driver. I was fine with it—notokayin the sense of being okay with what Saffron did at the penthouse, but it was bearable because I could be sure Erin was all right.
Below the main floor was a gym, a bathroom with a shower, and a room next to the kitchen where the security feed was recorded. The feed was on a seventy-two-hour loop. There was no audio, but one of my assignments was to fast forward the day before and tell Saffron if anything seemed out of the ordinary. To get to the floor below the main one, a door next to Erin's room had a staircase that led down. The space had floor-to-ceiling windows just like on the main floor and every piece of workout equipment any gym in the city would have. It wasn't only for the girls, either. Saffron wanted and needed her guys to stay in shape, or at least be strong. Marcus could benefit from losing a few pounds, but I didn't say anything. He was a husky guy and probably scared the shit out of the women so they wouldn't try to escape.
Saffron had the entire third floor to herself. The glass staircase led to a sitting room, and a short hallway led to her impressive bedroom with a massive closet and a huge master bathroom. Across the hall was an office, sauna, and tanning bed, and a pool and hot tub outside on her private terrace. She had everything she needed in the penthouse, and why she treated her daughter so horribly was inexplicable to me. Zell's room was a fraction of the size and had nothing personal in it.
Each day, I arrived at seven, worked out for an hour, showered, and then ate breakfast with Erin and Zell, and whoever else was in the kitchen. Once Saffron was up and ready to start her day, she usually had me take her shopping or run errands with her—yes, I was dragged into Frank's world to go shopping. I would drive Saffron around, making sure nothing and no one harmed her. I didn't think she had people trying to kill her as Frank had, but I was eventually given a gun. Frank threatened that if I were to kill Saffron, he wouldn't waste a moment to kill my entire family. He had to know that I owned my own firearms, and if I wanted to kill them, I would. But I knew I had to be smart about it, and that was why I didn't do it.
I wasn't privy to what happened to the women in the warehouse or if they were still there. Now that I was Saffron's employee, I wasn't told of their fates, and no new girls had arrived at the penthouse.
"Good morning, ladies," I said as I walked into the kitchen. Martin was at the stove, preparing Saffron's breakfast. Erin and Zell were at the small table eating cereal.
"Morning, Ricardo," Zell greeted, slurping milk from her spoon.
"Morning." Erin smiled.
It had been a week since we'd gone to the park to feed the ducks. Marcus had stayed in the shadows to make sure nothing happened to Zell if Erin ran. If he hadn’t been watching, I might have run with Erin. I didn't want to take Zell, but I knew she would be better off with me. But nothing was set up yet, and there were still eyes watching.
As I poured myself a bowl of the sugary cereal, Zell said, "I got the toy out of the box today."
"Oh yeah?" I grinned.
"I've never gotten the toy before," she admitted.
My gaze moved to Erin's, and I wondered if Zell wasn't allowed to have the toy. There were no toys in her room. "What's the toy?" I asked.
Zell held up some figurine that looked like a miniature doll. "Isn't it cute?"
I chuckled as I sat at the round table. "Sure is."
My phone buzzed with a text, and I pulled it out of my pocket.
Saffron:Where are you?
I rolled my eyes and texted back:
Me:In the kitchen.
The guys and I wore earpieces when on duty, but Saffron sent text messages. A minute or so later, footsteps sounded on the stairs. I looked behind me to see Saffron walking down them. She wasn't in her heels as she usually was, nor was she dressed for the day. She was in a robe and slippers.
Martin and Erin both straightened when they saw it was Saffron who walked into the room. I turned in my seat.
"Tonight I have a fundraiser to attend. Do you have a tux?" Saffron questioned me.
"No, ma'am," I replied. I had a suit, but not a tuxedo.
